DFF
Restaurant
Yauzskaya, 10/2s4
Open until 05:00
Opening hours:
Open until 05:00
Monday12:00-00:00
Tuesday12:00-00:00
Wednesday12:00-00:00
Thursday12:00-00:00
Friday12:00-05:00
Saturday12:00-05:00
Sunday12:00-00:00
Deep Fried Friends is a culinary bistro with a bar and club at Yauzskaya, 10/2. The project grew out of seasonal parties: the team now has its own restaurant with cooking by Anton Kovalkov and a spot in the top 100 restaurants in Russia according to Where To Eat.
The building at Yauzskaya, 10/2, bldg. 4, has had a long journey — from a pre-revolutionary stable through a Soviet-era garage to a free-standing restaurant renovated from scratch. Several formats coexist inside at once: a culinary bistro, a wine room, a cocktail pub and a dance floor. On weekends, it all transforms into one of the city's most notable clubs, with DJ sets and performances by pop artists — Glukoza and Dora have both played here. In winter, the terrace floods over into an ice rink with film screenings and DJ sets right on the ice; in summer, the same spot turns into an open-air cinema.
Our guide's team finds Anton Kovalkov's cooking a strong reason on its own to stop by for lunch.
The menu is led by brand chef and project partner Anton Kovalkov, named Chef of the Year in 2024. His résumé includes work in Rappoport's Beluga kitchen and stints at Copenhagen's Noma and London's Hibiscus. His approach is built on seasonal, local ingredients, which Kovalkov combines with French and Asian technique. Among the dishes that draw steady attention is the pozharsky-style katsu sando.
The cocktail menu was put together by Denis Kryazhev, head bartender and one of DFF's partners, among the most respected names in the profession. Our undercover guests rated it 8 out of 10 for the cocktails, for precise flavor balance and an original character to the drinks. The kitchen earned 7 out of 10 for dinner: the score reflects the level of the dishes, though some visitors experience the place more as a bar with food than a full restaurant.
Behind DFF are four founders and co-owners — Ivan Popov, Lyosha Morozov, Marko Mihic-Eftic and Artur Semkov, of the show "Syt po Gorlo." Before opening their own restaurant, they ran DFF as a seasonal format: a summer terrace on Tverskoy Boulevard drew crowds with music, cocktails and food. The permanent spot on Yauzskaya was the next step: in its very first year, the restaurant made the top 100 restaurants in the country according to Where To Eat, and free tables sell out within weeks.
