Hi,

Can anyone offer tips on eating in Mosocw ans St. Petersburg:
Did you find the food fresh?
Is tap water safe?
Recommendations for inexpensive dining out?
Places and/or foods to avoid?

Many thanks!

Moscow has many and a variety of restaurants and cafes, you will find one for every taste. See:

http://www.waytorussia.net/Moscow/Eat.html

The tap water in Moscow is considered safe, but I would not risk it as much of the plumbing is old and rusted and the water is said to taste bad. I St Petersburg it is not safe to drink, it contains some pretty bad bugs. Bottled water is available, buy it at one of the corner stores.

Hi LoisLane,
It has been five or six years since I was in Moscow but have been to St Petersburg twice. I do not think you should drink the water at either of these places but use bottled water. In Moscow I would not eat salads or anything fresh that was washed in the water. I ate a lot of bread and cooked meats. I did however drink hot tea as I hoped the water had been boiled (this was in Moscow) and this was ok. Some people in my group ate salads the first night (they looked so good) and were sick but did soon recover. St P is supposed to have some parasite in their water. I ate a couple of times in inexpensive restaurants other than hotel and just was careful to order cooked food. Use your good judgment. I really loved my trips to Russia. In Moscow if you have time go to the circus and the ballet either there of St P. (by the way, I lost 10 pounds on my firts trip--I need to go back)
Happy travels.

Hi LoisLane!

I spent 4 weeks in St. Petersburg and 1 week in Moscow about a year and a half ago.

In St. Petersburg I would reccomend one restaurant that was absulutly wonderful. It is called Cafe Joy and located at Naberezhnaya kalana Griboedova off of Nevkiy Prospekt in the main area of St. Petersburg. The best beef strogonoff anywhere, wonderful wine, and inexpensive. They also speak english and have an English menu. I would also recommend trying traditional pilmini (a Russian dumpling) and Moldovian Wine. There are also little stands that sell what looks like a gyra but called a Sheruma (that's how to pronounce) that are excelent.

As to Moscow, I would recommend two places. For Georgian food try Guriya at Komsomolsky Prospekt. It's a bit off the beaten bath but right near a metro stop. It's cheap and the food is great.

For traditional Russian in Moscow, try Traktir Yolki Palki at Ulista Bolshaya Dmitrovka. It's in the main touristy area and a chain restraunt. they don't have an English menu (or didn't when I was there) but they are super friendly and with a guide book you can easily interpret the menu. They also have a buffet like thing which we didn't try but looked good.

I would stay away from tap water. They sell bottled water on every corner.

I ate the fresh fruit from stands on the street all the time when I was there since it was summer. I would wash with bottled water. Avoid dairy at street stands- who knows how long it has been out for.

Definetly stop in a bakery for some fresh bread if you find one. They tend to be in less touristy areas but you can get a loaf of any of fifty different kinds for a quarter or so.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Tap water in St. Petersburg is contaminated with giardia which can cause major dystentery - not just the trousist trots. Do not drink it. Do not use it to brush your teeth. Do not use any utensils, glasses or plates that are damp when you get them. Use only bottled water - and be sure the bottle is sealed when you get it - if you are brougt an open bottle in a restaurant ask for another (sone have been known to refill bottles from the tap).

You can get two types of bottled water. If you want normal water, make sure that you ask for, water no gas (vada neet gaz)

Hi
I just wanted to reply to the last posting about the bottled water. I think it's better to order water with gas as it can't be tap water. I always drink it with gas. This has been an interesting thread, as I am thinking about going to St. Petersburg this year.
alan

I agree with the comments from nytraveler regarding bottled water bottles being opened. Our waiter in St. Petersburg brought a bottle of water to our table with a towel wrapped around it, carrying a bottle opener with the lid already in his hand, like he had just opened it. Being a trusting kind of person, I poured some of it into my glass and noticed all this "stuff" floating in the glass, then also noticed it in the bottle. Decided to forego drinking anything with that meal. Just be careful. We were there 5 days and never got sick, but it is a really good idea to skip the healthy diet of lots of fruits while you're there. Getting sick is not fun.

As far as other food, the breakfast at our hotel (it was an Intourist hotel in St. Petersburg--giant, mammoth place--can't remember the name). Anyway, our rate included breakfast, which was this huge Vegas-quantity style buffet. However, it was not appealing to us at all. It included things like curdled milk, salads (a no-no), and several meat dishes that smelled really --well, you get the picture. There was a wonderful assortment of breads, but they were so stale. I think they had been out for a number of days. Fortunately, there was a toaster to at least warm the bread up, butter, and good/strong coffee. We got by, but we sure welcomed an early lunch those days.
Happy travels!

Kopp has a good point about the water at restaurants. However, if you buy water from a street vendor it should have the same type "saftey seal" as you would find in the US. If it has been broken don't drink it.

If you want a breakfast out, there are cafes that serve pretty good omletes for cheap. They also serve crepe like things with sugar or jam (I believe called belini) that are very good. Just don't go right on Nevsky Propekt or you will pay a bundle.

FYI- There are McDonalds, KFC, and pizza hut's if you get sick of Russian food and want something cheap. McD's is just like home but KFC and pizza hut are not very good. Although I always try and eat the local food when I travel, five weks there and I needed some reliable American Food.

We will be staying in Moscow for 4 nights at the National Hotel. Anyone had the food there? Breakfast is included but the breakfast buffet described sounds awful. I am afraid to eat anything there. We will be going on a cruise ship after our 4 day pre-cruise. Sure don't want to be sick. Maybe we should bring lots of Snickers bars. Are you sure the bottled water is ok? Wow! Can't even brush your teeth w/Russian water?

Hi Judy, we are going to be staying at the National in July, and our rate also includes breakfast. Although I did write before that our breakfast in St. Petersburg was unappetizing, I have heard the one at the National is quite nice--and it should for the price they charge (around $35 USD I think).

As far as teeth brushing with water, I'd use your bottled water for that. They just don't have the filtering systems you're probably used to. Better safe than sorry.

When do you go on your cruise? If you go before July, perhaps you could report back about your trip to Moscow and the National Hotel. I'd appreciate your comments!

Enjoy your cruise! Happy travels!

Whoa that is pretty scary nytraveler. Judyumcer, I would bring lots of power bars too. I wanted to go to Russia and St Petersberg, but this is making me think twice. Judy

Judy, LOTS of places have unsafe water. I was in China for three weeks back in the 80's, and I had to get used to drinking beer in the hot summer, since there was no bottled water at many of the places I ate. I brushed my teeth with the tap stuff, because I forgot to boil it, but I was OK. My roommate was not so lucky. She was so sick, she started getting strange fever blisters! Anyway, with common sense precautions, you should be able to travel to a place like major cities in Russia, without getting so sick that you ruin your trip. Just prepare, and go for it!

I don't think that you will have any trouble with the food in the National Hotel, except for the price. It has two restaurants, one offers the finest Russian cuisine, the other offers French cuisine.

The National is a 5* hotel and one of Moscow's top-end hotels managed by Meridien, it is located just across from the Kremlin.

The Okhotny Shopping mall located underground across the street from National Hotel has a large food court located on the ground floor. It will be much less expensive than the National Hotel. You should be able to buy all the snicker bars that you require in the mall. You will also find various restaurants along Tverskaya ul.

You will also find American food at the Starlite Diners and the American Bar and Grill.

this is an odd question, but if you cannot drink the water can you drink the soda out of the soda fountian at McDonalds?

We were in both Moscow and St. Petersburg last year and had no trouble finding good food. We're more budget diners, I'm sure there are many higher end restaurants that are also good.

In Moscow we found a cafeteria style place called Moo-Moo (spelled My-My on the signs)on the corner of Arbat & Plotnikov Pereulok and ate there several times with no problem (you can tell this place easily by the cow decor). Most of the servers spoke English and we ordered quite easily. Elki-Palki, mentioned above, was also a good place to get inexpensive filling Russian food, there were locations all over Moscow.

In St. Petersburg we found a good inexpensive cafeteria style place called U tyoschi na blinakh (mother in law's pancakes)on Sadovaya Ulitsa 29. We got there by taking the metro to Sennaya Ploshchad and turning right out of the metro station. It's on the other side of the street in a pink building about a block away. This is a chain and you can find the other locations on http://eng.peterout.ru/eda/restaurants/ under fast food-Russian

There is no need to bring food from home, both places have supermarkets where you can buy snacks, soda, water, bread, deli meat, etc. Several times we even made full meals from our supermarket trips when we were in a hurry.

Keeping healthy? I follow the same rules as I do in a lot of places-drink bottled water, don't eat it if it's not cooked or peeled in the case of fruit, stay away from salad bars.

The water in McDonalds has been treated and filtered, the fountain drinks and ice are safe.. Just think how long would McDonalds stay in business if people got sick.

Well, apparently, despite the alleged contamination of the water with Giardia the populations of the two cities are not getting "sick" and I suspect they are not all drinking bottled water but rather their bodies have probably become accustomed to the higher level of pathogens in the water.
I would NOT necessarily assume that the water or sodas made with that water at MacDonald's is safe UNLESS that has been attested to somewhere.

I spent 5 weeks in Russia as mentioned and brushed my teath with the tap water. I never got sick. I also drank soda at McD's and other restaurants and it was fine. I ate salad at restaurants (which in retrospect may not have been the best idea) and never got sick. I never drank the water though straight. I always bought tap. I would say that I have gotten traveled a great deal and the water/food is no less safe than in many other countries like Mexico for example. The biggest problem with the food in Russia is that it tends to be very greasy, but you can def find healthy options.

It will not be difficult to find a phetora or nice places to eat in either SanktPeterburg or Moscow. I have been to both places many times. Most of the Hotels I have stayed at have had bottled water in the rooms. That said, I have drank the tap water on many occassions.Although the conventional wisdom on this forum is to not drink it.
The local "franchises" in Russia 1) Yalki-Polki and Patio Pizza are modestly priced and not bad.
I've stayed at the National Hotel several times, and as recently ago as 2 weeks ago. The breakfast at the National severed on the 2nd floor is quite good. In fact, I think it is better than those served at the other 5-star hotels in Moscow.
I would not worry about finding food fresh. I have never had a problem, and contrary to some perceptions, Moscow and Sankt Petersburg are not in the dark ages any longer. Will be interesting to learn your perceptions when you return.
If I can be of further assistance let me know.