Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
VERY EXPENSIVE
Beluga
RUSSIAN The haute couture attitudes, decor, and clientele of this
caviar bar fit perfectly with the luxuriousness of its specialty, pearly sturgeon eggs. The
caviar is excellent and expensive, though not necessarily better than what you find in
other top Russian restaurants. Caviar is served straight, in set quantities by the gram,
and accompanied by a generous array of rich dark breads, pasta, and grilled vegetables.
12/9 Spiridonevsky Pereulok.
&
095/411-4444.
Reservations recommended. Main courses $20-$100 (£10-£50).
AE, DC, MC, V. Daily noon-midnight. Metro: Pushkinskaya.
1 Red Square (Krasnaya Ploshchad, 1)
RUSSIAN The name says it all.
From the top floor of the National History Museum on the north side of Red Square,
you can enjoy a meal as you gaze directly across the cobblestone expanse leading to St.
Basil's Cathedral on the opposite end. The museum's neo-Gothic turrets and the loca-
tion's historical significance imbue the restaurant staff and the Russian clientele with
a sense of national importance. The menu is Russian and traditional, including a re-
creation of the “czar's menu” of a century ago.
1 Red Square (enter through Historical Museum).
&
095/925-3600.
http://redsquare.ru/english. Reservations rec-
ommended. Main courses $20 (£10) and up; business lunch $19 (£10). AE, MC, V. Daily noon-midnight. Metro:
Ploshchad Revolutsii or Okhotny Ryad.
EXPENSIVE
Cafe Pushkin
RUSSIAN Perhaps Moscow's most sophisticated 24-hour
restaurant, the three-story Cafe Pushkin has the feel of an 18th-century mansion but
dates from the late 1990s. Each of the floors has a different thrust, with a cherrywood
bar and well-lit cafe on the first floor, a more formal dining room on the second, and
a decadent and breezy summer cafe on the top. Standouts are
ukha,
a creamy, spiced
fish soup; and grilled sterlet (sturgeon) with forest mushrooms.
26a Tverskoi Bulvar.
&
095/229-5590.
Reservations required for restaurant and summer terrace. Main courses
$15-$40 (£8-£20). AE, DC, MC, V. 1st floor open daily 24 hr., top floors daily noon-midnight. Metro: Pushkinskaya.
Kitezh
RUSSIAN Kitezh sees its purpose as upholding tradition and legend.
If you have just one real Russian meal in Moscow, make it here. The restaurant is
poised in a stone basement that re-creates a 17th-century farmhouse atmosphere,
across from a 14th-century monastery on a quiet stretch of historic Petrovka Street, a
great district for a postmeal stroll. Sauces are rich, divine, and heavy. This is one of the
few Russian restaurants that does justice to beef stroganoff. Desserts include thick,
Jell-O-like
kisel,
and light and buttery
bliny
with homemade jam.
23/10 Ulitsa Petrovka.
&
095/209-6685.
Reservations recommended. Main courses $12-$25 (£6-£13). AE, MC, V.
Daily noon-midnight. Metro: Kuznetsky Most.
MODERATE
Genatsvale
GEORGIAN This family-run restaurant—whose name means
“comrade” in Georgian—is Moscow's best introduction to the colorful and flavorful
cuisine of Georgia. The country-style dining hall is a welcome dose of earthiness on
this street of chic restaurants. Try the finely ground lamb kabob, or the garlic-walnut
paste rolled in thinly sliced eggplant.
12/1 Ostozhenka.
&
095/202-0445.
Main courses $8-$20 (£4-£10). MC, V. Daily noon-midnight. Metro: Kropotkin-
skaya.
Uncle Vanya
RUSSIAN This cozy, artsy treasure left its original location in a
theater basement to relocate to another basement in this even more cozy, artsy section
