Vegetarian cafes and restaurants in Moscow
See also Vegetarian shopping in Moscow / Vegetarian Saint-Petersburg
Uncle Pasha's Joint. For the time being I'm only working on the concept but I will be happy to arrange a private demonstration for anybody with an interest in getting me involved into the food business. I am ashamed to admit that the results of my self-administered Pashulian psychoanalysis reveal that there are only three things I have a semblance of interest in, and the only one of these three that is suitable for public consumption is food.
A new vegetarian restaurant opened at Pyatnitskaya 43, stroyeniye 3. Tel.: +7 495 959 3510. Tried to do a review. Overcame aversion to excessive decoration in quasi-oriental style and forced myself to walk in. Ask for a beer while perusing their rather expensive menu. No. Asked for a coffee. No. Asked for don't remember what. No. Walked out disgusted.
Jaghannath Express. Kuznetsky most 11, Metro Kuznetsky Most, tel. +7 495 928 3580. A combination of a cafe, a restaurant, and a health food type shop. OK food, good coffee but no alcohol. Cheerful vegetarian faces combined with a surly security guard produce an effect that leaves me at a loss for words. Inability to have a beer with my meal does not help in positively describing this place either. The shop has to-fu, soy sauce, and credible-tasting fake sausage. The latter is a treat for carnivores in heart. The prices at the shop are often nearly double of what they are elsewhere in this already way overpriced city. Recently I wanted to update the review of this place but could not make myself walk in. Just not the sort of space where I am comfortable. Too much New Age and Ikea. Here is an old (around 2000) review of the place. Occasionally I drop by the shop to get to-fu or fake sausage. The attitude of the stuff remains profoundly indifferent. One example from years back that got imprinted in my mind: a homeless woman walks in, asks to have her own cup filled with hot water so that she make instant soup - and told to go away or pay for a cup of fucking hot water! I somehow thought that a bit of compassion was part of the vegetarian deal. But this land is not high on compassion. Another recent episod is from 2009, when I went to their shop for a block of to-fu. It was one of those days when air consisted largely of rain. I was soaked. When getting to-fu I touched their refrigerator and received a considerable electric shock. Naturally, I pointed to the clerk that their refrigerator needs attention. The response consisted, first, on pretending she is not hearing me. When I insisted that something needs to be done I was told that I should not be touching their refrigerator with wet hands. Still, Jaghannath remains one of its kind in Moscow and for this reason I have no choice but to recommend it.
POSSIBLY OUT OF BUSINESS. TO BE CHECKED. Put k sebe ("path towards self"). Leningradsky prospekt 10a, Metro Belorusskaya, tel. 257-3987. This cafe is par of an esoteric - whatever it means - shop.
Avocado. Chistoprudny boulevard 12-2, tel. 921-7719. Looks, feels, and costs like an upscale restaurant. Expensive. Years ago (around 2003), when Moscow was not as expensive, a snack for two was an equivalent of about $30. My guess is that a proper meal for two is no less than $60 but in the foreseeable future I will not be in a position to do a review.
SEE IF THEY ARE STILL IN BUSINESS Yamskoye Pole. Tretya ulitsa Yamskogo polya 14/16, tel. 257-1052/0490. Again, my own experience with this place is outdated but back when I tried, unsuccessfully, to make myself part of the scene, the most "vegetarian" plate they had to offer had an unidentified part of a dead chicken on it. I'll be delighted to hear a report that they have improved.
Ganga Vegetarian Cafe. Leningradsky prospekt 37-B, 3rd floor of the shopping center. Tel. 743-4984, 8-916-644-9694. I think this is a new location of a place at is or was run by the Hare Krishna people at their center by Metro Begovaya. If so, expect to find good cheap no-frills food and very functional service.
TO BE CHECKED. Veggy Bar. Leninsky prospekt 1, tel. 238-6061, veggymanager@mail.ru
More info on vegetarian cafes and shopping in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia here:
December 24, 2008
May 19, 2008
October 10, 2007
June 20, 2007
Any volunteers to write clear instructions how to find these places?
...The above notice has been in place for at least a year. Not a single response. Why do request for help posted eg. on travel, auto, and even fishing/hunting boards/sites typically attract response. Because carnivores need to cooperate. Grass eaters are prey that relies on numbers and on running fast, not on cooperative strategy. I confess I don't like vegetarians but that's another story.