Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
125
Family-Friendly Restaurants
Russians rarely take their children to restaurants, largely because for decades
dining out was an occurrence too rare and costly to be wasted on finicky little
ones who pose a threat to crystal glassware. The international chains are start-
ing to change that, and a few homegrown restaurants are adopting highchairs
and children's menus, too; they're still relatively rare, so don't expect them
everywhere you go. Among top-end establishments, the best family venues
are the Sunday brunches at the big hotels.
Sheraton Palace
is especially child-
centered, with a well-equipped playroom, clown performances, and free bal-
loons. The all-you-can-eat buffet has enough options for the pickiest of eaters.
Mid-range suggestions include
Il Patio,
whose three restaurants offer chil-
dren's seats and menus, as well as servers who are patient with scampering
little ones (a rarity here). It serves plenty of familiar pizzas and pastas. The bud-
get chain
Yolki-Palki
(which translates into something like “Good grief!”) offers
simple, all-you-can-eat Russian cuisine and is one of the few places where you'll
see Russian kids eating out. The mini-pancakes
(olady)
and jam-filled dump-
lings
(vareniki)
are good finger foods. The American-style
Starlite Diner
has
milkshakes and cereal and attracts expat families on weekend mornings. The
Russian fried-chicken chain,
Rostik's,
has familiar fare and a play area in most
of its restaurants, but the equipment is often crowded and shabby. The most
child-friendly places in town are still the U.S. chain
TGI Friday's
(main branches
at the Okhotny Ryad shopping center and at 18/2 Tverskaya St.) and, of course,
the ubiquitous
McDonald's.
(Check out their flagship restaurant on Pushkin
Sq., the world's biggest when it opened in 1989.)
Some
Yolki-Palki
branches follow. All are open daily 11am to 11pm. None
takes credit cards.
• 14 Klimentovsky Pereulok, building 1.
&
495/953-9130.
Metro: Tretyakovs-
kaya.
• 18/20 Sadovo-Triumfalnaya Ulitsa.
&
495/699-8821.
Metro: Mayakovskaya.
• 12 Bolshaya Dorogomilovskaya Ulitsa.
&
499/243-2019.
Metro: Kievskaya.
• 8/10 Neglinnaya Ulitsa.
&
495/628-5525.
Metro: Kuznetsky Most.
• 11 Novy Arbat.
&
495/691-6888.
Metro: Arbatskaya.
6
4
PETROVKA & THE UKRAINIAN QUARTER
EXPENSIVE
Aristocrat
RUSSIAN This restaurant in a wing of an 18th-century mansion isn't
shy about its place in the social order, as its name implies. More cafe than dinner destina-
tion, Aristocrat makes a big deal of its teas, coffees, and desserts, in both their preparation
and their presentation. Fresh mint, fresh lemon, and homemade honey are on hand to
add to any of your beverages for a few rubles more. For a light lunch, try the foie gras
with forest berries or the mushrooms on toast. The service is usually refined and reserved,
as befits the setting, but the clientele is not as snobbish as the cafe's name implies; diners
