Moscow - Post Report Question and Answers
What typical restaurants, food delivery services, and/or takeout options are popular among expatriates?
There are many excellent restaurants and Yandex eats plus other food delivery services are readily available. It helps to have a Russian debit card from SberBank or another Russian bank. They aren't too difficult to get and you can load cash onto them at ATMs. - Dec 2023
Food delivery is available for pretty much all types of cuisine. Moscow has a vibrant food scene, which is only growing. The things I missed, were fast casual options that weren't fast food. In Moscow it seemed to me that it was either fast food or you were sitting down at a restaurant. I sense that will change in the coming years. There are great food options in Moscow, from Georgian food, which is very popular to Thai, Indian, etc, etc. - Mar 2019
There are many many many good bars, restaurants, and food take out/delivery services available. Great! - Nov 2018
All is available and as well some very good Georgian/Uzbek restaurants. Delivery of groceries is widely available. - Oct 2017
Plenty of restaurants including McDonald's, Burger King, KFC and the like. There are plenty of Russian, Georgian and sushi places too. - Sep 2016
Lots. Many of the standard U.S. chains are here plus many European chains and Russian restaurants. You will not go hungry here. - May 2016
Yes, available and ubiquitous, including all major Western chains as well as Russian alternatives such as Teremok. Slightly pricier than in the US. - Sep 2015
McDonald's, Shake Shack, Starbucks, KFC, Dunkin' Donuts, Krispy Kreme. - Jun 2015
Fast food prices are definitely higher than the U.S. I think we went to McDonald's and spent close to US$15 for what would be US$7 in the States. They do have a ton of options to choose from but we preferred going to Khacapuri for yummy Georgian cuisine for less than US$30 for two people. - Oct 2014
Tons - lots of U.S. fast food and restaurant chains but Moscow also offers great Georgian, Central Asian, and Asian cuisine. There is something for every palate here. - Nov 2013
Fast food is about 25% more expensive than the U.S. and more U.S. chains are becoming available. Sit down restaurants have good lunch deals, but become 50% more expensive than the U.S. for dinner. Customer service quality varies greatly, though it's getting better. This is a difficult city for vegetarians. - Jul 2013
McDonald's, Burger King, Cinnabon, Dunkin Donuts, and Starbucks are all here. I've never eaten fast food here, but it's probably more expensive than back in the U.S. Starbucks is definitely pricier, but there are some good Russian chains that are less expensive. There are lots of Italian restaurants in Moscow. Muscovites seem to be obsessed with Uzbek cuisine and sushi. Russian restaurants abound, and Soviet-nostalgia-themed restaurants seem to be popping up. Anything you want to eat you can probably find. The Volkonsky bakery chain is very good. We've had wonderful, but very expensive, Indian food here. Have I mentioned that restaurants are expensive? Dinner for two at our favorite Indian place (including beer) is well over $100. Lunch can easily run $30 per person if you go out near the embassy. The food here is good, but you certainly pay for it. - Jul 2013
Every possible fast food place except for Arby's and Taco Bell. Old Arbat has 2 Cinnabon's for some reason. The cost is higher than in the US, but the price for everything is higher here. - Jan 2013
McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King are all near the embassy, there are a lot of decent restaurants as well. The general rule of thumb here is that the cost ofa meal/drink will be double the U.S. cost. - Mar 2012
We have most fast food here. McD's, Burger King, KFC, even a Chili's and Dunkin Donuts. There's also Baskin Robbins, and a Wendy's is supposed to open soon. Fast food is more expensive here than in the States. A Burger King lunch for three is about 800 rubles, so about $28. There are lots of expensive restaurants and some pretty affordable places. MyMy (moo moo) is a chain of inexpensive, cafeteria-style home-cooking that we like. Shockoladitza is a good coffee house/lunch place (around $15 for a lunch). Sushi is VERY popular for some reason, and there's a sushi place on every corner. You can also find Thai, Indian, Georgian, etc. - May 2011
Tons. Street food is tasy and good (e.g. shashlik, doner kebab, grilled chicken) as well McD's, etc. Restaurants are plentiful and very expensive. - Jan 2011
All of the fast food brands are represented here. McDonalds is particularly cheap. Other fast food options include hot dog stands (Star Dogs), baked potato stands, blini (crepes) stands, etc. As a major world city, Moscow does boast some fine dining (an example is Nobu) but at high prices. An average meal without alcohol at a moderate restaurant can run as high as $100 USD per person. - Jul 2010
McDonald's, Burger King and Dunkin Donuts just opened; KFC. Everything is EXPENSIVE here. - May 2010
McDonalds in Moscow is the BEST I've had. No joke. The food actually looks like the picture. It's cheap too. Papa John's just opened up, although it's a pain to get to. A Euromall opened up near the K7 and K14 buildings, and very easy to get to by metro. It's a huge, modern shopping center with plenty of restaurants. The Georgian restaurants are some of the best, too. Plenty to eat and do on the Starry Arbat (near the embassy) and on Noviy Arbat. The embassy community really loves to eat out in Moscow. Many of the menus are printed in English and Russian. A word of advice: don't expect great service, and the food often comes out very slowly. - May 2010
Fast food chains are there, and street kiosks. Expensive dining is also freely available, but true fine dining, with high quality food and service, is available only at a few places. I love fresh fruit and vegetables from a market near me. I can even get live lobster there, although, like anything nice in Moscow, its very expensive. - Feb 2010
Many U.S. fast food chains are here: McDonalds, KFC (called Rostiks here) Pizza hut, TGIF.Cheap Russian options include streetside kiosks such as StarDogs (hot-dogs), Kroshka Kartoshka (baked potatoes with choice of topping) Chudo Bliny (crepes with your choice of stuffing) Shawarma (chicken gyro rolls, but they're nasty here) and my personal favorite - kury grill - rotisserie chicken, available in half or a whole bird for less than $5 - Jan 2010
Anything you could want. We even happened upon a Cinnabon the other day, making my son smile bigger than I've seen him smile in weeks! Ahhh, teh allure of sugar and butter! There are the usual and a few surprises (TGIFriday's, for instance)> I have eaten at one McDonald's and that one Cinnabon. But none of the others. So I can't say if they are what you'd expect, but people say they are. - Nov 2009
Tons. From a church that serves the best pyidoshshki ever for less than adollar to a really nice $15 lunch, to an outrageously priced dinner, it's all here. High end: think maybe not NYC, but maybe Las Vegas. - Oct 2009
McDonald's, TGI Fridays, Sabarro's etc. They're all here. There is also an American-style diner. - Aug 2009
I know of MacDonald's, KFC, and Subway in terms of American chains. There is a good food-stand chain called Stardog, which has Russian-style hotdogs, and it's on every corner, practically. Restaurants are plentiful with lots of selection, though they are very expensive. We hardly ever ate out because we ended up dropping $80 without even ordering a beer, dessert or appetizer. There are some great restaurants, but not many. Most aren't bad, but few are exceptional. We usually felt like we could make something better at home for much less. - Aug 2009
Pricey. - Jul 2009
Although McDonald's is EVERYWHERE, it is almost always impossibly crowded (Russians love it). A number of other Western chains are also present (Subway, Sbarro's, KFC, Papa John's), but the best and cheapest fast food can be found at the street kiosks usually located near metro stops. I recommend Kroszka Kartoshka and Stardogs. Moscow is also home to several coffeehouse chains, including Kofe Khaus, Shokoladnitsa, and now Starbucks! - Sep 2008
McDonald's, Subway, TGI Fridays, Hard Rock Cafe, Starbucks (limited menu), lots of cafes, coffee shops and more expensive local restaurants. - Aug 2008
