Milk & Honey Review

From Moscowiki

Milk & Honey

Cuisine: Eclectic
Address: Myasnitskaya ul., 38
Metro: Chistye Prudy
Tel: 928-9947, 921-3278
Open 24/7.
All major credit cards accepted.

Restaurant is closed.

By John Heisel

Milk & Honey sits unobtrusively on Myasnitskaya ul., between the garden ring and Chistye Prudy metro. If you weren't looking for it, you probably wouldn't even notice it - which is a shame, as you'd be missing out on a fine atmosphere and tasty cuisine.

Milk & Honey is a cafe/restaurant run in a lounge style, operating 24 hours a day, making it a good choice for pre-party dinner and drinks, post-party coffee, breakfast on the way to work and/or afternoon tea.

The restaurant hired famous designer Hassan Abdullah to decorate its interior, and it's obvious that no expense was spared: as Milk & Honey's director, Simon Connolly, showed us around he could not help but gush about the antique status of nearly every beautiful item sitting, standing, or hanging in the restaurant. Through this design scheme, Milk & Honey has managed to get a design that is opulent, but not overwhelming or pretentious: upscale and laid-back.

After taking a tour of Milk & Honey's three dining areas (four, if you count the secluded private room), we chose to sit on the balcony above the restaurant's small but well-stocked bar, mainly to be able to have a good view of everything that was going on around us.

My girlfriend and I had perused the menu and quickly ordered cocktails - a Nirvana (340R) for me and a Pina Coloda (300R) for her (other cocktails ran from 170-440R, with draft beer starting at 180R and wines from 190R per glass) - while we made decisions on food.

After learning that the menu was prepared by chef Anthony Duran (formerly of Le Club, News Pub and Uncle Guilly's), I ordered a Vietnamese-style beef noodle soup (150R) to start my evening's dining, while the girlfriend (who is on a bit of a health kick) decided to start with a tomato and mozzarella salad (230R).

We soaked up the atmosphere (and our cocktails) for a short while before our starters were brought out, but the wait was worth it - the salad got raves, particularly for its sherry sauce, while I just couldn't get enough of the soup. I'd hope the soup would be spicier, but this being Russia and ketchup passing for a spice, I quite enjoyed the soup.

Upon finishing our soup and salad, it was time to refresh our cocktails. This time I went for a green crush (380R), while the girlfriend went for a Milk & Honey cocktail (300R). The former was a rather tasty, lemon/line-based drink full of crushed ice. The girlfriend wasn't as happy with her drink, a mix of rum, ice cream and honey.

With barely time for a sip of our fresh drinks, our waiter brought our mains - filet mignon (650R) for me, and grilled shrimp (450R) for my girlfriend. The steak was tender and juicy, and the bleu cheese crusting was marvelous. My only complaint was that the steak's size was a little on the small side, which left me wanting more when I'd finished. The shrimp plate was piled high with big and tasty sea creatures, but got complaints of insufficient pineapple and overkill on the sweet pepper and pea pods, the only vegetables served in any abundance (strange, since the menu said it would be served over stir-fried vegetables).

Having digested that, we decided to check out Milk & Honey's splendid - and inexpensive - dessert menu. I opted for the New York cheesecake (140R), while my lovely lady when for the marinated cherries (100R). The cheesecake was, without a doubt, one of the best desserts I've had in my three years in Moscow. It was soft, delicious and sweet, and the graham cracker crust was fantastic. While the cherries were tasty, they had a distinct canned feeling to them. It should also be noted that Milk & Honey also offers peanut butter bars for 60R - if you're feeling homesick.

Time to go, and we hadn't tried Milk & Honey's extensive coffee/tea menu - oh well, there'll definitely be a next time!

04.02.05.