Autumn Update at “lado”: New Menu, Bar, and Seasonal Hot Drinks

“lado”'s new chef Sergey Ryakhov has updated the bistro's kitchen and introduced a lot of bold, fiery items. Sergey loves and knows how to work with meat, so the menu now features plenty of classic meat dishes done in a signature style — vitello tonnato (790 r.), beef tartare with red caviar and potato chips (750 r.), or eryngii mushroom tataki off the grill (790 r.). Among the other starters: artichoke hummus with pistachio (680 r.) served with artisan bread, salmon and persimmon carpaccio (820 r.), and an absolute must-try — roti with eel, spicy cucumbers, and sesame kimchi (690 r.). Among the mains, we recommend the filet mignon with pepper sauce and shiitake (1350 r.) or calamarata with vongole (1100 r.). The dessert that's already become a bestseller — poppy seed cheesecake with honeysuckle sauce, which you can confidently order for two (560 r.). 

In a few weeks, the breakfast and dessert menus will be updated, and plenty of new items will appear on the main menu too. 

The mansion's bar remains in the hands of longtime Sasha Keller (Mendeleev Bar, Bagebi, Chateau de Fantomas) and head of drinks Tanya Rybkina. The team built the cocktails in pairs, where each  second one is a logical continuation of the first. Now a cocktail's number on the list isn't tied to its strength. Instead of grading by strength — pairs, grouped so as to bring out one main flavor as fully as possible. 

So, the first pair — cocktails #1 and #2 — are fresh and mineral, wine-based. Pleasant acidity and aromatic herbs in clear, light cocktails. Cocktail #1 is built on unfiltered Italian dry vermouth, Dutch gin with lemongrass and Thai spices, a homemade cordial of pea shoots, and mastic tree liqueur from the island of Crete. Cocktail #2 is built on pisco, dry vermouth, riesling, and an aloe-and-wormwood cordial. Flavors of grape and dry herb, fresh and full-bodied, with the light acidity of a white wine. 

The second pair — #3 and #4 — is contrasting and vivid. East Asia meets South Asia in it. Cocktail #3, based on Japanese gin with sakura, transports you to a Tokyo garden. Cocktail #4, based on rum with pineapple, grapefruit, and spices, sends us off to a bustling Indian bazaar. 

The third pair — sunset colors and a high proof. Cocktail #5, on gin and a French wine aperitif made with cinchona bark and gentian, is rounded out with frankincense and coconut water. Cocktail #6 is an unusual pairing of coffee rum, sherry, and a Mexican corn liqueur. A pronounced coffee flavor with nutty tones and bready notes. 

The list's final pair —  the strongest and most intense, with vegetal, peppery flavors and red berries. #7 contains a pepper-infused gin, clove amaro, blackberry water, and balsamic from the city of Modena. Cocktail #8 is tart and smoky — built on mezcal and an artichoke wine aperitif, with cherry shrub and pepper liqueur. 

Mocktails

#1 (a take on cocktail #2)
Refreshing and wine-like, fully reflecting the airy, transparent concept of the first pair. A cocktail with bamboo and aloe juice, on non-alcoholic wine and gin. 

#2 (a take on cocktail #3)
Natural sweetness and spice. Tropical notes, the recognizable, refreshing bitterness of grapefruit in an orange mocktail — mango water, non-alcoholic wine, and non-alcoholic Aperol. 

#3 (a take on cocktail #5)
Just like in the original alcoholic cocktail — frankincense, coconut, bitters, non-alcoholic gin. An Asian flavor texture with contrasting combinations and vivid aromatics.

#4 (a take on cocktail #7)
In this version, we didn't repeat the vegetal tones and instead put the emphasis on fresh berries.  A sweet-and-sour non-alcoholic "tini" on gin, with blackberry and a spicy edge. 

Seasonal hot drinks

#1 red wine, calvados, apple, orange, spices
#2 dark rum, cocoa, spices, milk
# 3 rosehip, vodka, bitters, berries