Light snacks usually means "open-faced sandwiches" (buterbrod) with cheese, meat, caviar, some baked goods, juices, cognac and champagne.

Music usually means recorded music. Look for "Orchestra", "Chamber Music" or "Band" for live music. Some have dance floors, "variety shows" with singing of contemporary music, dance line and comedy. The "shows" that feature striptease will be obvious from their advertising. A "cultural evening" may include classical music, poetry and Russian romantic ballads.

Folklore and gypsy are usually in national costumes and feature folk dancing and national songs. Russian romances point to an evening of melancholic love songs.

Moscow has over 1000 eating establishments from the numerous very basic, inexpensive cafeterias to the most elegant restaurants in old palaces and hotels. In addition to restaurants and cafes, there are many other types of places to eat and the food, while simple, can be quite good.

CAUCASIAN When they mention Caucasian cuisine, they mean a variety of dishes based on meat and accompanied by spicy dressings and sauces, as well as fresh and pickled vegetables. In the restaurants listed below you will find the following specialties: shashlik (shish kebab), khinkali (large steamed dumplings), chebureki (thin fried bread with a meat filling), khachapuri (bread and melted cheese), lavash (bread), lobio (spiced beans), tsatsivi (a cold dish of chicken in walnut sauce), chanakhi (spicy lamb-based soup), kyufta (rice soup with meat balls), tolma (grape leaves stuffed with ground beef and rice), gozinakh (honey with walnut dessert), piti (lamb and potato soup), kharcho (spicy meat soup), markurma (roast lamb with pomegranates), gutap (stuffed crepes).
Georgian: Plov, pilaf, shashlik (shish kabob), khinkali (large steamed dumplings), hachapuri (bread and melted cheese), lavash (bread).
Azerbajani: shashlik, dolmas, plov, piti (lamb and potato soup) hot solguni cheese, kharcho (spicy meat soup), markurma (roast lamb with pomegranets), Satsavi chicken in coriander sauce, falafel, bahkhlava, gutap (stuffed crepes).
Uzbek: lagnian (meat and noodle soup), manty (spicy lamb dumplings), and plovi.

CHINESE Chinese cuisine offers a great variety of dishes. Traditional Chinese restaurants feature specialties prepared from fish, seafood delicacies, pork, beef, chicken, duck and rabbit. Exotic dishes from snails, eels, turtles, frogs, sharks, octopuses are also widely available. For garnish they serve rice with vegetables, ham, eggs, etc. The methods of preparation include stir-frying, stewing, steaming, deep-frying, flash frying, pan-frying and so forth. A dish may be savory, sweet, tart, or piquant. Vegetables, such as cut or sculptured tomatoes, cucumbers, and so forth may be used to add to the visual appeal of the dish.

EUROPEAN In restaurants with European cuisine they serve dishes from meat, fish and poultry (usually fried or stewed), mushrooms, seafood delicacies. Entrees are offered with an exquisite sauce with good cuts of meat, green salads, rolls, lightly spiced. For garnish they serve vegetables, potatoes or rice. Most popular desserts include fancy cakes, ice cream, whipped cream and fruit.

FRENCH French cuisine is world-famed both for its quality and its variety. French restaurants serve a wide choice of meat, poultry and fish dishes, as well as oysters, shrimps, mussels, clams, crabs and other seafood specialties. Herbs and spices are used on a large scale and in a variety of combinations. Delicious French cheeses of many types are also widely available. French wines are not only perfect drinks, but also ingredients for preparing of exquisite dishes. To appease your sweet teeth, try tasty desserts, which may include pastries, stuffed crepes, cakes topped with chocolate, fruit and whipped cream, ice cream, mousses.

GERMAN If you want to have a shot of beer and to eat something substantial, German restaurant is your obvious choice. Here they serve wurst with sauerkraut, dishes from pork and fish, thick soups with meat, smoked food, sausages. Very common are potato dishes, prepared with onions, mushrooms, ham. Strong flavors, solid foods, thirst-quenching beverages, this is German cuisine at its best.

INDIAN If you are a vegetarian, turn to Indian restaurant, where vegetarian options are widely available. Another strong feature of Indian cuisine are flavored specialties from chicken, meat or fish, cooked in Tandoori ovens and served with rice or beans. Try as well Tandoori bread, which is especially warm and soft. To finish your meal, take a few long sips of perfect Indian tea. Soft music, dancing and styled interior will also contribute to making your dining experience unforgettable.

ITALIAN The world famous Italian specialties, pizza and pasta, are widely available in Italian restaurants. Pizza is served with various toppings of vegetables, mushrooms, meat or seafood. Pasta is accompanied by different sauces and is served with cheese, mushrooms, vegetables, meat, ham, fish. Dishes from pork, beef and fish also find their way onto the menu, and are served with wine sauces, cheese and vegetables. And do not forget to toast your companion with exhilarating Italian wine!

JAPANESE Japanese food is considered to be very healthy. The emphasis is made to seafood, including octopuses, calamari, spiny lobsters, mollusks, crabs, sea-kale, fish. Spices and chili sauces are used in very limited amounts, not to beat the taste of main ingredients. The traditional Japanese specialty is sushi - a dish consisting of thin slices of fresh raw fish or seaweed wrapped around a cake of cooked rice. Another famous dish is sukiyaki - assorted sliced meat, vegetables and seasonings fried on a portable stove right before your eyes. The traditional Japanese liquor is called saki and is made from fermented rice.

JEWISH Kosher food is prepared according to strict Jewish laws. Pork, clams, sheat-fish, eel pout and sturgeon are forbidden; you are not allowed to mix meat and dairy products. Menu in Jewish restaurant starts with a choice of entrees, including forshmak (baked hashed meat or herring with sliced potatoes and onions) and stuffed fish. For main course, meat and fish dishes in sauer-sweet sauce are the most common options. Desserts are prepared from dairy products, fruit, nuts, honey.

KOREAN Appetizers in Korean cuisine are prepared from carrots, new fern and freshly pickled fish. For main meal they serve kuksa noodles with broth, or ravioli prepared on steam. Among meat dishes the best known are kalbi (beef ribs flesh) and pulgoki (fried meat cut into small pieces and wrapped into salad leaf). For garnish they usually serve rice. Hot spices are also very popular.

MEXICAN Come to Mexican restaurant and indulge your appetite for hot and spicy delights of Tex-Mex cooking. A Mexican meal is not a meal without tortillas- the round, flat, pancake-like disks that are eaten with nearly any non-dessert dish, including salads, meats, seafood, beans and vegetables. Traditional meat dishes include cabrito (roasted kid goat), carnitas (braised pig chopped into thin slices), fajitas (strips of beef grilled over coals) and more. The choice of seafood varies from shellfish, oysters, clams and scallops to crabs, shrimps, crayfish, lobsters and abalone. Mexican tequila is a famous alcoholic liquor. If you want something softer, try Margarita - a cocktail made with tequila and lemon or lime juice. Suddenly you feel Latin fire coursing through your veins, and you want to dance. It’s fiesta time!

RUSSIAN Modern Russian cuisine very much resembles European cooking. Dishes are overwhelmingly based on fried or stewed meat, fish or poultry, garnished with potatoes, vegetables or rice. Old style Russian cooking of the Boyar’s table includes dishes from sturgeon, white sturgeon, salmon, geese, ducks, partridges, hazel-hens, game (meat of wild animals), mushrooms, caviar, bliny (thin crepes), pies, pelmeni (Russian version of ravioli).

SEAFOOD Here we list restaurants, where you can try both traditional Russian and European seafood specialties, and exotic delights of French, Japanese and Thai cuisine prepared from alligators, lobsters, oysters, shrimps.

SPANISH In Spanish restaurants there is a good choice of seafood, including shrimps, calamari, octopuses, mussels, varieties of fish. Among meat specialties the most common are dishes from pork, mutton, beef, smoked food. The characteristic feature of Spanish cooking is that in some dishes many different ingredients are mixed. For example, paella is cooked from rice, chicken chunks, shrimp, mussels, paprika and green peas. Among traditional appetizers there are olives, sausages, mushrooms, seafood. Menu always features a variety of vegetables and fruit. And every meal is accompanied by a glass of good wine almost as a matter of course.

Restaurant - Restoran
The Russians make a very clear distinction between the word for "restaurant" and all other places to eat. The "classic Russian restaurant" means high class, good-quality, expensive with a special cuisine and champagne, wine and vodka and often an orchestra, variety show or music. This type of restaurant is frequently found in large hotels .

Cafe - Kafe
The word "Cafe" is loosely used in Russian and refers to anything from an elegant little restaurant serving steak and lobster to a basic coffee shop serving tea, juice, pastries, and ice cream but no coffee. In general cafes are smaller and less formal. In this book those cafes that serve something hot and substantial to eat, from sandwiches, soup, pizzas and good pancakes to steaks and fish are included under RESTAURANTS & CAFES. Those cafes that serve mostly drinks, pastries and ice cream are listed under CAFES.

Grill Bar - Gril Bar
Serves drinks, grilled meats, often chicken & sometimes "shashlyk" (shish kabobs).

Beer Bar - Pivnoy Bar
Serves beer and appetizers; a beer restaurant has a more extensive menu.

Pancake House - Blinnaya
Serves Russian blinys, thin pancakes filled with jam or meat and baked pastries.

Pizzeria - Pitstseriya
Russian pizza is different but tasty.

Fast Food Cafes:
Bistro - Bistro
Just a minute - Minutka
Moment - Moment
All mean "fast" in Russian and are stand-up places for a quick cup of coffee, open-faced sandwich, salad and soup, see FAST FOOD.

Ice Cream Cafe - Kafe-morozhenoe
Serves ice cream, coffee, chocolates, sweets, champagne and cognac. See ICE CREAM.

Donuts - Pyshechnaya
Serve coffee & Russian-style donut-puffs

Cafeteria - Kafeteriy
Dinner - Stolovaya
Buffet - Bufet
These are basically "cafeteria", very cheap and very basic. Eat at one only if a Russian recommends it. The better ones are often operated by an organization, factory, or firm.

Swedish Table - Svedskiy Stol refers to a buffet type restaurant in hotels, often offered for breakfast.

See the related categories of TIPPING and ETIQUETTE ANS LOCAL CUSTOMS.
Reservations are highly recommended, especially for larger and popular restaurants. For reservations, call and ask for the "Administrator" or "Maitre D'Hotel".
Tipping: 10% is a reasonable tip for good service in a sit down restaurant.