Patriki

Twenty-eight seats, huge windows onto Malaya Bronnaya, and the feel of a place that knows its own worth — that's the first impression of Patriki. The interior was designed by Irina Glik: olive, gray and natural beige tones come together in a restrained, bourgeois elegance with no excess detail. The open kitchen is set back into the room — the guest decides where to look. Easter eggs for locals: backlit reeds nod to the surface of Patriarch's Pond, and a large mirror echoes the silhouette of the famous pavilion's arch. By day, light pours in through the panoramic windows; in the evening the tiny room closes in on itself — a cozy little box, slightly removed from the city.

Our guide's team considers Patriki one of the best spots on Patriarch's Ponds for an early breakfast or a quick midday lunch.

The menu is built on the principle of reinvention: take a familiar story and twist it just enough to surprise without showing off. A signature example is sushi without rice: crab meat replaces the rice base, topped with thin slices of seafood, all wrapped in nori. It's served on plates with deliberately kitschy little roses — a nod to Soviet porcelain that reads as a joke pitched just right. Other items include langoustines with tomato jam, beef carpaccio with sorrel and horseradish, young cabbage with crab, and raw salmon with blueberry. Among the hot dishes, the braised turkey parmigiana with truffle purée stands out.

Our undercover guests rated it 9 out of 10 for dinner, for precision in the details: dishes were served strictly in course order and simultaneously for the whole table, without fuss. Breakfast received the same score — 9 out of 10.

The bar menu is an original creation of the chefs themselves, not a separate bar team. The cocktails are built as food pairings: some for raw fish and seafood, others for meat dishes. Classics like the Whiskey Sour and Bellini sit alongside items made with Japanese plum wine or French champagne.

The crowd at Patriki is Patriarch's Ponds in miniature: neighborhood regulars, visiting fashion crowd, chatty groups. The restaurant is the same trio's second project after AVA, which sits literally next door. Both addresses have long been part of the neighborhood's unwritten map.