2 Best Restaurants in Moscow, Russia

The name comes from a popular Russian pastry, but there's nothing common or traditional about the presentations in this old mansion stripped down to its bare-brick walls. Head Chef Dmitry Shurshakov lets fresh, locally sourced ingredients shine through in dishes like stewed turkey necks with pearl barley and spiced carrot puree, and cauliflower and cod liver crème brûlée. You can enjoy the namesake vatrushka, a cottage cheese–filled pie, for dessert.

Bookshelves line the walls of this two-floor café, popular with students and intellectuals who enjoy good food at budget prices—salads, braised and grilled meat and fish, vegetable dishes, and seasonal selections, such as roasted pumpkin in fall and gazpacho come June. It can get smoky, but there's a small nonsmoking area.