Bars

Delicatessen – Moscow

Delicatessen - Moscow found at The Pouring Tales 7

Moscow is a special place. If you read about my travels to Chainaya you know at least one reason why. But the city has much more to offer than just bars, but I would not know where to start. I could go on for hours. That the city offers a second top bar is just the icing on the cake. It was a big surprise when I read about two bars being in the top 50. Still though I was very curious seeing the second bar that found its way into the realm of the best of the best.

Delicatessen in Moscow

The bar

I heard that this place is not only a bar but also a restaurant. At least when you read about it, it comes across like this. Inside though its a good mixture between bar and restaurant. The food, to start with, is excellent. Even if you are not a cocktail fan, go there to have a bite or two. Its well worth it. Chainaya and Delicatessen are not located too far from each other but then again distances take another dimension when it comes to Moscow. Things are just far and traffic can get crazy. Luckily Moscow has probably the best metro system in the world. In all my travels I have not come across a better one. First of all it is reliable. Secondly it is a museum. You could spend hours seeing the pillars, floors, sculptures and walls full of history. You feel like in a spy movie when you drift through the endless halls and walkways. Its very deep underground. The moving stairways seem not to end so far down they go. It almost feels you are entering a radioactive secure bunker. Last but not least another astonishing fact is the frequency. 45 seconds headway between each train at peak times. Just amazing!

Delicatessen in Moscow

Creative recipes

You missed one, well just walk a few meters down the hall, the next one is approaching already. Delicatessen is close to Mayakovskaya station, one of the top 3 to visit I would say. Marble floor, art deco arches, illuminated ceilings and pillars. A masterpiece of architecture. From the station you just walk 10  minutes on foot and you enter through a small street into a residential courtyard. It would be very hard to find if there wouldn’t be this rather unfavourable entrance outside that almost looks like a temporary solution. As delicatessen is written rather big on the side you know you are at the right place. You follow a few steps down to enter a stylish bar that could easily be located in a trendy London hotel. A mixture between living room, bistro and pub. Cosy small tables, a blackboard, a fireplace with firewood and English tapestry with a cute pattern. If you are looking for a drink menu you can look all you want but Delicatessen does not have one. Instead you tell the skilled bartender what you like and in which direction it shall go.

Delicatessen in Moscow

Bistro style

If you have no idea at all, at least choose a base spirit and tell them if you like it fruity or rather dry. They can do something for everybody. Also the various non alcoholic lemonades are very tasty and you surely want to order another one to taste. But let’s stick to cocktails. Looking over to the bar you see some barrels which can give you some interesting ideas what one of the specialities here is. Barrel aged spirits and infusions. When I ordered something in the direction of a Manhattan, Elizaveta, the female bartender with the ginger hair, quickly offered me the Pedro Manhattan, a drink with oak aged Bourbon and PX Sherry. I am not a fan of Old Fashioned bitter, which unfortunately found its way into this composition. I had the feeling that Angostura would have done the better trick. It was just a bit heavy on the cinnamon. Otherwise a flavourful drink decorated with a PX Sherry soaked cherry that tasted delicious. You even get a small box with a button to press. Once you do so, you see an old counter on top of the bar that tells you how many have been served up to now. A nice little interaction.Water is served with your drinks which is always a nice addition. Unfortunately also here you get some cheap white paper napkin like in so many bars before.

Delicatessen in Moscow

Another excellent creation

After a few seconds it is soaked and it looks like you had a terrible blocked nose and you had to use it. Excuse the rather visual imagination. The bar is non smoking so you have to find your way back up into the courtyard to have a smoke. My second cocktail was another recommendation by Elizaveta. They call it Suzerac; a Sazerac that has Suze in it. Well quite obvious when you hear the name. It does not have much to do with the real Sazerac. Calvados, Suze, Sugar and Peychaud bitter. An interesting combination but I have to say it smelt a bit like I have just been to the dentist. Sounds worse than it actually was, I just did not expect that. Unfortunately I did not have the time nor the thirst to try another cocktail but overall I liked the place and despite my slight disappointment over the drinks choice I would definitely be back to give it another try.

Photos © Delicatessen

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