Moskva-Stamboul

A Turkish restaurant with vibrant Middle Eastern cuisine, grilled meats, fresh baked goods, and signature cocktails.

"Moscow-Istanbul" is a Turkish restaurant for active and modern city dwellers and guests of the city. It features vibrant Middle Eastern cuisine from Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, and Turkey. The menu offers a variety of grilled meats and traditional baked goods. Guests enjoy impressive presentations and attentive service, while the interior design and open kitchen evoke a sense of travel and transport you to the shores of the Bosphorus.

The spacious dining room of "Moscow-Istanbul," decorated in warm terracotta tones, is filled with soft light, lush greenery, and details inspired by the vibrant atmosphere of Istanbul. Upon entering, guests are greeted by the open kitchen, where cooks hand-make traditional Turkish flatbreads called "gezleme" – a scene familiar to visitors of Istanbul's streets. The transparency of the process inspires trust, creating a feeling of warmth and authenticity. A prominent display of fresh meats and vegetables sets the culinary tone and emphasizes the restaurant's commitment to quality ingredients. The space incorporates historical architectural elements of the building on Rozhdestvenskaya Street, 39, harmoniously blending old-world charm with modern Eastern aesthetics. Every detail in the interior is designed to immerse guests in the atmosphere of a true Istanbul – a vibrant, warm, and fragrant city.

The head chef of the new restaurant is Oleg Kolisnichenko from Rostov-on-Don (La Fabbrica, #5 in the WHERETOEAT South 2023 ranking), who was named the best chef in Southern Russia by WhereToEat South 2024. He is a graduate of the Parisian Institute Dunaсса Argenteuil and the IFSE culinary institute in Turin, and is known for his work at La Fabbrica by Novikov (Rostov-on-Don). He has also completed internships at Michelin-starred Casa Perbellini (Verona, Italy), Gaytan and La Cabra (Madrid, Spain), Francesco Gotti (Bergamo, Italy), and Quintonil (Mexico City, Mexico).

The menu features two breakfast options: Turkish and Moscow-style, allowing each guest to choose how to start their day. The Turkish breakfast includes a variety of appetizers, such as dried olives and peppers, grilled sucuk sausage with harissa, tvorog (farmer's cheese) pancakes, and fig and walnut jam, as well as shakshuka with labneh. The Moscow-style breakfast offers European dishes, such as porridge with seasonal berries or a fried egg with shrimp, a krill salad, a turkey "doctor's" sausage, brioche, and a cheese soufflé with raspberry sauce.

The salad and appetizer section features colorful dishes that capture the essence of Turkish cuisine. The kebab salad consists of roasted peppers and eggplant, romaine and spinach leaves, dressed with a honey-mustard sauce, and topped with grilled lamb and labneh. The fattoush with calamari is a Lebanese-style salad with fresh vegetables and romaine lettuce, seasoned croutons made from manakish flatbread, grilled calamari, dried Turkish olives, pomegranate seeds, and almond flakes. The "chaban" salad features fresh vegetables with a dressing of olive oil and pomegranate sauce, topped with sheep's cheese and nuts. The "Bloody Mary" style tartare is made with finely chopped farm-raised veal, seasoned with a signature harissa, Turkish raki vodka, pickled cucumbers, Crimean red onion, grainy mustard, the Middle Eastern spice za'atar, and Greek farm-raised sheep's cheese.

For main courses, guests can try the signature durum kebab made with grilled lamb wrapped in fresh lavash. The dish is served with green chili peppers, half a roasted tomato, cilantro, kaymak (clotted cream), a horseradish sauce, and an emerald pistachio. The menu also includes a fragrant shurpa soup made with lamb shank, large chunks of vegetables, and herbs, as well as a chicken shawarma in a Moroccan style. For groups, the Lebanese assortment and the assortment of kebabs and grilled meats are excellent choices, as is the lamb shank with bulgur, which is served directly at the table.

Special attention is paid to the baked goods: here you can find Turkish kalach, pide with lamb in the shape of a boat made of thin, airy dough, and lahmajun with beef, a thin flatbread with minced meat and Eastern spices, served with fresh tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro.

For dessert, there are traditional Eastern sweets, such as baklava with walnuts and "three milk" cake – a light sponge cake on a bed of milk sauce.

The wine list at "Moscow-Istanbul," curated by sommelier Veronika Kulikova, is designed to offer guests a wine for every taste, mood, and occasion. It combines classic and beloved styles and regions with unique options that expand the wine experience. The selection includes domestic wines from Crimea and the Krasnodar region, as well as exclusive Turkish wines in limited quantities. The following wines are recommended to complement the dishes: Malbec, Pinot Noir, or Cabernet Sauvignon with lamb loin and grilled lamb; white, rosé, or light red wines with baked goods; orange wines with the Lebanese assortment; and, as a versatile option, a sparkling wine such as Cava, Prosecco, or Cremant.

The cocktail menu at "Moscow-Istanbul," created by head bartender Semyon Kulikov, subtly incorporates motifs of Eastern aesthetics. The collection includes four types of spritzes: Mandarin Spritz, Masala Spritz, Sarti Spritz, and Campari Spritz. Each one offers a unique flavor profile: the mandarin adds a bright citrus freshness, the masala adds a warmth of spices, the sarti offers a juicy exotic mango and passion fruit flavor, and the Campari adds a recognizable Italian bitterness. The light and refreshing "Pomegranate-White Chocolate" cocktail evokes Turkish desserts, while the "Lemongrass-Cinnamon" combines citrus freshness with spice, reflecting the flavors and aromas of the markets of Asian Istanbul. All the cocktails are light, refreshing, and pair well with dishes from Eastern cuisine.