Restaurants: Afgan, African, American, Armenian, Brunch Places, Bulgarian, Cafes and Coffee Shops, Chinese, Czech, European, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Indian, Italian Restaurants, Japanese, Jewish, Korean, Mexican, Miscellaneous, Russian, Scandinavian, Seafood, Thai, Tibetan, Ukranian, Uzbek, Vegetarian
Russian Restaurants:
1 Red Square $$
Have your 19th-century-style Russian food (including Tsar's Soup and ***kedrach***, liquor made from pine nuts) on the Kremlin's doorstep f right inside the Historical Museum. Avoid the venison, which tastes like it may have been buried under the permafrost since the days when Tsar Alexander II was still in power and thawed for your benefit in a 21st-century microwave. The duck is delicious.
In the Historical Museum, 1 Red Square. Metro Okhotny Ryad. Tel. 925-3600. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Abkhaz Courtyard $
Russian, Caucasian and European food. Cheap beer.
35 Nakhimovsky Prospekt. Metro Profsoyuznaya. Tel. 124-5533. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Credit cards: None.
Amalteya $$
Great value and a wide selection of starters. Business lunch (115 rubles) noon to 4 p.m.
28/1 Stremyanny Pereulok. Metro Serpukhovskaya. Tel. 236-0256. 11 a.m. until last customer leaves. Credit cards: none.
Bear Kingdom $$$
Bear meat when in season (late spring).
Medvezhye Tsarstvo. 38 Ulitsa Pokrovka. Metro Kitai-Gorod. 921-7840. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, DC.
RECOMMENDED! Bochka $$$
Very good Russian food. Large selection of shashlik and excellent vinaigrette.
Opposite the Mezhdunarodnaya Hotel. Metro Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Metro Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Tel. 252-3041. 24 hours. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Bunker $
Very affordable food in a cozy, underground dining room. The tasty ***pelmeni*** are almost good enough to make up for the cranky waitstaff. The Caesar salad, once one of Moscow's tastiest, however, has gone way downhill. Live music and door charge after 9 p.m. No longer nearly as trendy a dinner spot as it once was.
12 Tverskaya Ulitsa. Metro Pushkinskaya. Tel. 200-1506. 11 to 5 a.m. Credit cards: none.
RECOMMENDED! Cafe Ogonyok $$
The kind of inexpensive, cozy restaurant any city can always use more of. Always busy, Ogonyok offers Russian fare with a flare: tasty kebabs with pomegranate sauce, lime-flavored lamb chops, orange marinated chicken breasts and more. Try the osetrina.
36 Ulitsa Krasnaya Presnya. Metro Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Tel. 252-2927. Noon to 11 p.m. Credit cards: none.
RECOMMENDED! Central House of Writers $$$$$
Arguably the most elegant dining in Moscow. Excellent service and deliciously exotic dishes make for a wonderful evening.
Dom Pisatelei. 50 Povarskaya Ulitsa. Metro Barrikadnaya. Tel. 291-1515. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
Godunov $$$
Live gypsy music in the evenings.
5 Teatralnaya Ploshchad. Metro Teatralnaya. Tel. 298-5609. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, AE. www.godunov.menu.ru
Grand Imperial $$$$$
Traditional Russian cuisine set in a 19th-century mansion with opulent decor and a string quartet. The place to take your favorite oligarch or politician f Viktor Chernomyrdin, Tatyana Dyachenko and Grigory Yavlinsky all ate here.
9/5 Gagarinsky Pereulok. Metro Kropotkinskaya. Tel. 291-6063. Noon to 11 p.m. Credit cards: V, MC, DC.
Grand Opera $$$$$
Odessa of the 1920s comes to Moscow in the form of a sumptuously designed restaurant. The menu is a mix of Russian/Ukrainian, French and Jewish dishes reflecting the cuisine of old town Odessa. Variety show starts at 9 p.m.
2/18 Petrovskiye Linii. Metro Kuznetsky Most. Tel. 923-9966, 921-4044. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
Grandma's $$
Good food in a cozy interior.
Closed for renovations. U Babushki. 42 Ulitsa Bolshaya Ordynka. Metro Tretyakovskaya. Tel. 230-2797. Noon to 10:30 p.m. Credit cards: V, MC.
Gvozdi $$$
Good Russian food that won't cost an arm and a leg. Take your visiting middling-rich relatives who want to eat "native."
In the courtyard behind the Helikon Theater, 19 Bolshaya Nikitskaya Ulitsa. Metro Arbatskaya. Tel. 290-2254/3645. Noon to 5 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC.
Heaven's Gate $$
Step into George Orwell's "Animal Farm" and try the sturgeon with the red and black caviar in bïchamel sauce.
Raisky Dvor. 25 Ulitsa Spiridonovka. Metro Mayakovskaya. Tel. 290-1341. Noon to 6 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC.
Khlestakov's Tavern $$$
Russian classics and a few innovations in the setting of an old tavern inspired by that foodie playwright Nikolai Gogol.
Khlestakov Traktir. 9 3rd Frunzenskaya Ulitsa, Bldg. 1. Metro Frunzenskaya. Tel. 257-2692. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Kitezh $$
Tucked away from present day, this restaurant is part barn, part upscale dungeon, and serves portions large and tasty enough to justify skipping the starters. Delicious pork medallions on zucchini in a smooth mushroom sauce and chicken stuffed with pork will fill your belly.
23/10 Ulitsa Petrovka. Metro Pushkinskaya. Tel. 209-6685. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, EC.
Kot Begemot $$
Decent food in a stylish, low-key atmosphere at reasonable prices. Try the marinated mushrooms.
10 Spiridonyevsky Pereulok (corner of Malaya Bronnaya Ulitsa and Spiridonyevsky Pereulok). Metro Mayakovskaya or Tverskaya. Tel. 209-6463, 202-1652. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: none.
Moo Moo $
Classic Russian fare in a dining room designed to make dinner fun for the kids, too. Plenty of cows everywhere.
26 Komsomolsky Prospekt, Bldg. 1. Metro Frunzenskaya. Tel. 245-7820. 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. À 45/24 Arbat. Metro Smolenskaya. Tel. 241-1364. 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Credit cards: none.
Moscow Caviar House $$$
Nine kinds of caviar available.
Moskovsky Ikorny Dom. 1/4 Teatralny Proyezd. Metro Ploshchad Revolutsii. Tel. 927-6068. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Moskovsky $$$$
Visit for the gorgeous view and the live folk music (on weekends only). Some European dishes.
In the Hotel National, 14/1 Okhotny Ryad. Metro Okhotny Ryad. Tel. 258-7000. Noon to 11 p.m. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Oblomov $$$
To dine at Oblomov is to eat like an aristocrat in the setting of a rich man's country home. Named after the hero of a 19th-century novel by Ivan Goncharov who does little more than eat, daydream and sleep, Oblomov offers set-priced full meals ($56 per person) of seven cold and hot appetizers, glorious borshch, a main, dessert and alcoholic beverages and a great deal more f a different delicious meal for each day of the month.
2 Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Metro Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Tel. 255-9290. À 5 1st Monetny Pereulok. Metro Novokuznetskaya. Tel. 953-6620. 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Credit cards: all. Reservations required.
RECOMMENDED! Petrovich $$
The home of nouvelle Russian cuisine and a museum of Soviet childhood founded by Andrei Bilzho, author of the popular "Petrovich" cartoons.
24 Myasnitskaya Ulitsa. Metro Chistiye Prudy. Tel. 923-0082. 2 p.m. to 5 a.m. Credit cards: none.
RECOMMENDED! Pushkin $$$$$
The three stories of reconstructed 18th-century elegance, complete with time-worn cracks and chipped-off noses provide an inspiring setting for delectable fare. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton dined here.
26 Tverskoi Bulvar. Metro Tverskaya. Tel. 229-5590. 1st floor 24 hours, 2nd floor noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Russian Hunt Club $$$
Generous portions of Bambi, boar or bear, with ***medovukha***, or honey liquor, to wash it down.
3 Ulitsa Pervaya Bukhvostova. Metro Preobrazhenskaya Ploshchad. Tel. 963-9665. 1 p.m. to midnight, reservations recommended. Credit cards: none.
Samovar $$$
Out of this world ***pelmeni***.
13 Myasnitskaya Ulitsa. Metro Turgenevskaya. Tel. 921-4688. 2 p.m. to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC.
Shot Glass $$$
Russian style menu in a cozy dining room. Traditional Russian fare including too greasy bliny and a variety of soups and meat dishes.
Ryumka. In the Balaganchik Restaurant, 10/2 Tryokhprudny Pereulok. Metro Mayakovskaya, Pushkinskaya. Tel. 209-5444. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC.
Shury Mury $$
Yolki-Palki clone with added kitsch. Offers the usual Russian fare plus waitstaff in pink polka-dotted aprons. If you're planning to take a date, be careful how you phrase your invitation, as the name roughly translates as "hanky-panky."
15/13 Ulitsa Petrovka. Metro Chekhovskaya.Tel. 929-7854. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Credit cards: none.
RECOMMENDED! Spetsbufet No. 7 $$
In the Soviet era, this cafeteria fed exclusively Party higher-ups and their kin. No more. Today, they serve even members of the petty bourgeois. Nevertheless, the place is truly stuck in the Brezhnev era. Expect to hear "we're out of that today" at least four or five times before you find out what they ***do*** have: not much. ***Defitsity***, you know. If you like potatoes and black bread, you'll do well here. Visit for the nostalgia value alone.
In the Dom na Naberezhnoi, behind the Sedmoi Kontinent Supermarket, 2 Ulitsa Serafimovicha. Metro Borovitskaya. Tel. 959-3135. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: none.
Sunduchok $$
Buffet (200 rubles).
32/2 Ulitsa Sretenka. Metro Sukharevskaya. Tel. 207-4750/3318. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Credit cards: none.
Tram $
Drama theme pays homage to the Lenkom theater upstairs; if conversation takes a dull turn, pretend to watch the film.
6 Ulitsa Malaya Dmitrovka. Metro Pushkinskaya. Tel. 299-0770. 24 hours. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
Tsarskaya Okhota $$$$$
Exquisite Russian fare in a traditional Russian izba, or at least something that looks like one.
186 Ulitsa Zhukovka. No public transport. Tel. 418-7982. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Ulitsa O.G.I. $
The latest addition to the list of O.G.I. clubs in town, this restaurant also boasts an art gallery. Ulitsa O.G.I. does not duplicate the atmosphere so many find so attractive at the club's predecessor, Project O.G.I. Has been called ""pompous.""
Cover: none. 26 Ulitsa Petrovka, Bldg. 8. Metro Kuznetsky Most. Tel. 200-1038. 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Credit cards: V, MC.
Uncle Vanya $$
Uncle Vanya serves real Russian cuisine, some of the best in Moscow, in a cozy dark-wood interior. The speciality, rabbit in cream sauce, is divine.
Dyadya Vanya. 17 Bolshaya Dmitrovka. Metro Tverskaya. Tel. 232-1448. 24 hours. À In the Rossiya Hotel, 6 Ulitsa Varvarka. Metro Kitai-Gorod. Tel. 913-5397. 24 hours. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
White Horse $$
American-style bar food and some Russian and European starters and entrees.
Belaya Loshad. Across from 15 Strastnoi Bulvar. Metro Pushkinskaya. Tel. 209-9109. Noon until 1 a.m. Credit cards: none.
RECOMMENDED! Yar $$$
A living legend in the capital's culinary world, this restaurant celebrated its 175th birthday this year. Alexander Pushkin, Lev Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov have all eaten here. Try the baked grouse with figs and chestnuts under orange sauce. Entertainment on some nights by musicians from the Bolshoi Theater.
32/2 Leningradsky Prospekt. Metro Dynamo. Tel. 960-2004. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Yermak $$$$
A Russian-style ***izba***, or log cabin, the restaurant is stuffed with artifacts associated with Yermak, a 16th-century Cossack. The buffet ($50) is laid out on a ***ladya*** or traditional Russian ship. The Russian dishes are surprisingly low in fat, the venison fried in Cedar Nut Sauce fresh and tender.
41 Ulitsa Nizhniye Mnevniki, Bldg. 1. Metro Oktyabrskoye Pole. Tel. 191-2523. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, EC.
Yolki-Palki $
An empire of cheap Russian and Mongolian eats. Expect long lines to get a table.
23/8 Ulitsa Bolshaya Dmitrovka. Metro Chekhovskaya. Tel. 200-0965. 14/1 Klimentovsky Pereulok. Metro Tretyakovskaya. Tel. 953-9130. À In the Tishinka Shopping Center, 1 Bolshaya Gruzinskaya Ulitsa. Metro Belorusskaya.Tel. 254-1604. À 3/1 Ulitsa Bochkova. Metro Alexeyevskaya. Tel. 215-2939. À 11 Novy Arbat. Metro Arbatskaya. Tel. 291-6888. 17 Bolshaya Serpukhovskaya Ulitsa. Metro Serpukhovskaya. Tel. 237-0716. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Credit cards: none.
Scandinavian Restaurants:
Katerina $$$$
Dependable European cuisine with an emphasis on Scandinavian dishes. Try the Plank steak, served on a piece of wood with crispy mashed potatoes and juicy mushrooms. Ideal for cozy family dining.
6 Shlyuzovaya Naberezhnaya. Metro Paveletskaya. Tel. 795-2444. Noon to 11 p.m. Credit cards. V, MC, DC, AE.
RECOMMENDED! Scandinavia $$$$
A fine choice for a special occasion, especially if you're after steak and ready to splurge. Possibly the best business lunch in the center exceedingly popular among businesspeople who work in the neighborhood. Try the buffet, a smorgasbord of cold meats and fish, or the customizable business lunch.
7 Maly Palashevsky Pereulok. Metro Pushkinskaya. Tel. 200-4986. Noon to midnight (lunch served to 5 p.m.). Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Seafood Restaurants:
RECOMMENDED! Anchor $$$$$
This seafood restaurant in the Palace Hotel offers a wide variety of delicious fish dishes prepared by a German chef who clearly has the ocean in his blood. Try the delicious Lamb Carpaccio salad or Scottish salmon fillet. Live saxophone some evenings.
In the Sheraton Palace Hotel, 19 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Ulitsa. Metro Belorusskaya. Tel. 931-9700. Mon. to Fri. noon to 11:30 p.m., Sat. and Sun. 5 to 11:30 p.m. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Angelicos $$$$$
Wide variety of Mediterranean food with a solid wine list. Stunning interior, exhibits of the work of both local and international artists.
6 Bolshoi Karetny Pereulok. Metro Tsvetnoi Bulvar. Tel. 299-3696. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Barracuda $$$
Very fine seafood at reasonable prices served by waiters dressed as pirates.
24/27 Sadovaya Kudrinskaya Ulitsa. Metro Barrikadnaya. Tel. 203-6226. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: none.
Crab House $$$$$
This upmarket seafood house with a stylish interior sports a sushi bar.
6 Tverskaya Ulitsa. Metro Okhotny Ryad. Tel. 292-5359/5360. Noon to 6 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Golden Fish $$$$
All fish (except the sturgeon) is flown in from Dubai. Aquariums on every table. Shark meat also on the menu.
Zolotaya Rybka. 4 Nashchokinsky Pereulok. Metro Kropotkinskaya. Tel. 202-0778/0580. 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Credit cards: V, MC, DC.
Thai Restaurants:
Bangkok $$$
Portions generous enough to allow you to split them with a friend. Four levels of spiciness and two Thai chefs earn Bangkok the moniker ""Most Authentic Thai Restaurant in Town.""
10 Bolshoi Strochyonovsky Pereulok, 237-3074, 1 to 11 p.m., M. Serpukhovskaya. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
Izumrudny Buddha $$$
Very wide selection of Thai fare and French wines.
1 Ulitsa Sretenka. Metro Chistiye Prudy. Tel. 925-9482. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
Tibetan Restaurants:
Tibet Himalaya $$
Moscow's original Tibetan restaurant. We highly recommend the ginger chicken and the pork with peppers and onions. But stay away from the shrimp appetizers and be aware that Tibetan tea isn't the usual Lipton brew (see listing for Tibet Kitchen).
19 Ulitsa Pokrovka. Metro Kitai-Gorod. Tel. 917-3985. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
Tibet Kitchen $$
You can easily get through a meal here without realizing you're eating ""Tibetan"" food. Many of the chicken and prawn-based dishes are more Chinese than Tibetan. Plenty of rice about, which is a good reason to avoid the only Tibetan dessert, which consists of rice and dried fruit. The house white is excellent, but Tibetan tea, made with butter and salt, is an acquired taste. Very, very attentive waitstaff.
5/6 Kamergersky Pereulok. Metro Okhotny Ryad. Tel. 923-2422. Noon to 11 p.m. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Ukranian Restaurants:
Getman $$$$
Traditional Ukrainian food served in three halls stacked with oak furniture.
9 Arbat, Bldg. 1. Metro Arbatskaya. Tel. 737-0447. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
Shinok $$$$$
Ukrainian theme restaurant with a farmyard in its center, complete with a horse, chickens and a knitting granny. Extensive selection of ***vareniki***, or sweet dumplings stuffed with potato, mushrooms or cheese. No ***golubtsy***
2 Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Metro Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Tel. 255-0888. 24 hours. Credit cards: V, AE, MC.
Taras Bulba $$
Home-style Ukrainian cuisine served in a dining room designed to resemble a traditional izba, or single-room country home. Extensive selection of vareniki, or stuffed dumplings: potato, cherry, mushroom, fish, cheese and more. Flavored vodka also served.
30/7 Ulitsa Petrovka. Metro Pushkinskaya. Tel. 200-6082. Noon to midnight. À 14 Pyatnitskaya Ulitsa. Metro Novokuznetskaya. Tel. 951-3760, 953-7153. Noon to 2 a.m. À 12 Smolensky Bulvar. Metro Park Kultury. Tel. 246-6902, 230-2319. Noon to 2 a.m. À 13 Sadovo-Samotechnaya Ulitsa. Metro Tsvetnoi Bulvar. Tel. 200-0056, 284-3019. 24 hours. Credit cards: V, MC.
Uzbek Restaurants:
Beloye Solntse Pustyni $$$$$
Eat your ***plov*** surrounded by dancing sturgeon and a mannequin armed with a Kalashnikov. Named after the Soviet-era movie of the same name.
29/14 Neglinnaya Ulitsa. Metro Tsvetnoi Bulvar. Tel. 209-7525. Noon to 1:30 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Kishmish $$
Simple Central Asian fare at reasonable prices. Plenty of kebabs, ***plov*** and lots of meat. The management, however, is totally off its rocker. If you know what's good for you, don't go near the salad bar with a 10-foot ***palka***. If you so much as sniff your dining companion's parsley leaf, the manager will insist you pay for another salad plate. And, if you refuse, they'll lock the doors and call the cops. We're not kidding. This is what they do.
28 Novy Arbat. Metro Arbatskaya. Tel. 291-2010. 11 a.m. to midnight. À 8/9 Barrikadnaya Ulitsa. Metro Barrikadnaya. Tel. 202-1083. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Credit cards: none.
Navruz $$$$
Uzbek food that goes down easy, if you avoid the horse meat.
36 Begovaya Ulitsa. Metro Dynamo or Begovaya. Tel. 945-0451. 24 hours. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
Utskuduk Under an Open Sky $$
This small, airy Uzbek restaurant with babbling brook and plenty of caged birds offers diners the opportunity to sit on pillows in the cozy rear dining room or in a wooden hut near a smoking oven. Try the pumpkin salad or the plov. The bread with toppings is also delicious.
Utskuduk Pod Otkrytym Nebom. 6 Vorontsovskaya Ulitsa. Metro Taganskaya. Tel. 911-7704. Open May to September, noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
Vegetarian Restaurants:
Dzhagannat Express $
Also known as the Center for Healthy Eating and Living (Tsentr Zdorovogo Pitaniya i Obsheniya), Dzhagannat prepares all its vegetarian dishes with filtered or spring water and ""love,"" according to management. Extensive salad bar and some very tasty entrees if you choose well. Try the shak-panir, a delicious blend of cheese and spinach. Live music on weekends.
In the Dom Khudozhnika, 11 Ulitsa Kuznetsky Most. Metro Kuznetsky Most. Tel. 928-3580. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Credit cards: none. Takeout available, no alcohol served. www.newage2000.ru
