Moscow’s Cafe Pushkin is set to expand abroad, with a host of openings in several countries planned for the next two years, the Vedomosti newspaper reported Monday.
The restaurant, regularly ranked as one of Moscow’s finest, is renowned for its classic Russian-French cuisine served in quintessentially aristocratic surroundings reminiscent of the famous poet Alexander Pushkin.
The restaurant’s parent company Maison Dellos will expand the Pushkin brand both through its Cafe Pouchkine restaurant chain, already operating in Paris, and boutique cafe Pouchkinette — with the first three openings in France planned for next month.
May 2017 will see Pouchkinette open in central Paris with Dellos claiming the average bill will come to 16 euros ($18) while lunch in Cafe Pouchkine will cost 30 euros ($33) on average.
Stephane Jitiaux, who helped turn the Laduree cafe chain into a global brand between 2011 and 2015, will oversee Pouchkinette’s global expansion, with openings planned next year in London and in one of the Gulf states, while 2018 will see openings in Kuwait, Tokyo, China, Israel and Spain. Maison Dellos plan to open 64 Pouchkinettes worldwide by 2020.
The group behind Moscow’s White Rabbit restaurant, recently ranked the world’s 18th best, is also moving into international markets with an opening in Dubai planned for the Fall.
The falling spending power of Russians thanks to the economic crisis is driving Moscow restaurateurs to search for new international markets, with Dubai and London the most popular locations, a source at the White Rabbit group told Vedomosti.
