Trendy Moscovite Hangouts
Moscow killed stereotypes. Transcending all expectations, it has become a creativity-driven city made for hipsters and progressive youth where nothing is ever unavailable, a gastronomical and cultural center which deserves its own list of its public must-go places for cocktails, gourmet food and art. This list promises an entire transformation of what you imagine the largest country’s capital to be. Moscow can surprise like no other city, even just for a day.
For Stomach and No Hangover
1. Ugolek
“An empire of taste and good vibrations,” writes a recent Serbian visitor of Ugolek in TripAdvisor. Located in Moscow's center, this moderately priced restaurant of industrial design and boldly romantic environment treats its visitors to European and Central American cuisine: creative salads, pasta, meat dishes, burgers and author's deserts.
Now a visiting student at AUP, Ugolek's former waitress Anastasia Katashinskaya reminisced, "I immediately realized that Ugolek is a truly cool place thanks to the music, the people and of course, food. The people who work here and the guests are people of the same kind who are 'tuned' to the same wavelength...sometimes different 'tables' starting to interact with each other and with the waiters." Anastasia also remembers the special parties organized in Ugolek's second-floor bar "Level 2."
Sun-Thu: 12PM-12AM
Fri-Sat: 12PM-2AM
Bolshaya Nikitskaya St., 12, 115487 Moscow, Russia.
Image credit: Facebook / Obed Bufet
2. Obed Bufet
Express variety of different cuisines is what Obed Bufet is a gastromarket located on Moscow's busiest avenue Novy Arbat. With over 350 dishes prepared every day, this always buzzing canteen is available from breakfast to late dinner. There are numerous food stations with Asian, Russian, Caucasian, Italian, Central American, vegetarian, and baked food, as well as with freshly boiled juices.
This downtown food wonderland was a product of the joint efforts of Dmitry Sergeev and Alexei Vasil'chuk, the owners of the two largest restaurant holdings in Moscow—Ginza Project and the Caucasian Chayhona №1. Fast and fresh, this place is perfect for take-away aims. Obed Bufet includes ecologically friendly packaging and very affordable prices.
Mon-Fri: 8AM-12AM
Sat, Sun: 10AM-12AM
New Arbat Ave, 15, 119002 Moscow, Russia.
Image credit: Facebook / Bar Strelka
3. Strelka
Located on the Balchug Island in the city center, this blend of a restaurant, bar and Institute for Media, Architecture, and Design is an embodiment of a chic hipster(ism). During the summer it is an extensive outdoor area, with an open-air rooftop lounge, outdoor conferences, music festivals, barbecue, and a modern retro styled restaurant with a European cuisine.
"Sometimes," writes the WayToRussia online guide, "one needs to escape from the Russian chaos into the European order and comfort, to be surrounded by the pretty smiling faces talking about the latest trends in metacognitive architectural realms—and Strelka is just the place for that." Strelka is a magnet for trendsetters, intellectuals, cocktail-lovers and the posh older generation.
Mon-Thu: 9AM-12AM
Fri: 9AM-3AM
Sat: 12PM-3AM
Sun: 12PM-12AM
Bersenevskaya Emb., 14/5, 119072 Moscow, Russia.
Image credit: Facebook / Voronezh
4. Voronezh
Meat. A lot of meat. This butcher's shop and a chic restaurant named after a Russian city (where the meat actually comes from) was opened by a famous restaurateur Alexander Rapoport in an 18th century mansion. Called a "Meat Lovers Paradise" by The Moscow Times, its "interior is an eclectic mix of industrial grunge, classical art, Russian antiquity and modern minimalism, somehow all working together in harmony." All 30 different option soft meat are prepared and served in a unique way, alongside various side dishes.
The restaurant is designed with a different concept, thus the price levels vary too. Its first floor is a snack bar with high stools with food served right from the butcher's stand. On the second floor there's a more luxurious vibe (compared to the bottom floor) with a view onto the Christ the Savior Cathedral. The third floor is the Meat Club dedicated entirely to true meat enthusiasts, with mostly beef offered.
Mon-Sun: 8AM-12AM
ul. Prechistenka, 4, 119034 Moscow, Russia.
Image credit: Facebook / Syrovarnya
5. Syrovarnya
A mixture of cheesy smells fills the warm, cosy atmosphere, is where people come for rich, enveloping tastes and glasses of various wine at Syrovarnya. The notable restaurateur, Arkady Novikov, invested into a village-like restaurant and cheese manufacture neighboring in an abandoned red-bricked factory. This is Moscow's "chic" version of a cheese factory. Precisely five sorts of cheeses are produced by professional cheese-makers.
As to be expected, almost every dish includes a note of cheese, be it any understandable, village style dish of pasta, homemade pies, pizza, salads, ricotta tiramisu, or bacon soup or burger meat. You can eat Russian, Italian, or Central European. It is another meeting point for trendy Moskovites and international visitors, ready to fork out.
Mon-Sun: 12PM-12AM
Tarasa- Shevchenko Quay, 12, 121248 Moscow, Russia.
Image credit: Facebook / Denis Simachev Bar
6. Denis Simachev Bar
Expensive, but not like any other bar in Moscow, Simachev Bar is a chaos of color, design and kitschy details. This combination of a bar, shop, and restaurant has not stopped to attract large crowds of the capital's millennials. "Probably the best bar in town, because you really feel that you are in Moscow, and not somewhere else," claims WayToRussia.
There's a place to eat during the day and a club at night always crowded with a good portion of fashionistas. Simachev can be considered posh, but it's a must-go for its selection of music and weird design: bathroom sink looking tables, leather furniture and anime porn imagery on walls. Open 24 hours for both food and partying, Simachev also has a fashion store filled with "badass Russian gangster" and Soviet inspired outfits.
Image credit: Facebook / Mendeleev
7. Mendeleev Bar
On one of the most central, narrow streets of Moscow, you will find a fast food noodle shop. Inside, a dark curtain on the side of the counter disguises a bouncer at the staircase to the underground, luxuriously designed Mendeleev Bar. Named after the chemist Russia is so proud of, Mendeleev offers some of the most creative cocktails in town within a Pan-Asian atmosphere. Mendeleev's secrecy creates for it an atmosphere of mystery, dramatic romanticism and a speakeasy vibe.
Also offering a menu with Asian food, its authors' cocktails have been enough for the bar to no longer be a secret. Live piano music during the week and a DJ on the weekends, Mendeleev's visitors never stop. The cocktails' unique tastes and cold steam spilling over the glasses' brims onto the tabletops keep them coming back.
Tue, Wed, Sun: 6PM- 1AM,
Thu: 6PM - 3AM
Fri - Sat: 8PM till last guest.
Petrovka Str., 20/1, 127051 Moscow, Russia.
For Eyes and Soul
Image credit: Facebook / Garage Museum of Contemporary Art
8. Garage
Located on the territory of one Moscow's largest parks - the Gorky Park - this Museum of Contemporary Art serves as "a place for people, art, and ideas to create history," claims its slogan. Established just 8 years ago, the very modernly designed Garage is also the first philanthropic art museum of Russia. It further holds the only public archive in the whole of Russia, having to do with advancement of its contemporary art in the past 67 years. It offers constant exhibitions of modern art and educational events.
Some of the upcoming exhibits include works by Ugo Rondinone, Francisco Goya, Robert Longo, Urs Fischer and Mauro Restiffe. Garage attracts people of all ages and interests for the diversity of its inner culture. "Garage was founded with an international perspective, but now we are increasingly recognized as an internationally significant organization that not only presents, but also creates culture," says the museum's co-founder Daria Zhukova. The Wall Street Journal called it a "museum with a worldwide appeal."
Mon-Sun: 11AM-10PM
Krymsky Val Str., building 9, 32, 119049 Moscow, Russia.
Image credit: Wikimedia / Lite
9. Winzavod
Moscow has been investing a lot of space and resources into venues for contemporary art and Winzavod is yet another center showing how every one differs from the others. Winzavod translates to wine factory for a reason; in 2010, it was opened within a 20,000m2 complex of seven former industrial buildings each dating back to the 19th century.
Today it employs several galleries which tend to exhibit works of internationally famous artists of photography and installations, among them Terry Richardson. It also houses an art-cafe and an avant-gardist, hip clothing store.
Image credit: Wikimedia / Flacon PR Department
10. Flacon Design Factory
"Create whatever you want!" screams Flacon's slogan. Previously a crystal plant, Flacon Design Factory is a loft-designed sight with event and workshop platforms, vide and design studios, show rooms and production spaces. It is where ideas of fashion, design and media are born and shared. It incorporates showcases of films, exhibitions, pool parties, car shows, festivals, sales, graffiti gems, food truck picnics, lectures and presentations.
Bolshaya Novodmitrovskaya ul., 36, 127015 Moscow, Russia.
