Joli Grand Bistrot

A two-level room with nearly twelve-meter ceilings and a panoramic arched window sets the tone from the first glance. The architectural shell — the historic building of the former Mamontov brothers' factory — has been preserved, but inside, Evgeny Neymand and his Neymand Studio built an entirely different space: murals inspired by Henri Rousseau, branch-shaped light fixtures, handmade GIEN faience tableware, textiles with patterns in the spirit of William Morris. At the entrance stands the carved wooden façade of the in-house patisserie and the glass display window of the Flowerna flower shop — the feel of a small French street that happened to land inside a Moscow quarter.

Our restaurant guide's team had been waiting a long time for the Moscow Joli — ever since we fell in love with the St. Petersburg project.

The menu is food you crave without any particular occasion: tartares, fresh salads, pasta, fish, meat. The sauces deserve special mention: alongside the familiar hollandaise and vinaigrette are French classics mignonette and Café de Paris. Vadim Borisikhin, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and a former intern at Michelin-starred L'Impertinent, runs the kitchen together with brand chef Viktor Kislinsky, who has ten years at italy and years at St. Petersburg's best Italian restaurants behind him.

The dessert menu was put together by brand pastry chef Andrey Sokolnikov, winner of the “Best in the Industry” award in the “Pastry Chef of the Year” category, who trained at Michelin-starred Frantzén. His signature items — “Golden Nut,” medovik, and strawberry tart — rework the classics without irony but with precision. The bar follows the same logic: signature cocktails by head bartender Alexander Nekrasov sit alongside the classics, and the wine list brings together about 250 labels with a focus on France and Italy.

Our secret guests gave breakfast 9 out of 10 — for the bright room, the attention to detail in table setting and tableware, and the overall feeling of home. Dinner got 8 out of 10: the tall room and well-tuned service create an atmosphere that combines elegance with an everyday format. Over time, the space will be complemented by a garden terrace with fruit trees, where the interior flows smoothly into the landscape.