| |
Cashing in on its [address] (in the basement of the History Museum, on Red Square itself), this restaurant is something of a sausage machine, serving a continuous sequence of tourist groups with a rather restricted selection of classic Russian dishes. If you’re in a tour group and the meal has been included this is probably OK, but if you’ve come as an individual guest, it’s easy to feel that your presence simply interfered with serving the tour groups.
|
This venue commands instant respect from everyone—government ministers will entertain foreign dignitaries here. Downstairs it operates as a café (less formal), and upstairs it’s a formal and elegant restaurant, set out as a gentleman’s library from the 19th century. The diners have mostly come to discuss business, so you wouldn’t come here for the office party. The cuisine is prepared to recipes from Russia’s noble households of the 19th century and, although expensive, the quality and service genuinely accord with the price. The service is impeccable. This is a restaurant of the formal type which never disappoints.
|
Excellent Georgian food and wines at very acceptable prices, and much favoured by local Muscovites. Go early or book at this highly popular venue. Georgian meals are never quiet or solemn affairs, so loud live music, singing and dancing are very likely. If this isn’t for you, there are side rooms especially for those who have come to talk business or to romance their sweethearts, so book one of these when you call. There is a separate restaurant next door, Genatsvale VIP, serving an expanded menu in more elegant (and marginally less noisy) surroundings.
|
Godunov is Moscow’s example of the ye olde medieval banquet industry, and is no worse than others like it in other countries. The food is genuinely old Russian cuisine (which tends to be very heavy), and there’s a folklore floorshow done with great gusto. The location itself is something of a draw—a 17th century set of ancient chambers around the corner from Red Square—so this is the real McCoy of the medieval banqueting world. Inevitably all shows like this are ultimately a tourist draw, but it’s done very professionally. Book early as it tends to get very full, with groups of tourists from the Far East especially.
|
Owned and run by a well-known actor, Khlestakov’s aims to recreate the style (and menu) of a C19th Russian dining-salon, and is pure theatre. The cuisine is authentic Russian fare of the Tsarist-era middle-classes - exactly what Uncle Vanya would have had for supper. Solo diners can watch it all happening - it’s a show in motion. Comfy and elegant interiors, starched linens, and a warm welcome. The [address] is actually on the corner of 3-ya Frunzenskaya with the main street, Komsomolsky Prospekt.
|
| |
|