Where to try caviar, pelmeni and borscht (and other Russian specialities) in Moscow

Where to try caviar, pelmeni and borscht (and other Russian specialities) in Moscow

• The best restaurants in St Petersburg

Probka

This flagship trattoria from St Petersburg-based celebrity chef Aram Mnatsakanov has slowly but surely won the hearts of Italian-food loving Muscovites. Designed by local architect Albina Nazimova, it offers an immediately open, welcoming atmosphere, with stylish, minimalist furnishings, a constantly busy state-of-the-art kitchen, and large, street-facing windows. The menu reworks traditional Italian fare, using local ingredients, aged parmesan, and virgin olive oils. Dishes span beef carpaccio and cecina de vaca from Spain; grilled octopus and warm veal salad; a wide selection of homemade pastas with items such as duck ragu, Kamchatka crab and burrata with black truffle; plus special sharing plates, black caviar dishes, a spread of meat and fish dishes, and a talk-of-the-town tiramisu. The smartly dressed wait-staff are professional and punctual, and the presentation of the food as well as the European wine list are both impeccable.

Contact: 00 7 495 995 9045; probka.orgNearest metro: Tsvetnoy BulvarReservations: Recommended (especially for dinner and at weekends).Price: ££-£££

Shinok

Specialising in top-notch Ukranian and Russian cuisine, this long-standing restaurant is also notable for its glassed-off atrium farmyard, which hosts peacocks, rabbits, chickens, pheasants and even a cow; an unusual tableau for an evening meal. The rest of the