Beck’s BeerLoft Review
From Moscowiki
| Beck’s BeerLoft |
Cuisine: Beer
Address: Simferopolskiy bulv, 22. str. 2
Metro: Chertanovskaya
Tel: 110-3310
Open from 13:00 until 01:00.
All major credit cards accepted.
Restaurant is closed.
By Polly Dented
I wasn’t sure just how far out of the center Beck’s was actually located until I finally found the metro stop on a map – Sevastopolskaya – a few stops south of the ring on the grey line. This is more or less uncharted territory for me, and probably for most center-centered expats as well. It was a good thing I had a Russian in tow who unabashedly asked just about everyone we ran into if we were going in the right direction once we got off the metro. So, no, actually, it isn’t particularly close to the metro. But we managed to find it.
Beck’s modern design stands out among the more Soviet neighboring buildings, and somehow in this sleepy residential district, the summer veranda seemed almost out of place. The locals, however, did not seem to think so, as several tables there were already filled with people enjoying the momentarily rain-free summer evening. The non-central location may be daunting to some expats, but Beck’s target clientele are the people who live and work in the neighborhood, and so far it seems to be working for them.
Beck’s interior is, naturally, designed around the beer of the same name, with stacks of beer bottles used as decorative glowing blocks in several spots throughout the restaurant. The entrance is close to an open kitchen, then spans out towards a rectangular bar area, and then in to a dining area with several flat screen televisions placed strategically along the walls and columns.
We were shown to our table and given the menu. The first page, appropriately, lists all of the beers served at the restaurant, with 7 draught beers (Beck’s, BeerLoft (which was the least impressive in my opinion), Spaten, Hoegaarden, an unfiltered Franziskaner red and a red and dark Staropramen – 60-180Rbs) and 31/2 bottled beers (the “half” being the non-alcoholic Clausthaler) ranging from 80-120Rbs. Between the two of us, we managed to try all of the draught beers and were surprised at how much we enjoyed the Franziskaner. I was not surprised by my fondness for Staropramen Granat, only because I was lucky enough to have discovered this beer abroad and it became a fast favorite. To my knowledge (which is by no means extensive), Beck’s is the only place in Moscow that serves Granat.
As appetizers, we ordered the grenki (85Rbs)- warm, chewy bits of rye bread drizzled with melted cheese and garlic. These were very tasty and quite different from other variations that I had tried elsewhere – a sort of gourmet sukhariki and great with any kind of beer. Mr Polly also ordered the sampler, which came with a variety of deep fried stuff: chicken, salmon, calamari, steak fries and cheese with three different sauces (360Rbs). The plate was a little too heavy for my appetite at the time, but might be a good choice if you were out with a group.
Mr Polly ordered Beck’s special house salad, which includes ham, tongue, and chicken mixed with lettuce and a Caesar dressing (230Rbs). He said it was good, but filling. I went for the conventional Greek salad (165Rbs), which met my expectations of being nothing out of the ordinary.
While Mr Polly continued to nibble from the sampler plate, I tried Beck’s special Saxon split pea soup (120Rbs). This was a very interesting version of split pea soup, made from yellow peas and bits of fried ham, which I thought was a little strange, but it turned out to be quite tasty. The ham was even a little spicy and gave the soup a little kick and definitely registered on Mr Polly’s Russian spice-o-meter.
As for the entrees, Mr Polly for some reason ordered the fish and chips plate (320Rbs), which is served with steak fries and tartar sauce and actually called Herr Fisher on the menu. Neither Mr Polly nor I are great lovers of fish, so I was surprised with his choice even though he tends to eat more fish than I do. Now that being said, I have no real way to gauge the ‘goodness’ of this entr?e, since I didn’t try any and he barely ate any – he just said they were “fluffy,” which I suspect is probably a good thing. True connoisseurs of fish n’ chips may want to keep Beck’s in mind for the next time they get a craving.
I felt it was my duty to try the Beck’s burger, which the menu modestly claims is “the best in town.” Although I wasn’t expecting much, I was actually pleasantly surprised. I had asked for well done, and I got well done – only without the dryness. The meat was very fresh, juicy and tasty, and the burger was pretty good-sized. And if you judge your burgers based on how much of a mess they make when you’re eating them, then the Beck’s burger should rate fairly high. If you are one of the expats in Moscow on the eternal quest for a decent burger, you might want to consider visiting Beck’s one of these days.
After our entrees and everything that had preceded, the generous portions and all of that beer tasting, we had absolutely no room for dessert. Nevertheless, for future knowledge, the manager recommended that we try the “drunken pear (150Rbs),” which is a pear baked in spices and port wine. Other dessert selections included cheesecake (150Rbs), apple pie with vanilla ice cream (150Rbs) and a ‘chocolate pyramid’ (150Rbs) among others.
Beck’s also offers a full selection of non-beer drinks: several types of tea (including what is called “elite” green tea, I presume this means green tea of exceptional freshness and quality – 65-130Rbs), fresh juices, various kinds of coffee and an interesting selection of cocktails (95-215Rbs) that seem to have a kind of vampire theme going on with names like “eye of the vampire” (Quantro, Campari and absinthe) and the lethal-looking “Dracula drinks,” with a mix of vodka, gin, rum, tequila, mint liqueur, blue Caracao, creme de cassis, lime juice and Sprite.
I can’t really make any objective observation about the service, as we were being a little fawned over because of the review factor. The manager was, however, very helpful – he answered all of our questions and wanted to make sure that everything was just right. From what I could tell by watching the wait staff at other tables, the service seemed attentive and well timed.
Overall we had a nice evening and dinner at Beck’s. The prices match well with the quality, and while it is a little far from where we work and live, if there were a Beck’s closer to our area, we would probably visit regularly. If you are ever in the neighborhood, give it a shot!
28.07.05.
