Wonderful German flavors in Moscow

Posted by Renee from Seattle, WA on 5/28/06

My friends and I came to this restaurant by word of mouth, as we were searching for authentic food without too much Russian influence. True to form, this place served wonderfully traditional food and an excellent selection of beers and wines. For our trip, which was on a bustling Friday night, we ordered carpaccio as appitizer and were mildly surprised to experience buttery venison with arugela (?), mushrooms, and berries. We also tried the gulash for soup, and although my friend enjoyed it immensely, I found it watery, but flavorful. Everyone at my table ordered schnitzel, which far exceeded my expectations and easily competes with the authentic schnitzels of Germany. The capers were larger than usually used in America, but also contained less salt. The gravy was handsomely homemade, and the pomm frit were lightly dressed with cheese sauce. As a word of caution, this plate is HUGE and most normal eaters will not be able to finish, as was the case with every meal I saw there. It might be best to share a meal. The service was better than average in Moscow, and the selection of beers and wines were more than plentiful. The prices are a bit inflated because of the many Western hotels in the area, as we paid about 3500 rubles for three people, but you get what you pay for in the quality of the meals. There is a separate bar area, which did get rather rowdy, so intimate would not be the proper term for this place. The facilities were very clean and the location was easy to find overall. I enjoyed my meal there very much and recommend it to anyone I know traveling to Moscow.