Sirocco, Korolev: A Warm Wind With a Few Cold Surprises

Tucked away at ул. Подмосковная, 7 (Podmoskovniya St. 7) in Korolev, Sirocco has positioned itself as something the town hasn't quite seen before: a serious modern Mediterranean restaurant, leaning into an Italian accent and a strong Middle Eastern undercurrent, all built around the theater of live-fire cooking. The name itself is a nod to the hot desert wind that sweeps up from North Africa and the Middle East and warms the Mediterranean coast — and the restaurant clearly wants its food to carry that same sense of journey, from Josper-grilled meats to fresh-baked breads and flatbreads. Walking in, the concept comes through clearly in the menu's framing, and for the most part, the kitchen backs it up.

The Food

We started with the Turkish soup with sun-dried tomatoes (430₽), and it was a genuinely strong opening dish — hearty, rich, and layered with flavor in a way that immediately raised my expectations for the rest of the meal. It's the kind of soup that tastes like it's been simmered with real care, and I'd order it again without hesitation.

From there, I moved to the salmon with avocado, roasted pepper, and romano (1250₽). On flavor alone, this dish delivered — the salmon was well-prepared, the avocado and roasted pepper played nicely against the romano, and every bite was genuinely delicious. My only real complaint is that "every bite" amounted to just a few of them. The portion size was small. I finished the dish still hungry. Still, it was delicious.

To fill the gap, we ordered the bread basket (390₽), which turned out to be one of the highlights of the meal. It came with artisan grain bread, brioche, rye bread, and grissini, alongside a sun-dried tomato butter that was outstanding — easily good enough to make me consider ordering a second round just for the butter. If you're debating whether to add the bread basket, do it.

My date, who is vegetarian, ordered the green salad with avocado, broccoli, and grains (630₽). She was complimentary about the taste, describing it as genuinely well-made, but she was less enthusiastic about her options overall. As it turned out, this salad was one of the only vegetarian dish on the entire menu, and she made a point of saying she hoped Sirocco would expand its non-meat offerings in the future. For a restaurant so focused on a broad Mediterranean and Middle Eastern identity — cuisines that are traditionally rich in vegetarian dishes — the lack of variety felt like a missed opportunity.

To drink, I had a few gin and tonics, and my date had a couple of rum and cokes,

The Bill

I don't typically include exact prices in my reviews, but I'm breaking that habit here because the numbers are the whole story. Our final bill came to 13,225₽, a figure that genuinely surprised both of us given what we'd ordered.

Digging into the itemized bill afterward, the culprit became clear: the alcohol. I had ordered Nordes gin, and for reference, at an upscale restaurant in central Moscow, you'd expect to pay around 1100₽ for a 50ml pour. At Sirocco, getting to that same 50ml required ordering a 40ml serving for 1350₽, plus an additional quarter-serving (10ml) for another 337.5₽ (a quarter of the 1350₽ price) — bringing the total to 1687.5₽ for 50ml of the exact same gin. It was the same story with the rum and other gins.

Doing the math, that's roughly 53.4% higher than what you'd pay for the same pour at a nice restaurant in the center of Moscow. To be clear, this isn't a complaint about paying a premium for atmosphere or quality; some markup is expected and reasonable. But a markup on this scale — combined with the price of the tonic — starts to feel less 'neighborhood Mediterranean spot' and more 'Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach,' minus the ocean view, the valet, and the Ritz-Carlton.

The Verdict

Here's the thing: the food at Sirocco really is good. The soup and the bread, especially, would make me want to come back, and the salmon, portion size aside, was well-executed. As the only restaurant of its kind in Korolev — offering this style of live-fire Mediterranean cooking in a town that doesn't have much competition in this lane — Sirocco fills a real niche, and overall it was a good meal.

That said, the value question is worth flagging. The prices for the entrées are quite reasonable for such a high end restaurant, especially the only of its kind in Korolev. But the steep drink pricing, I have to knock a few points off despite genuinely enjoying the food itself. My advice: come for the soup, the bread, and the sun-dried tomato butter, but be clear about pricing before ordering cocktails or spirits. And if you're bringing a vegetarian guest, manage their expectations — there's currently just the one option for them.