BUS hand roll bar

BUS hand roll bar on Maly Kozikhinsky Lane, 8/18, is a Lucky Group project conceived as a place that needs no occasion. Not a restaurant for a special event, but a neighbourhood bar you drop into simply because you feel like it. Brand chef Artemy Lopatin built the menu around hand rolls in three formats — cones, cigars, open — rounding them out with ramen, gyoza and specials made from rare Japanese seafood that shows up daily on the board above the bar.

"BUS is a genuine teenage dream. Here I want to give myself, the team and the guests the chance to be themselves, to shed preconceptions, and simply enjoy the food and the loud, buzzing atmosphere," says Artemy Lopatin.

A few dishes on the menu immediately catch the eye. The chicken cappuccino ramen has a broth whipped into a dense foam, with braised chicken breast underneath. The shrimp gyoza has a crisp shell and nothing extra. The open roll with eel and foie gras is a Japanese technique and pairing that sounds unexpected on paper but works in practice. The core menu stays affordable, while the specials are their own story for anyone tracking the board.

The bar list at BUS hand roll bar is built by head bartender Maxim Gorelik and bar manager Ivan Kotov. The concept is izakaya: a simple format without losing quality. The list's central theme is highballs. A classic-read Whiskey Highball, a Yuzu Highball with whisky, yuzu and sake, and a Strawberry Highball with feijoa and soda on strawberry and wasabi. Alongside them: twists on familiar classics with a Japanese accent — a Kikkoman Negroni with soy sauce, a Miso Banana Daiquiri on banana rum with miso and pandan liqueur. Three draft beers are served in iced glasses, and sake ranges from everyday to premium.

Wednesdays bring "Highball Wednesdays" with residents. Once a month there are guest bartender shifts, and once a week, DJ sets: ambient, house, hip-hop. It's not a random program but part of how BUS exists in the Patriarshie Prudy neighborhood — a place with its own rhythm and regular faces.

The interior was assembled with attention to detail: wood, a contact sushi bar, open shelving with tableware, acoustic panels. 120 kg of objects were brought over from Tokyo — posters, stickers, tableware. By the bar sits a vinyl collection open to guest contributions. 54 seats — enough not to feel crowded, and few enough not to lose the atmosphere.