My list of saved places in Moscow had food halls, bars and art spaces, but hardly anywhere just to eat well: no Russian food, no breakfast. So this one is put together from travel guides and food guides — from a Soviet-style canteen in GUM to Ugolek, which got a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2021 — and every place is checked on Google: still open, rated 4.2 or higher. I haven't written my own notes yet, so the descriptions come from Google Maps reviews.
Prices are Google's average spend per person, valid as of 7 October 2026. Rate: $1 ≈ 85 ₽. Where Google gives no price, there's none.
In short
- A Soviet canteen by the Kremlin: Stolovaya No. 57 in GUM, under 1,000 ₽; the queue can be long but moves fast.
- Cheap and quick: Cheburechnaya SSSR on Sretenka, chebureki fried to order; packed at lunchtime.
- Russian classics in style: Cafe Pushkin on Tverskoy Boulevard, and Dr. Zhivago in the National hotel with a view of the Kremlin.
- Round the clock: Dr. Zhivago and Coffeemania on Bolshaya Nikitskaya are open 24 hours, Cafe Pushkin from Friday to Sunday.
- Dinner: Ugolek — scallops, tartare and a good wine list, 2,000–6,000 ₽; book ahead.
Russian food and Soviet classics
Stolovaya No. 57
Red Square · canteen · up to 1,000 ₽ (≈up to $12) · daily 10:00–22:00
Google Maps · GUM, Red Square, 3
According to Google Maps reviews (4.4 from 3,300+): a canteen in the spirit of Soviet public catering on the top floor of GUM — grab a tray, load up on salads, soups, hot dishes and drinks, and pay at the end of the line. Every dish has a price tag with an English name, though the staff speak only Russian, and plenty of the diners are locals. Portions are small, prices are high for a canteen, and some call the food average. For dessert, people recommend the baked apple.
Cheburechnaya SSSR
Sukharevskaya · cheburek café · Mon–Fri 8:00–23:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–23:00
Google Maps · website · Ulitsa Sretenka, 21/28 bldg 1
According to Google Maps reviews (4.4 from 1,200+): a cheburek café with a nostalgic Soviet interior: you order at the counter, pointing at dishes if need be, and it's ready in minutes. The chebureki — fried pastries — are made fresh with meat, cheese, potato or mushrooms, with vegetarian options; wash them down with kvass or berry kompot and finish with a "kartoshka" cake. Cheap and no-nonsense, no English spoken, and packed at lunchtime.
Cafe Pushkin
Tverskoy Boulevard · Russian food · Mon–Thu 9:00–0:00, Fri–Sun open 24 hours
Google Maps · website · Tverskoy Blvd, 26A
According to Google Maps reviews (4.6 from 6,700+): a restaurant set in the rooms of a nobleman's mansion, full of antiques, with formal service. Reviewers praise the borscht, pelmeni, soups and the signature dessert; prices are high for the food, but you're paying for the setting and the service. If you're not up for a full dinner, the café attached to the restaurant does coffee and cake. In 2021 it made the Michelin Guide's selection.
Grand Cafe Dr. Zhivago
Okhotny Ryad · Russian food · open 24 hours
Google Maps · website · Mokhovaya St, 15/1 bldg 1, National hotel
According to Google Maps reviews (4.4 from 4,500+): a big, bright café in the National hotel with huge windows facing the Kremlin, a couple of minutes from Red Square and open round the clock. Reviewers like the borscht, the Olivier salad, the cappuccino and the breakfasts. The downsides: mornings are busy and coffee takes a while, and the front desk draws complaints about muddled bookings.
Breakfast, coffee and dinner
Coffeemania
Nikitskaya · café and breakfast · up to 4,000 ₽ (≈up to $47) · open 24 hours
Google Maps · website · Bolshaya Nikitskaya St, 13
According to Google Maps reviews (4.4 from 1,500+): a branch of the Moscow chain Coffeemania by the Conservatory, open round the clock. Reviewers love the breakfasts — porridge, omelette, salmon toast with sour cream, and a raf coffee — and, later in the day, the mushroom soup, poke and tom yum; the desserts get a mention too. Staff speak English, early mornings are quiet and late evenings can be busy. Not cheap, but reviewers find the prices fair for the portions and quality.
Volkonsky Bakery
Mayakovskaya · bakery-café · daily 8:00–22:00
Google Maps · website · Bolshaya Sadovaya St, 2/46 bldg 1
According to Google Maps reviews (4.4 from 700+): a small bakery-café that smells of fresh bread. Reviewers like the honey cake, the raspberry tart, the rum baba, the homemade cakes and the ice cream, and the staff are friendly. The downsides: some pastries can be dry, one guest found the tuna sandwich tiny for the price, and another thought the sbiten tasted like sweet water.
Ugolek
Nikitskaya · restaurant · 2,000–6,000 ₽ (≈$24–71) · Mon–Thu 9:00–0:00, Fri–Sat 9:00–2:00, Sun 9:00–0:00
Google Maps · website · Bolshaya Nikitskaya St, 12
According to Google Maps reviews (4.5 from 1,800+): a restaurant with an industrial look — seafood, meat and vegetables, with breakfast in the morning. Reviewers praise the scallops, the mushroom soup, the beef tartare, the veal and the pavlova, plus a good wine list and a summer terrace. Evenings are very busy, so book; parking is hard, so a taxi is easier. One guest found the breakfasts weaker than lunch and dinner. In 2021 it got a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
One last thing
Almost all of this is walking distance from the Kremlin: Stolovaya No. 57 on Red Square, Dr. Zhivago across the way, and Coffeemania and Ugolek next door to each other on Bolshaya Nikitskaya. For a late dinner, Dr. Zhivago and Coffeemania are open round the clock.
More on Moscow: bars and food halls, what to see.