46 Best Restaurants in Moscow, Russia

This one-room café has home-style Georgian food so good that you'll feel you've found your way to a tavern deep in the Caucasus hinterlands. The house specialty is succulent hinkali, fist-sized dumplings filled with ground meat that you eat with your hands; the variety with herbs is best, and all the better if you add crisp-crusted hachapuri (cheese bread) to the order. There are many vegetarian-friendly options on the menu, including pkhali, assorted vegetables blended with herbs and walnuts. Ordering might be difficult unless you or someone in your party has at least a moderate knowledge of Russian.

Feast on exquisite traditional Russian fare in what was once (and still feels like) a private mansion. On the four floors, there are spaces to fit every mood: a Middle Eastern room with hookahs; a billiard room; intimate, plush dining rooms; and a chandeliered main hall with lots of natural light. Try the ukha, a fish soup, and a basket of their excellent pirozhki, savory filled pastries; the beef Stroganoff is outstanding. The lightning-quick waitstaff is unassuming and attentive.

This upstairs cafeteria-style café is a throwback to the Soviet era, packed with students drinking cheap beer, pensioners reminiscing over meat-filled pancakes, and business people of all ages from the offices nearby. A larger downstairs room gets rowdy on weekends. The no smoking policy is a huge plus and a rarity in Moscow, but you may have to walk through a cloud of smoke to get near the door.

This modern chain of cafes shares a name with Georgia's most beloved culinary export, a crispy pie filled with a creamy, tangy cheese (six varieties of this Caucasus pizza are on the menu). The brick walls and track lighting at this popular branch create a bright and airy space, and the cooking displays a refreshing contemporary sensibility, with the always luscious chanakhi (a lamb stew, light with fragrant cilantro) and the hinkali (large dumplings you eat with your hands) available with salmon or pumpkin in addition to the traditional ground beef. Go for lunch to get the best value.

A short and frequently changing menu features dishes rooted in Continental and Eastern European traditions and often includes a selection of pâtés, gratins, savory pies, and confits. A sweet beetroot and black bread ice cream duo is usually on the dessert list. The metal-and-wood surroundings are quiet and relaxing.

Meals at Moscow's best Ukrainian restaurant often include a plate of assorted salo—a specialty of cured pork fat. If such traditional country favorites seem out of keeping with the sleek interior, take a look at the far side of the main dining hall for a glimpse of a quaint Ukrainian farm scene, complete with rabbits, a cow, and even a milkmaid and a pair of beautiful peacocks.

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.

This reliable Italian chain with outlets throughout Moscow may not whisk you away to a Roman piazza or the Tuscan countryside, but you can expect a well-cooked risotto and efficient if unenthusiastic service in slick environs. In the Kremlin branch, a very popular terrace that overlooks ulitsa Tverskaya is great for sipping a beer and watching the crowds in summer. Portions can be a bit small—an entrée may not fill you up if you're famished—but everything is very fresh.

Oompah music plays in the background, dirndl-clad waitresses carry fistfuls of liter-size mugs, and the smell of sauerkraut lingers in the air. Whether you fancy a snack of knockwurst or just want to sample German and Czech beers, this is the place. Instead of sitting indoors, head through the arch to the left of the main entrance to reach the quiet courtyard that holds the biggest beer garden in Moscow. Food is served in both areas, but credit cards are accepted only in the restaurant.

The name comes from a legendary Soviet film from 1970, White Sun of the Desert, and the specialty is Uzbek food, which incorporates Russian, Persian, and Chinese elements. Sun-bleached walls instantly sweep you down to Central Asia and the illusion continues with a diorama with a ship marooned in the desert, waitresses dressed as Uzbek maidens, and intricately carved wooden doors. The Dastarkhan, a set meal, overwhelms you with food—unlimited access to the salad bar, a main course such as mutton kebabs and manty (large mutton ravioli), plov (a Central Asian rice pilaf), and numerous desserts.

Steps away from ploshchad Lubyanka, chef Marc de Passorio serves pared-down takes on his haute- fusion cuisine for reasonable prices. The long menu includes now-familiar international dishes like chicken quesadillas and beef spring rolls, as well as such Russian classics as borsch and beef Stroganoff. Especially noteworthy are some of the more creative options, such as grilled goat cheese and fig salad.

One of the very few places in Moscow with a terrace on Red Square is on the first floor of the GUM department store. You pay for the view, but the Mediterranean fare is tasty, and you can just order a coffee if you're not hungry for a meal. The terrace closes once it gets cold.

While some may complain that this reincarnation of a Moscow institution is only a pale imitation of its former self, the famously massive chandeliers are still in place and now illuminate bistro-style booths where diners enjoy creative takes on rich stews and other brasserie classics. This is a popular spot for weekend brunch and for meals before and after performances at the Bolshoi Theatre.

It's all about the view atop this Stalin-era skyscraper that also houses the Radisson Royal hotel. The cuisine takes few chances, hewing to classics, such as lemony octopus salad and sea bream with tomato and fennel, while the desserts are fanciful and fantastic.

In a mansion meant to recall the days when the writer Pushkin stolled the 19th-century avenues of Moscow, staff members dress like household servants; the menu resembles an old newspaper, with letters no longer used in the Russian alphabet; and the food is fit for a tsar. All the favorites can be found here—blini, caviar, pelmeni (meat dumplings)—and there's a fine, if over-priced wine list. Prices rise with each floor (there are three) of the house. If you don't want to splurge on dinner, the three-course business lunch is an excellent way to sample Pushkin's food without breaking the bank. Open daily, 24 hours, Pushkin is popular for breakfast after a night of clubbing. In summer you can dine on the rooftop patio.

This massive Uzbek café and lounge on ploshchad Pushkin is part of a chain with almost 20 locations around the city and offers diners the chance to sample traditional dishes like plov, a rice pilaf with lamb, and succulent kebabs. Each pillow, light fixture, painting, and plate is worthy of note. The only downside is that hookahs are a major part of the concept, so don't be surprised if the flavor of your neighbor's aromatic tobacco smoke infuses your meal.

The modern takes on Russian classics served in chic, contemporary surroundings in the InterContinental Moscow Tverskaya are truly inventive. A trio of Russian salads is a barely recognizable version of the mayo-heavy Soviet standards and the schi is a rich cabbage soup that's unlike the ubiquitous variety served elsewhere—this one contains suckling pig and is baked under puff pastry. Busy ulitsa Tverskaya provides a nice backdrop.

In convivial and laid-back surroundings north of Novokuznetskaya metro station heading toward the river, you can enjoy a large selection of well-prepared tarts and cakes. Some say their coffee is among the best in the city.

As if to reward you for locating the place (it's hidden in a courtyard with a front sign that says "Thanks for finding us"), staff members seem driven to make you join in their revelry. Greetings come first from the pirate-moustached owner, then from the team of gregarious bartenders, who will soon cajole you into trying one of the house-made liquors. Fresh flowers brighten the windowless space; menus are presented on clipboards; and the drink list is written in chalk across a wall. The casual fare includes well-prepared pizzas and pastas, and a selection of juicy burgers.

The menu consists mostly of classic Continental salads, sandwiches, and other light fare, though the real attraction is the pastry case, which holds house-made cakes and other sweets that pair perfectly with a steaming cup of coffee. The tranquil atmosphere with comfy window seats is ideal for a break from sightseeing or for whiling away a rainy afternoon. It's a few minutes away from Patriarch's Ponds.

Students and a sizeable portion of the local office-worker population flock here for the three-course lunch special, and in the evening, the low lighting and soft wood tones provide a warm and intimate setting. The eclectic menu veers from the Alps to the Andes, and the salade niçoise and the steak with peppercorn sauce are standouts.

The minimalist interior isn't necessarily welcoming, but this a great place for a quick, healthy lunch near the city sights. There are lots of fresh salads with some ingredients that are quite rare in Russia, like quinoa and soy sprouts, and the sweet potato fries are a great indulgence. While here, try one of the many vitamin-packed mixed vegetable juices.

After entering through a tunnel of vine leaves, you're seated at oak tables in a somewhat Disneyfied version of an old country house in Georgia (the country). The food—rich stews, aromnatic rice dishes, grilled meats and kebabs—is genuine, however, and in the evenings you can enjoy an authentic Georgian choir and traditional dancing.

Sink into folds of burgundy velour with a plate of chocolates and a cappuccino at this indulgent dessert spot off the Boulevard Ring. Unapologetically frilly and romantic, the two rooms are adorned with pink ribbons on gauzy white curtains and floral-patterned cushions atop wrought-iron chairs; gold-framed still lifes line the walls. The menu is about two-thirds sweets—truffles, praline, mille-feuille, cookies, cakes, pies—but it also includes a weekday lunch selection of soups, pastas, and pancakes, and a handful of dinner items. Service is genial and almost courtly.

This cheap and cheerful replica of a classic Parisian bistro, open 24 hours a day, is almost always busy, and little wonder: the selection of wines by the glass is the best in Moscow; the daily lunch special, with a choice of soup, salad, and main, is a great value; and water is free, an unusual treat in Moscow. Some of the mains are hit or miss, but the steak is reliably good.

For a fun, retro-Soviet experience, step into this new hot spot owned by one of Moscow's best known restauranteurs for a cold beer and a caviar sandwich. The menu and price list are reminiscent of a typical Soviet beer bar with a modern touch of today's Moscow scene.

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.

This is one of the few truly excellent Italian restaurants in a city full of pretenders. Brand chef Nicola Canuti is a pupil of French great Alain Ducasse, and his creative Mediterranean cuisine has an artistic flair. The menu is large, with standouts that include foie gras with a sangria sauce and a signature 36-hour braised lamb. Potted plants dot the sumptuous glassed-in dining room, making it feel like a modern noble's playhouse/greenhouse.

Some of the new Russian elite undoubtedly have closets bigger than this hole-in-the-wall student hangout. But what this jammed little place lacks in size it makes up in hipster-bohemian charm. The menu offers many options ideal for a late-night snack or a late-morning pick-me-up—along the lines of salmon-and-spinach pie, Russian-style sweet-cheese pancakes, and fruit smoothies. Service can be inconsistent and hectic, but a "no smoking" policy might make a wait more tolerable.

Gilded ceilings and low lighting provide a dark and romantic setting in which to enjoy fresh Pan-Asian cuisine that appears to be irresistible to a smart crowd. A long list of cocktails prepared by expert bartenders keeps the place hopping late into the night.