Where to Dine in Moscow - Moscow and St. Petersburg - page 129

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soundtrack for the sight of young and middle-aged Russian businessmen on their lunch
break, trying not to drip sauce on their suits.
11/4 Maroseika, building 1. & 495/621-8545. Main courses 400-800 rubles. No credit cards. Daily
11am-11pm. Metro: Kitai-Gorod.

5 SOUTH OF THE MOSCOW RIVER
ZAMOSKVARECHYE

EXPENSIVE
Grilyazh RUSSIAN/EUROPEAN The stylized grillwork at the entrance and
the discriminating maitre d' tell you right away to expect the best from this restaurant.
Specializing in Italian- and French-inspired Russian cuisine, the food is sometimes as
pretentious as the service, but overall it's a pleasing experience in fine dining. At the top
of the otherwise bohemian Pyatnitskaya Street, it occupies a two-story mansion full of
Art Nouveau light fixtures and antique furniture. Russian executives like to hold ban-
quets here, but it's also a good spot for a romantic interlude, with its soft lighting and
exclusive atmosphere. The wine list is impressive. The tuna and salmon carpaccio with
ginger and greens is a winning appetizer, and the duck breast with “poacher's” sauce
makes a hearty main course. The borscht with garlic rolls is surprisingly better than the
lobster bisque.
1/2 Pyatnitskaya Ulitsa, building 1. & 495/953-9323. www.grillage.ru. Reservations recommended.
Main courses 700-1,300 rubles. AE, MC, V. Daily noon-midnight. Metro: Novokuznetskaya.

6

MODERATE
Shesh-Besh AZERBAIJANI This is a cheerful and tasty introduction to Azerbai-
jani cuisine, a combination of Turkish, Greek, and Russian flavors with a distinctly
Caucasian (as in the Caucasus Mountains) accent. It goes overboard with its multicolored
decor and faux-traditional costumery, but the pillows are comfy and the service is
friendly. The souffra, or salad bar, is heaped with fresh and marinated vegetables, along
with stalks of cilantro, parsley, and dill that you're supposed to munch raw to cleanse the
palate. Grilled meats are the pride of the Caucasus, but also worth trying is the cutaby, a
thin, crepelike dough stuffed with fresh greens, sheep's cheese, or ground lamb. Their
chief gimmick is a game called shesh-besh (it means “six-five”), in which you toss two dice,
and if you get a six and a five you get a free pitcher of (barely drinkable) wine or other
beverage. Shesh-Besh's two most convenient locations are listed below.
24 Pyatnitskaya, building 1. & 495/959-5862. Main courses 250-450 rubles. MC, V. Daily noon-midnight.
Metro: Novokuznetskaya. Also at 6a Smolenskaya Ploshchad. & 495/241-6542. Metro: Smolenskaya.
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 of
town. The restaurant takes its name from one of Anton Chekhov's plays. It has no real
link to the playwright, but maintains a literary atmosphere and decor reminiscent of
early-20th-century Russia, when Chekhov reached his zenith. The menu of Russian
favorites is accessible and safe, with highlights including cold sorrel soup (zelyoniye shchi),
wild mushrooms, and buckwheat kasha. The restaurant serves a hearty breakfast, too.
The whimsical place mats are a good way to learn the Russian alphabet. A talented,
understated jazz trio plays most evenings.