M O S C O W Interview with Leonid Shishkin - Passport magazine

Tatler in Ukraina
Tatler Club, the newest trendy Novikov place on the first
floor of the renovated and reopened Ukraine Hotel, reminds
of its sister GQ by the Baltshug. It’s not really fair to review a
restaurant the day after opening (in this case Tatler Club did
not yet have an executive chef) but we wanted to give readers
a heads-up on the first of the six or so restaurants that are
planned for the Ukraine.
Restaurant review
The Ukraine appears to have been luxuriously updated, while
retaining its heritage as one of Stalin’s Seven Sisters that include
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Moscow State University. It’s
worth a visit to see the 400 square meter diorama of Moscow’s
center in the 50s. This award winning work, which was salvaged
by the owners, toured Europe back in Soviet days, and has now
been freshened up to stand at the back of the first floor.
The Tatler menu is eclectic with pasta and sushi, but we focused
on the significant Ukrainian section. Our selection included
Stuffed Carp (740r), Draniki (potato pancakes) with
Sour Cream (450r), Pelmini with Meat (480r), and House Jellied
Meat (kholodets) with Mustard and Horseradish (610r). We
added Baked Beet with Almonds and Goat Cheese (640r) and
Terrine de Foie Gras with Fig Jam (970r). The Ukrainian selections
were very fresh if stylish presentations of classics, pricy
but such is expected on both Novikov and a hotel that is sure
to move to the top of Moscow’s 5-star list. P
Tatler Club
Radisson Ukraina Hotel
Ukraine Hotel,
Kutuzovsky Prospekt 2/1
Tel: +7 495 229 83 05
Another Steakhouse
Steak is also big in Moscow, and the past two years has seen
the opening of two decent steakhouse chains, Ti-Bon and
Torro Grill, following on the success of Goodman, plus a few
luxury meat joints. Veteran restaurant promoter Doug Steele
has been involved in the recent opening of 21 Prime Steakhouse
and Bar next to Barashka on Novy Arbat about 100 meters
from the Garden Ring. 21 Prime’s menu and décor, heavy
on deep, comfortable leather chairs and dark wood, are reminiscent
of Steele’s Doug’s Steakhouse that quickly flamed
out on Tsvetnoy Bulvar, though not because of the food. The
walls are decorated with early 20th century black and white
Americana photos.
Steele’s signature is prominent across the entire menu:
Cobb Salad, rows of fresh chopped meats and vegetables
over lettuce with the classic dressing, and a Wedge Salad
(395r), a large section carved out of an iceburg lettuce head
served with ranch dressing. 21 Prime is using Steele’s Australian
ranch suppliers for the beef.
John Ortega ordered the 21 Prime T-Bone, an 18-ounce Angus
with roasted tomatoes (1800r). Since this was lunch, I
passed up the featured Ribeye Lite, a 9-ounce “bargain” and
tried one of the bar menu items, Three Mini Filet Mignon
Sandwiches with Mustard Mayonnaise (450r). These three
small filets were perfectly tender, and the sauce a nice com-
plement. The wine list was a big surprise, featuring very decent
wines starting just over 1100 rubles. If this holds, this will
be a Moscow innovation, which alone should make 21 Prime
popular with Passport readers. P
21 Prime Restaurant and Bar
Novy Arbat 21
June 2010