Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MODERATE
Donna Clara
ITALIAN/RUSSIAN Chic and cozy, this cafe is a great place to stop
during a stroll through the similarly chic and cozy Patriarch's Ponds neighborhood. The
cafe is on Malaya Bronnaya, a street that figures in literary masterpieces such as Bulga-
kov's
Master and Margarita,
and that's now lined with original boutiques. Donna Clara
is good for a quick coffee or a long, drawn-out one, and for lunch as well. Highlights
include their pasta, veal in cream sauce, and green salads (as opposed to the marinated
ones). A three-course prix-fixe lunch runs less than 250 rubles. They serve a breakfast for
late risers (they don't open until 10am). The desserts are the cafe's strong point; try the
cherry strudel or the yogurt cheesecake. There's even a nonsmoking section, a welcome
option in the evenings when the main hall fills up with the cigarette-loving, after-work
crowd.
21/13 Malaya Bronnaya Ulitsa.
&
495/690-6974.
Main courses 400-700 rubles; business lunch 310
rubles. No credit cards. Mon-Sat 10am-midnight; Sun noon-midnight. Metro: Pushkinskaya.
Il Patio
ITALIAN/RUSSIAN This small chain's management was the first in
Moscow to recognize the city's need for reasonably priced restaurants with edible food
and decent service, a concept that didn't exist 15 years ago. It now has 15 restaurants
around town. Thin-crust pizzas, generously spiced pastas, a salad bar, and a children's
menu may be standard fare in your home town, but in Moscow they remain scarce. Il
Patio is a safe choice for kids or the unadventurous, or if you're sick of Russian fare. It
opens early for breakfast, too—another rarity in Russia. The salad bar includes Russian
mayonnaise-based salads and garlic-marinated vegetables, in addition to fresh raw greens.
The selection of vegetarian pizzas is broader than those at most other Russia pizza joints.
2 Pervaya Tverskaya-Yamskaya Ulitsa.
&
495/651-0884.
http://il-patio.rosinter.ru. Main courses 400-700
rubles. AE, MC, V. Weekdays 8am-midnight; weekends noon-6am. Metro: Mayakovskaya.
123
6
Starlite Diner
AMERICAN If you're desperate for a 4am burger, you'll be for-
given for heading to this silver trailer parked incongruously in a Moscow square. This
all-night diner has become an institution in its decade on the Moscow dining scene,
thanks largely to expats who flock here with their families on weekend mornings, or with
their Russian clubbing partners after a night of partying. It inhabits a leafy square con-
venient but well-hidden from the Garden Ring Road, and offers one of the city's few
summer terraces free of exhaust fumes. Check out the informal lending library in the
back near the restrooms. Burgers are generous and juicy, and fries are crisp. Most of the
fare is authentic American, though the bagels are frozen. Prices are higher than at any
diner you'll find back home, but they may be worth it to say you ate a banana split
in Moscow. Starlite has two other locales elsewhere in town: 16/5 Bolotnaya Ploshchad
Sushi
Just because a restaurant brags about its sushi menu doesn't mean Japanese
food is exclusively served. An inordinate number of not-at-all Japanese restau-
rants now include some sushi and sashimi on the menu, just to keep up with the
Moscow obsession with raw fish on rice. My advice is to skip the sushi page and
order whatever the restaurant does best. If you're a sushi fan, go to a real Japa-
nese restaurant instead.
