Every week we meet with different people and ask them about their favourite example of “gurmanization”: combination of a restaurant’s atmosphere and its cuisine quality.
Many travelers don’t need maps and computers. People are their main guide. In this article you can learn how to find and excellent urban cafe without undue effort, why you should take a stroll along Piatnitskaya street and how much bread costs.
“I think the most interesting thing is to pay attention to the places where local citizens go. It’s well known that, if you go to some touristic places, you won’t find there anything exciting.
I was passing through Moscow on my way to Israel and stayed in the city for a few days. It’s great that my friends, who had been living here for a couple of years, took me to dine in “Hleb Nasuschny” which is located not far from Novokuznetskaya metro station.
Valentina Viktorovskaya, English teacher, Easy School
When I entered the place, I felt its atmosphere straight at once. You know, when you come to a new city for the first time, it’s really interesting to walk along the streets exactly with local people. And you also should go to a cafe with people who have already tuned into the beat of the city, who know and love it.
There are restaurants and cafeterias where you just want to go to have a meal and you know that everything is going to be alright. But “Hleb Nasuschny” is a place where you should go with some time to spare, order a big bread basket with jam, take a cup of tea or coffee and then sit and invent different brilliant projects or organize brainstorms. In short, you should spend your time creatively or just be with your friends.
Jam is served for free when you order any pastry, but you can also buy a little pot of chocolate paste and take it home
I also remember that I was served by a very nice waitress. It’s like coming home and seeing your mom: cosy atmosphere, care and everything is so wonderful that you just want to sit and do nothing. Relax and accept everything that comes to you.
There is a marvelous atmosphere, and if you stay here for some time, you’ll invent or discover something for sure. You can even come to “Hleb Nasuschny” to see the interior. It’s magnificent!
Long wooden tables for guests is one of the specialties of the place
Speaking about food, I’ve managed to try many things, but I would recommend everyone to order coffee Americano, bread basket and ask to bring jam (it’s served for free when you order pastry) and just sit, eat and enjoy yourself. Two cups of Americano coffee are served as a bonus addition to a basket of freshly baked bread (270 rubles).
You’d better order a bread basket for a company of 3-4 people
I also ordered a portion of tomato soup which had a very unusual for me taste. It’s quite enough to be full and satisfied.
Vegetarian soup of the day (245 rub.)
If we speak about how I choose cafeterias, where one can have a decent meal, the story about signboard and intuition doesn’t work in my case. It’s always better to ask local people. Usually, when I come to a new city, I do it in this ways as I quickly get acquainted with new friends who can recommend me a good place in this city. This way I chose cafeterias in Lvov and Kiev.
The most important thing for me is to feel comfortable. I know several places which I like, where I can always meet interesting people and where I enjoy myself. “Hleb Nasuschny” is one of these places.
It’s really fun to ask different people about local cafeterias and restaurants. You can ask a young woman, and elderly person, a young guy with dreads what place each of them could recommend. Everyone would advise you to go to a place that they like, which means that it can be a really good establishment.
Sometimes, when I come to a new city, I read reviews of different local restaurants in the internet. As a rule, there you can find the information about rather exotic places or about national cuisine. But I’d rather like to ask ordinary people or my new acquaintances about different “secret” places.”
Tatiana Bronnikova
The photos are taken from the official web-site of the establishment.
