Alexander Rappoport

Lawyer, restaurateur, and The Vanderlust insider Alexander Rappoport shares his favorite places in Moscow and explains how to fix the city's shortcomings.

In Focus

Everybody's favorite place is where they were born and spent most of their life. Mine is Khamovniki, or "Plyushikha" as it was called when I was born there. I adore its little streets and alleyways. Moscow has changed so much in recent years, but I think no region has changed more than Plyushikha and the surrounding area. Once upon a time, it was all abandoned factories and had this terrible smell, especially near the river. Now it's filled with beautiful restaurants, shops, and lovely places to go for a walk when you want to be alone.

Food

I don't have a favorite bar or restaurant per se. It all depends on how I'm feeling.

When it comes to breakfast, I'm looking for a place that's conveniently located and hopefully has good food. My two favorite breakfast spots in Moscow are Cafe Pushkin and Brasserie Most. You almost never find croissants as flaky and perfect as the ones at Brasserie Most.

I always eat lunch nearby wherever I am. As far as chain restaurants go, I like Akademia — the food is really top-notch — and Coffeemania.

As for dinner, I don't mind getting in my car and driving where I want to go.

My five favorite restaurants in Moscow are: Kitaiskaya Gramota, Brasserie Most, Myasnoy Club, Cafe Pushkin, and Semifreddo.

On the one hand, Moscow has plenty of everything. On the other, there's a lot that it lacks. As strange as it sounds, there aren't enough decent, affordable restaurants. We have a huge gap between pricey restaurants and cheap ones. You can count the number of inexpensive places with good food on one hand! That's beginning to change, especially with the opening of Kitaiskaya Gramota. I think you'll start to see more and more surprisingly good mid-range restaurants.

Culture

I really love going to Winzavod. It has this amazing energy. I also like Art Strelka. For me, the top three can't-miss cultural events of the year are: the opening of the Moscow International Film Festival, the Golden Eagle Awards, and the opening of the Art Salon.