Bars in Moscow

Here we list the best bars to go out for a few drinks and have a lot of fun. These places often feature live music acts and dance (mostly RnB and latino) parties. For a list of pubs, see our Moscow pub guide.


Boarhouse. At the moment, this is the most popular club / bar for the more "mature" Moscow expats. Packed almost every day, it features

concerts (every Friday and Saturday at 23.00), live soccer, and various parties.
The food is quite cheap especially in the afternoon, when there are discounts (get a coupon!) - 50% off menu from 12 till 8pm. Happy hours from 6 to 9pm daily.
The only drawback is that the crowd is very different, but then this same thing attracts people too, especially those, who want to meet new friends and girlfriends.
Address: Moscow, Zemlyanoy Val, 26 tel: (495) 917-0150 fax: 917-9986. Internet: www.boarhouse.ru - View Map - (location: m.Kurskaya (just outside the metro on the other side of Garden Ring road or Kurskaya train station)

 
 

The Real McCoy. Quite a nice pub/bar with American feel - very popular among Moscow expats. They have a good choice of cocktails starting at 250 R ($9) and also serve some sandwiches. The best time to go there is at the end of the week when the whole club is vibrating with dancing people. During the afternoon they serve moderately-priced food starting at 280 R ($10) for a meal. Opened 24 hours.
Address: Moscow, Kudrinskaya square, #1 (metro Ulitsa 1905 Goda - just opposite Moscow Zoo and the metro exit). Tel: (495) 255 41 44, Cards: AmEx, Visa, MC, Maestro

Gippopotam
Another popular expat hangout, one advantage that Gippopotam has is that there is practically no chance of getting faced. That said, they do make you queue for the honor of entering which in winter can be uncomfortable. Entry price varies but is generally 260-360 rubles ($9-$13) on weekends for men and about half that for women. Inside beers sell for 100 rubles ($3.50), spirits are about 150 rubles ($5.30) and cocktails around 200 rubles ($7). The music is mainly R&B and Latino but there are often live rock groups on early in the night and a bit of dance music is thrown into the mix later on. In addition to two bars and a decent-sized dance floor, the club also has a couple of pool tables, and plenty of places to sit. The strip show around 2:30am is nothing special but still manages to excite the crowd. Gippopotam is especially popular with black men and Russian girls who want to jockey them. A night out here is a bit hit and miss, but you can have a good time if you’re in the right mood.
Address: Mantulinskaya Ulitsa, #5/1, Bldg. 6, metro Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Tel: 256-2346. Open Wed-Sun 22:00-6:00.




Tema Bar. Quite a lively bar with a decent-sized but awkwardly-shaped dance floor and ample seating area. The best thing about the place is the absolutely massive selection of alcohol on offer. Aside from all major spirits being represented in several different

brands, there is also one of the most extensive cocktail menus you will find in Moscow. And the prices are quite liberal with the more expensive cocktails only costing 200 rubles ($7). For some unknown reason the bartenders hit the lamp shades above the bar every so often. Or else they give patrons hard hats and hit them. Strange, but the bar-goers seem to enjoy it.
As for food, Tema has a fairly simple menu but the prices are reasonable. Breakfasts cost 100 rubles ($4), business lunches are 140 rubles ($5) and the average main course for dinner is around 250 rubles ($9). Service is agonizingly slow. But this remains a cheap and fun place to spend a night, or at least part of one.
Address: Potapovsky Pereulok, #5, Bldg. 2, metro Turgenevskaya. View Map Tel: (495) 924-2720, Website: www.temabar.ru. Open 24 hours.

 
Papa John's. Standard american-style place, good if you want to meet a new friend. On Tuesdays they have latino-american dances, on Wednesdays - Lady's Nights. The people who visit the place are expats, tourists, those who like latin dances.
Address: Moscow, #22 Myasnitskaya ulitsa tel. (495) 755-9554 - View Map - (location: Kitai Gorod, metro Chistye Prudy (red), Lubyanka (red)). Opened: Mon-Sun 18:00-6:00

Vodka Bar
Located one street over from Keks and Suzy Wong in the Park Kultury area, Vodka Bar has helped to create a lively, vibrant bar scene in that district. In keeping with its name there are some 22 types of vodka on the menu, ranging in price from 90R – 220R ($3-$8) per shot. Vodka Bar also has a reasonably priced European menu with mains around 300R ($11) and starters about 200R ($7.50). The food is fresh and tasty and the business lunches aren’t a bad option either. But drinking is what vodka bar is really about with a massive amount of alcohol on offer. There are all types of spirits, cocktails and liqueurs on the menu, for an average price of 160-200R ($6-$7.50). A large venue with a sleek, well-equipped bar as the center-piece, Vodka Bar is a stylish venue. Red stars adorn the lamp-shades and there is ample seating about.
One of the few trendy bars in Moscow that won’t break the bank. Low prices and soft face-control attract all kinds of clientelle that wouldn't get into the trendier bars, so Vodka Bar is not so fashionable among Moscow "modniki" (fashion freaks). Some also complain about the sound (pop house music is not so "trendy" anymore) and the food (tasty, but not exceptional).
Address: Lva Tolstovo Ul., #18b. Tel: 246-9669. Website: www.vodkabar.ru. Open 10:00-6:00.


Bleachers Sports Bar
The latest venture of Doug and Marty, formerly of Boar House fame, Bleachers is without doubt the best sports bar in Moscow. Many of the old Boar House specials are still on show with half-priced meals from midday to 8pm and 35R ($1.40) beers from 6pm-9pm. The food at Bleachers isn’t spectacular but at the discounted prices it’s pretty hard to beat for value. For sports viewing, there is a huge array of plasma TVs on the walls and large projector screens are pulled down when there are big events on. You can request any sports events that are shown on the channels they have and they’ll put them on specially for you. Service can be atrocious or quite good, depending on your luck. The toilets stink so much that you would think you really were at a sport ground. Bleachers also has pool tables and darts. Location is not great, out at Proletarskaya, but at least it isn’t far from the metro. If you’re looking for a sports bar then this is your best bet in Moscow. If you’re just looking for a bar, then you could take or leave this place.
Address: Volgogradsky Prospekt, #1 (below Jackpot Casino). Tel: 676-3972. Open 24 hours.


Liga Pap
A sports bar, pub and restaurant that is a hell of a lot more classy than you would expect for a sports venue. Attached to the chill-out cafe/bar Discrete Charm of the Bourgeois, Liga Pap is a cool mix of a bare brick and wooden beam interior and the latest technology in the form of plasma TVs. The televisions are held in antique frames and there is even a series of bleachers in the back half of Liga Pap which face a giant screen in the middle of the venue. This isn’t really a sports venue though. Unless there’s a big game on that’s important to Russians you’re much more likely to see old Soviet movies or British sitcoms on the screens. Surprisingly, Liga Pap is reasonably priced. While beers are a little more than average at 130R ($4.80), food is quite cheap at 250R to 300R ($9-$11) for a main course. The varied meals on the mainly European menu are quite tasty, although it seems the chef/s are a bit casual about the necessity of washing their hands as there have been a couple of reports of food poisoning. It’s great to see a trendy bar that brings in some very attractive clientele with a non-prohibitive pricing policy.
Address: Bolshaya Lubyanka, #24, metro: Lubyanka. Tel: 624-3636. Website: www.ligapap.ru. Open 12:00 – last customer (usually early hours of the morning, at least on weekends).


Hungry Duck. Back in the 90s, some people considered Hungry Duck to be one of the craziest places in the world. It was closed by government officials for four weeks in March, 1999, because of the decadent activities. The management had changed, it reopened, but the past glory is gone.
Nowadays things are not as mad as they used to be before. The club is full of horny men - mostly visitors from the former CIS and foreign truck drivers - eyeing the young women. The women get drunk and dance striptease on the bar tables. The men make them drink even more and then drag them out for a one-night stand. On Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday the Hungry Duck has "Ladies Nights" when they let girls in, give them free drinks for two hours, and then let men in.
Address: Moscow Pushechnaya #9, tel. (495) 923-6158 - View Map - (location: Kuznetski Most, just outside the metro to the left) Opened: Mon-Sun 22.00-6.00 Entrance: Men 100-200R ($3-7), Women 30-50R ($1-2)