Moscow: Affordable dining recommendations (around the Arbat especially)
 

We head out Saturday for a week's trip and this're finding that Moscow is a surprisingly expensive city.

So to save, we've already booked an apartment on Novy Arbat. We plan to make a few meals ourselves at the apartment, but would like to be out and see the city and try new foods if we can as well. It's an adoption trip and we've heard from other new parents who've stayed in the area that they've not seen menus for less than $100pp around there. But many of them were not regular travelers. It's not primarily a leisure trip so we won't be doing a lot of sightseeing so may not be around the Kremlin/Red Sq area without some effort to get down there. I'm not sure if some areas are more affordable than others.


I'm hoping someone, foodies maybe, may have some Moscow favorites for inexpensive dining. Arbat or west of the Kremlin area a plus. It seems there's quite a variety of cuisines and we're very open to hole in the wall places with good food. Lack of ambiance not a problem.

Thanks!

topping, still hoping

No,no don't worry - you can DEFINITELY find meals for way under $100. I ate in an Italian place right on Arbatskaya, or whatever the main street is called in Russian. There were many places that were affordable, but I don't remember specific names. There were many in a row, where young natives were eating, and tourists, as well. If you have trouble finding the "affordable" block, just ask some locals when you get there, or just walk until you see a reasonable menu. Even though it is an expensive city, you can find MANY places that are not over the top. The most I spent there was $25 (USD equivalent)on a burger, fries, and beer, in a steak house in a new mall. St Petersburg was more expensive, overall, for regular dining.

amp, thanks so much for the feedback. It's good to know we can find places without breaking the bank. Also good to know that some other Fodorites have spent some time in the Arbat area.

Just one more tip - avoid hotel restaurants. The one in the Radisson SAS was one of those $150 per person places, and if you walked 1 block to the shopping mall, there was a food court where you could eat for $10. The locals aren't ALL billionaires, so they have to be able to go somewhere...!

Yolki Palki, Starlite Diner and Shesh Besh are all reasonably priced chain restaurants (there is a shesh besh outside Arbatskaya metro-it is Azeri cuisine, very reasonable), also there are supermarkets in Arbat. TGI Fridays is on Tverskaya as well as the American Bar & Grill

Thanks again amp - thats more our speed right now. I couldn't see us going to a hotel restaurant anyway. Honestly, I read somewhere that there are Uzbek and Georgian restaurants somewhere and those are probably more our speed. Holding out hope that Moscow might work kinda like NYC, with "ethnic" places being a good value... as we always like the little ethnic places best.

Thanks for the recommendations Odin. I think I heard of Shesh Besh somewhere, or maybe it was another rhyming name. Are they typical Russian places, or... ? TGIF is good to know about (in a pinch anyway, but always a little sad to miss out on a meal I couldn't get at home though)

Odin, I somehow missed your statement about Shesh Besh being Azeri. Sorry about asking again! Sounds like an interesting place to try out.

I forgot about Moo Moo which is in Arbat, inexpensive Russian food, there is a black/white cow outside the restaurant. Yolki Palki is also Russian. Noah's Ark is Armenian but quite a way from Novy Arbat, worth the taxi or metro-it is in the $100 pp range if you stick to Armenian wine but the food is good. There are so many options and there'll be others you find yourself walking up and down Arbat. Shesh Besh is OK, nothing fancy but it is inexpensive and has good salad bar & soups (soups are very good in Russia).

Ciao,
I am just back to Milan after a 1 year work assignment in Moscow.

In doing a short summary of my stay there I realized that I have had my dinner in 51 different restaurants!

Thw MOST EXPENSIVE item in eating in any restaurant in Moscow it's the wine!!!

If you forget it OR if you limt yourself to 1 glass (average price 15 / 20 $) of good wine your 100 $ pp limit it's very high!

As I said with 80 / 100 $ (no wine) you can afford "the best" in town, like (not far from Arbat, 1 metro stop) La Kupol managed by Anatoly Komm the most famous Chef operating in Moscow.

Ciao.
Gianni (Milan, Italy)