True Cost
The cheapest restaurant in Moscow?
True Cost has a totally new concept: You pay an entrance fee (150 rubles in the day, 500 rubles in the evening) and each dish costs market price. The menu displays the average Moscow price alongside. An espresso costs 14.8 rubles, the tasty Viennese schnitzel is 138.20 rubles and the ubiquitous salad Olivier costs 74.05 rubles. Generally excellent food quality compensates for slow service.
+7 (499) 750 0050
facebook.com/Truecostbar
23/3 Ulitsa Lva Tolstogo. Metro Park Kultury
Kafana
Serbian eatery with generous portions
Kafana may mean bistro, but this Taganka joint is more of a restaurant. Serbian pop music blares from the speakers while the kitchen serves up traditional Serbian dishes. Try the Kafana platter (780 rubles), with its grilled peppers in yogurt, sausages, kaymak cheese and duck pate. The servings are huge — you'll struggle to finish more than one dish. Bring cash as Kafana doesn't accept cards.
12 Dobrovolcheskaya Ulitsa. Metro Taganskaya
Bottega Ventuno
Hearty food in an upmarket neighborhood
Bottega is the latest addition to the restaurant scene around Patriarch's Ponds. The menu covers all the Italian basics. Try the crostini with chicken liver (340 rubles) risotto with taleggio cheese (610 rubles) or the fregola with calamari (680 rubles) and polenta. Order a chilled Peroni or bring a bottle of your favorite red — there's no corkage fee.
+7 (968) 377 5005
facebook.com/Bottega-Ventuno
21/13 Ulitsa Malaya Bronnaya. Metro Pushkinskaya, Tverskaya
Vaport
Vaping hangout by the river
E-cigarette smokers are spoiled for choice at Vaport, a new bar packed with an array of e-liquids. There is no rental service (prices for e-liquids are around 3,000 rubles and other equipment considerably more), so newcomers might want to opt for a classic shisha. Vaport has a reasonably priced bar, knowledgeable staff and stays open until the early hours on the weekend.
+7 (495) 665 2321
vaport.club
1 Krasnokholmskaya Naberezhnaya, Bldg. 3. Metro Taganskaya