Bars, Pubs & Clubs

Enjoying a beer in one of the many outdoor terraces

Whether you just want to meet friends for coffee, have a few beers in a bar on a Friday night or dance until dawn, Moscow offers a selection to rival that of any big European city. Most bars and clubs are open well into the next day and have free entry (if you can get past the face control that exists in a lot of places!) Here are the pick of some of the more popular places:

Coffee

Zen Cafe

Kamergerski Pereulok 9 M:Okhotny Ryad

Popular and reasonably priced coffee bar on the pedestrian street.

Coffee Bean

Tverskaya Ulitsa 10 M:Pushkinskaya

Very popular coffee house chain throughout Moscow. Good selection of coffees, teas & cakes. Non Smoking.

Shokoladnitsa

29 Ul. Stary Arbat (M. Arbatskaya)

One of the most popular branches of this chain of coffee shops. Open 24 hours.

Loft Cafe

Nikolskaya Ul. 25, 6th floor, M: Lubyanka

Upmarket cafe situated on the top floor of a shopping centre overlooking Lubyanka and the former KGB headquaters.

Popular with Expats

News Pub

18/2 Ul. Petrovka M: Teatralnaya

Pleasant European style bar which also serves food and has live music at the weekends. Ideal for relaxing after work or meeting friends at the weekend. Gets crowded.

Albion Pub / Phlegmatic Dog

1 Manezh Square (enter from Alexandrovsky Sad) M: Okhotny Ryad

A British style pub linked to an internet cafe.

Silver's

Bolshoy Nikitisky Per. M: Okhotny Ryad

Irish pub serving Guiness, Harp and Irish stew.

Sports Bars

Doug & Marty's Boarhouse

Zemlyanoy Val, 26 M: Kurskaya

Favorite spot for watching sports on giant screens and later on has DJs playing mainstream music.

Sportland

21 Novy Arbat, M. Arbatskaya

Huge screens showing all major sporting events, plus a casino, pool tables and restaurant.

Bars with a View

Red Bar

23a Nab. Taras Shevchenko M. Kutuzovskaya

Elegant bar located on the 27th floor, this has a fantastic view of Moscow by night. Expensive cocktails and face control but worth it!

Bosco Bar

3 Red Square, first floor of GUM M: Okhotny Ryad

With a view onto Red Square, this cafe has a hip, retro feel. Serves a fantastic range of ice creams, snacks and cocktails.

Live Music Bars

Rhythm & Blues Cafe

19 Starovagankovsky Per.M: Biblioteka Imeni Lenina

R&B, jazz and rock in a laid-back atmosphere with outdoor terrace in summer.

The Real Mccoy

1 Kudrinskaya Ploshchad M: Barrikadnaya:

Very lively bar with friendly atmosphere. Popular with expats and Russian students. Good prices and mainstream music guarantees the crowds at the weekends.

Tinkoff

Protochnyy per, 11 M: Smolenskaya

Microbrewery and restaurant which also hosts live concerts

Jazz Town

12 Taganskaya Ploshchad M: Taganskaya

Jazz club with live music nearly every night and reasonable prices at the bar.

B2

Bolshaya Sadovaya, 8 M. Mayakovskaya

Huge live-music venue with several bars, restaurant and jazz club.

Pre-Club Bars

Bar 30/7

30/7 Petrovka M: Chekhovskaya

One of the few bars in Moscow that is just a bar, not a restaurant and not a club. Gets very busy at the weekends with Russians and expats alike. Late on it has more of a club atmosphere when everyone starts to dance. Cash only!

Clubs

Voodoo Lounge

5/7 Sredny Tishinsky Per. M: Belorusskaya

Restaurant and Latino dance club with free Latin dance classes Can get overcrowded on weekends.

Karma Bar

Pushechnaya ulitsa #3, M: Kuznetsky Most

Latin, R&B, hip-hop and top 40 popular with a young crowd. They also offer free Latin dance lessons.

Night Clubs

Propaganda

B. Zlatoustinskiy pereulok, # 7 M. Kitai-Gorod

This club has been around a long time and it's still packed out with students and expats enjoying the Russian DJs and good value drinks. Also serves good food until 11pm.

Club XIII

13 Myasnitskaya Ulitsa M: Lubyanka

Recently re-opened after 5 years, this is one of Moscow's most elite and most beautiful clubs

Jet Set

37 Ul. Malaya Ordynka M. Dobryninskaya

An elevator takes you down to the club on arrival. Famous Russian and foreign DJs always guarantee a packed out night.

Cabaret

8a Strastnoi Bulvar M. Pushkinskaya

Another hotspot for Moscow's "New Russians" with mainstream music earlier on and house later.

Fabrique

Sadovnicheskaya st., #33 M: Novokuznetskaya

A huge club located in the former Design University building. Regularly hosts big-name DJs.

Penthouse No. 1

Hermitage Garden, 3 Karetny Ryad M. Mayakovskaya

Cafe and bar until midnight when it becomes a club Thursday to Saturday. Unusual interior with very high ceilings. Russian and big-name foreign DJs.