FIT FOR A TSAR

Get a taste of Russian splendour at these Moscow restaurants – perfect for business and pleasure

Kazbek

Georgian cuisine is arguably the most sophisticated and interesting of all the former Soviet options in Moscow. Restaurateur Andrey Dellos champions the country’s food here with a Georgian mother-and-son team in the kitchen. The design of this two-storey restaurant is also a triumph. The top floor ( pictured left and above) has aged ceilings, columns and plenty of greenery, as well as a terrace with seating for 150 guests and views of the Moskva River and the Radisson Royal Hotel. Try a starter of khinkali kalakuri, steamed dumplings filled with meat and veal (rubles 100). Mains include options of Megrelian khachapuri, a flatbread filled and topped with contrasting cheeses (rubles 590); or Black Sea perch with jonjoli, the brine-pickled flowers of a Georgian shrub (rubles 980).

■ Open 12pm-12am; 1905 Year Street, 2, Moscow, 123022; +7 495 651 8100; mykazbek.ru

Chestnaya Kuhnya

Translating as “Honest Kitchen”, this is a modern Russian restaurant by chef Sergey Eroshenko. It succeeds in feeling like the kitchen of a country house, with a Russian tiled stove in one corner upstairs, and a light-filled verandah ( pictured below). Sample dishes include Siberian river fish soup served with vorschmack (a salty pâté) on rye bread (rubles 590); Dagestan lamb loin kebab, marinated in herbs (rubles 920); or whole Volga starlet (a type of sturgeon), smoked in a Russian wood stove (rubles 1,450).

■Open 12pm-12am; Sadovaya-Chernogryazskaya, 10, Moscow, 107078; +7 495 607 5090; chest nay a kuhn ya. ru/

It succeeds in feeling like the kitchen of a country house

Beluga

Housed on the second floor of the historic National Hotel, Beluga opened at the beginning of 2017. Moscow isn’t short of places serving caviar, but this has the most extensive menu of caviar in the city, as well as Russian and International dishes. The design by Anastasia Panibratova derives inspiration from the Swan Lake story, specifically the Swan Princess as depicted on the canvas of Mikhail Vrubel. It’s a beautiful space, with a bar counter in the shape of a giant crystal caviar dish. In the dining room ( pictured above), a row of crystal chandeliers leads to a clever artwork at one end of the dining room of Russian models in kokoshniks (Russian headdresses) taking selfies in front of a mirror. Start with a tasting of types of caviar, perhaps, or maybe Sosva Lake fish with anchovy mousse (rubles 650); then follow that with a main course of salt-baked sturgeon with Abkhaz lemons and thyme (rubles 1,600), or stewed lambs’ tongues with bulgur wheat (rubles 920). ■ Open 12pm-12am; Hotel National Moscow, 2nd floor, 15/1 Mokhovaya ulitsa, 1, Moscow, 125009; +7 495 901 0336; national.ru/ restaurant-beluga

The design derives inspiration from the Swan Lake story

Seven

If you’re travelling with your family or simply want a relaxing meal with excellent food, Seven is the place. The menu combines dishes from Russian, European and Asian cuisines in a friendly format, meaning even the fussiest of children will be happy. From the grill, try the Astrakhan sturgeon, as pictured below right (rubles 1,100), or chicken breast Romano with mayonnaise (rubles 490). Asian dishes include duck with hoisin sauce (rubles 890). The two floors have been designed by architectural studio DBA-group, with concrete, blackened metals, glass pendants and wood ( pictured below left).

■ Open breakfast weekdays 11am-2pm, weekends 11am-4pm; main service 11am11pm; Dmitrovskiy Ln, 7, Moscow, 125009; +7 495 205 0277; sevenrest.ru/

Café Kranzler

Situated in the Kempinski Hotel, Café Kranzler is a name common to several Kempinskis, including Berlin. This one is styled after a European Grand Café dating from the late 19th century, successfully disguising its more recent construction. You can eat sophisticated Mitteleuropean dishes here ( Wiener schnitzel or beef stroganoff ), but also more modern creations such as a three-deck caviar starter (served with three different vodkas), or pasta “Kamchatka” – orecchiette with Alaskan king crab, lemon and salmon roe (rubles 1,600). A dessert of Russian blinis with berries, sweetened sour cream and vanilla ice-cream (rubles 500) is suitably calorific.

■ Open 10.30am-3am; Hotel Baltschug Kempinski, Ul Balchug, 1, Moscow, 115035; +7 499 503 0043; kempinski.com BT