Landed in London A well known restaurant for Russian food aficionados, Mari Vanna originated in the Motherland (two branches in Moscow and St Petersburg) and has quickly expanded its family tree over to New York. All restaurants are modeled after a theme of a mythical woman (called Mari Vanna) inviting guests over at her house …
We decided to take a detour to Shinok because we wanted to take the piss out of it. This, we heard, was a “fake” farm restaurant where you could pet animals. Not clear enough? … While it’s not extraordinary that Russians do love theming their restaurant, they – the restaurateurs behind Cafe Pushkin and Turandot …
While my trust in San Pellegrino’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants has recently wavered, it would still be out of my character that when in Moscow I would miss out on Anatoly Komm’s Varvary which, according to that list, is ranked no.48 and the only restaurant from Russia to make it in the 50 cut. Guess …
Mari Vanna is a house restaurant. Sounds unique and enticing? .. But there is a catch. Mari Vanna is also a successful, ever-growing restaurant empire. There is one in Moscow, two others in St Petersburg and New York, and, well, another one will soon be opened in London (Knightsbridge precisely and walkable from Dinner by …
Two so-so meals at Cafe Pushkin could already have shattered my expectation of the Pushkin’s and we could have given Confectionery Pushkin (just next door to the restaurant a miss). NOPE. This did not happen. I had Pushkin cakes half a year back in Paris, at a small Cafe Pouchkine – very annoyingly Francocentric spelling …
Cafe Pushkin is a bit like The Wolseley. Grand and institutional. It travels you back to a more elegant, pompous past. A fake one, unfortunately. Waiters in 19th century costume, ornate panels, crafted ceilings, vintage telescopes, porcelain toilet bowls to make sure the diners bums won’t itch.. All this is recreated by Russia’s iconic restaurateur …