Support The Moscow Times!

One Stop Shop

Be transported around the globe with international cuisine and exotic delights

The newly renovated Usachyovsky Market is open from 9 a.m. daily. Usachevsky Market

Last summer, Usachyovsky Market followed the lead of hipster magnet Danilovsky Market. It was completely renovated, and several new restaurants opened.

Situated between Sportivnaya and Frunzenskaya metro stations, the first market stall appeared here in 1934. In the 1970s, a new building was constructed in the futurist style popular in the U.S.S.R.

In 2016 Alexander Martyanov, the market’s new owner, decided to give the market a facelift. The Usachyovsky facade was rebuilt using bricks from demolished 19th-century buildings and the interior was gutted.

The center of the building is now filled with fruit and vegetable stalls, meat and cheese fresh from farms in the Moscow region and beyond. There are exotic foods and spices from South-East Asia. Around the perimeter of the building is a brand new food court with cafes and a seating area so you can try out the latest culinary delights.

Mitzva is an outpost of the Mitzva bar, a restaurant of Israeli cuisine in the central Chistiye Prudy district. Usachyovsky’s Mitzva serves just three basic dishes: humus, falafel (200 rubles for nine pieces), and babaganoush – 320 rubles. You can add various things to any of the basic dishes, including olives, beans with za’atar and eggplant (30-50 rubles).

Plov.com serves three types of plov, the Central Asian version of pilaf. There is a vegetarian option and a special with chickpeas and raisins (each at 300 rubles). You can also try samsa, a pastry similar to samosa, with cheese and greens or chicken (130 rubles).

United Kitchen serves more sophisticated food. Try the “exploded duck” sandwich pulled duck, arugula, fennel, pear and onion marmalade or the “United Ruben” sandwich, a classic version with pastrami and sauerkraut served on black bread (550 rubles).

Wash it all down with a pint or two from Beer Dock, a small kiosk that has mostly European classics on draft from (200 rubles). The owners say their selection will expand to include Russian-produced craft beers.

Nearby is Camera Obscura, where the famous Moscow coffee roasters work their magic on an espresso machine. A flat white is just 140 rubles.

Read more