Moscow and St. Petersburg

Anyone have any suggestions for places to dine and/or drink (I would like to hit up a club in Moscow)? Thank you!

The last (only) time I was there, St. Petersburg was still called Leningrad and all the restaurants and clubs were state owned. That said, the food wasn't all that bad, and the further away you got from Moscow, the more likely you were to find a touch of autonomy on the menu. Restaurants in Armenia and Ukraine served up well prepared local food items while those closer to Red Square were forced to dish up Kremlin dictated fare.

We only got to one club, a riverboat venue on the canals of Leningrad. The language barrier and lack of understanding of Soviet Nightclub Protocol limited us to a carafe of nauseatingly sweet dessert wine served with a bowl of hard candy. The ultimate brain-burner was delivered by the house band who insisted on playing "The Night Chicago Died" (five years after its peak "popularity" in the States) over and over and over and over and over...again.

All in all, we had an amazing trip. I hope yours is the same.

Buddy

We were in the Baltics a few years ago and I have a few suggestions for dining. Can't help with clubs.

St. Petersburg

Tsar.....Russian in a classic setting
Friekadelki…..lunch
Podvorye…housed in an old wooden building, traditional Russian near Catherine’s Palace, good for lunch
Terrassa(Ginza Project) contemporary great view lunch or dinner

Moscow

Barashka (Azerbaijani)
Tikesh (Russian)

I visited Russia a couple years ago but never got around to posting, admittedly lots of vodka made some of the details fuzzy. I ate much better than I ever expected, largely because of the various pan-Soviet cuisines that are easily available all across St Petersburg and Moscow. I can't remember the details of the meals, but I do have the list I used. Many of the links from my records no longer work, but I can help you hunt some of these down if simple googling doesn't work.

St Petersburg
Erivan for Armenian food
Bliny Domik for fast food blinies
Khorchma Salo for Ukrainian
Samovar for blinies and tea in a charming setting
Russkaya Charka for classic Russian (I recall eating bear meat amongst other things)

Moscow
Cafe Mumu for cheap and quick if not totally delicious
Sakhli for Georgian food
Teremok for fast food blinies
Kish Mish for Uzbek
Elki Palki for classic Russian buffet, similar to Cafe Mumu but more atmosphere
Cafe Pushkin for classic Russian court food, much more affordable than I expected based on what I read, tons of atmosphere and the food was good too
Shesh Besh for Azeri food, I recall this being one of the worst meals of the bunch

Staryy Faeton (Старый Фаэтон, the old carriage) has bread and circuses and truly local color in Moscow - sort of a Rush Street meets Greektown vibe, not particularly geared to tourists but if you have a local friend it's something to see, with dramatic indoor-outdoor spaces and history. The bottom line is very well prepared food from the Caucasus, scratch Armenian and Georgian breads and relishes, pit-cooked lamb and fowl, and a well-handled grill.

http://www.restoran-staryifaeton.ru/
Nikitskaya B. St, House 55, Moscow, Russia

For a Neo-at-the-start-of-the-Matrix experience, Mr. Lee (http://novikovgroup.ru/restaurants/mr-lee/) is a rabbit hole to follow from food to spa to club. The dumplings and duck service and over-the-top decor are what Turandot used to be renowned for. It's expensive for what you get (as is a lot of Moscow) but since you mentioned clubbing, it's a relatively friendly point of entry.

Sorry for the very late response. Had to dig some names back up and got sidetracked:

Dyadya Vanya (Uncle Vanya) (Moscow)
Wonderful, cozy, not expensive, and very good Russian food but, I fear, may be gone. No English spoken but an English language menu.

Aragvi (Moscow)
Supposedly a favorite of Stalin's. Georgian food, over the top, fantastic room, great food, expensive, but an unforgettable experience. No one there spoke English--at least when I was there--and my Russian is basic, but I did just fine.

Kitezh (Moscow)
A kick: done up according to the Russian folklore legend about the city of Kitezh. Good Russian food, not expensive. Again, a comfy place, easy to relax. English spoken, as I recall.

Davidov (St. Petersburg)
Very fancy, very expensive. A splurge. English is no problem--spoken and translated menus. Russian and "international" cuisines. Despite the opulence and excellence, I found something lacking. It might have been the bloodless service.... Don't know. It's also unclear whether this has survived or turned into something else.

Laima (St. Petersburg)
Fast food. They have about three dozen Russian meals listed on the chalkboard. Not only is it served fast and hot, but it is terrific food. And the choices are not exactly typical fast-food: borsch, stuffed peppers, kebabs.... I'm willing to bet you'll never find a better fast-food place anywhere in the world. (And if you do, I want to know about it!)

Cafe Idiot (St. Petersburg).
Here's what I wrote some time ago: "Vegetarian food in a wonderfully warm, cozy place. A few steps down from the sidewalk, this is several rooms with low vaulted ceilings, well-worn comfy furniture, and loads of odds and ends (from board games to reading material) to keep you occupied. I wasn't thrilled with my meal, but think I made the wrong choice. (Stuffed cabbage, at least in my book, is better when it's stuffed with meat, not more veggies.) Still, I'd return in a moment. Very mellow, very cozy. They even have jazz on weekends (says my guidebook--they were merely playing it on tape when I visited)."

Graf Suvorov (St. Petersburg)
My very abbreviated review: "The best restaurant I visited in Russia. Be prepared to spend money but get your tastebuds ready for exquisite food and top-notch service. There are two (I think) small rooms, beautifully decorated, just below street level. I cannot speak highly enough of this restaurant and the spectacular meal I had there. If this is what you're looking for, straighten your tie, shine your shoes, and get ready for a fabulous meal!" "Very old style. You take your grandma there. Iif memory serves, barely audible music. And that is likely to be drowned out by the tinkle of the ice in the glass. More like a private salon. Exquisite linens and table service, excellent service. Pricey. Worth it if you want to think yourself back in tsarist days."


ADDRESSES
Dyadya Vanya
(I'm having trouble finding it; it is/was on ul. Petrovka, I think, near ul. Petrovskiye linii
Moscow

Aragvi
ul. Tverskaya, 6
Moscow

Kitezh
ul. Petrovka, 23/10
http://www.kitezh-town.ru/en
Moscow

Davidov
Bolshaya Morskaya ul., 39
(in the Hotel Astoria)
St. Petersburg

Laima (a/k/a Layma)
nab. Griboedova, 30/16; a few doors in from Nevsky Prospekt
St. Petersburg

Cafe Idiot
nab. Moika, 82 (a/k/a Reki Moyki, 82)
http://idiot-spb.com/eng/
St. Petersburg

Graf Suvorov
ul. Lomonosova, 6 (Metro: Gostiny Dvor) a few steps down from the sidewalk
St. Petersburg