Russian cuisine in Moscow ? You’ll soon find yourself at a table at the Café Pushkin, because it’s Russian, it’s authentic and its slap bang in the centre of the capital. But I must warn you that the “bortsch” is a veritable challenge. You will swiftly understand that vodka is not a drink but an indispensable part of the meal – playing an almost medical role, since one cannot manage to digest properly without it. The Café Pushkin, which is consistently recommended to foreigners, is a stylisation of Russian cuisine as it was in the 19th century. It is classic, heavy, coarse and almost brutal – the work of people who came in from the cold.
A mere stone’s throw from the Café Pushkin lies another restaurant, “Varvari” (which means The Barbarians), an establishment that has long since been involved in interpreting ‘barbaric’ Russian cuisine into a somewhat more contemporary vernacular. Anatoly Komme is the chef and owner, which enables him to present dishes that are not so easy to understand. Russian cuisine with Komme has undergone the same metamorphosis as French cuisine of yesteryear thanks to the work of today’s chefs. Dinner at Varvari is a gourmet show that presents essential flavours in closely studied doses. Liquid dark bread or a piece of sunflower oil ? Here you will be served an almost Japanese-style roll with the taste of herring and beetroot – a veritable ‘hokku’ (Japanese term for starting verse) developed on a classic herring ‘poem’ lying beneath beetroot, a popular family dish from the Soviet era. The bortsch arrives as an emulsion presenting two granules (one with ham essence and the other flavoured with marrow-bone), poured over a frozen ball of country sour cream. Komme makes a point of honour of using Russian produce only. Consequently, the crab is fished in Kamchatka, while the oysters and scallops are supplied by fishermen on the Russian coasts of the Sea of Japan. Varvari is expensive even for Moscow and the wines cost a fortune, but one can choose to sample traditional Abrau-Durso sparkling wines from southern Russia – and to skip the Vodkatherapy.
A mere stone’s throw from the Café Pushkin lies another restaurant, “Varvari” (which means The Barbarians), an establishment that has long since been involved in interpreting ‘barbaric’ Russian cuisine into a somewhat more contemporary vernacular. Anatoly Komme is the chef and owner, which enables him to present dishes that are not so easy to understand. Russian cuisine with Komme has undergone the same metamorphosis as French cuisine of yesteryear thanks to the work of today’s chefs. Dinner at Varvari is a gourmet show that presents essential flavours in closely studied doses. Liquid dark bread or a piece of sunflower oil ? Here you will be served an almost Japanese-style roll with the taste of herring and beetroot – a veritable ‘hokku’ (Japanese term for starting verse) developed on a classic herring ‘poem’ lying beneath beetroot, a popular family dish from the Soviet era. The bortsch arrives as an emulsion presenting two granules (one with ham essence and the other flavoured with marrow-bone), poured over a frozen ball of country sour cream. Komme makes a point of honour of using Russian produce only. Consequently, the crab is fished in Kamchatka, while the oysters and scallops are supplied by fishermen on the Russian coasts of the Sea of Japan. Varvari is expensive even for Moscow and the wines cost a fortune, but one can choose to sample traditional Abrau-Durso sparkling wines from southern Russia – and to skip the Vodkatherapy.
