For an occasional guest in the capital, the Milk restaurant in a typical residential building on Bolshaya Dmitrovka is just one of the catering establishments, and for Moscow old-timers, this is a significant place linking them with an invisible thread of nostalgia to the good old days, when bread cost 14 kopecks.
But why is the name so unusual, because here by no means visitors are treating visitors with semolina? This is actually a tribute to history. But where is the institution itself?
Restaurant "Milk": address
It is located on Bolshaya Dmitrovka, 7/5, building 5. This is a street parallel to Tverskaya. The nearest metro stations are Teatralnaya (300 m), Okhotny Ryad (400 m). Not far from the "Milk" is the Moscow Art Theater Museum, Petrovsky Passage and the Central Department Store. After visiting the restaurant you can breathe fresh air (if there is one in Moscow) in Maya Plisetskaya Square, which is 50 meters from the establishment.
So what was before in the walls of this building?
A bit of history
There is no reliable information about how old the house itself is and who built it. But it is known for sure that at the end of the 19th century the family of Leo Tolstoy temporarily lived here, and at the beginning of the last century, the merchant Chichkin opened a dairy shop and coffee shop. All this happened back in pre-revolutionary Russia. Chichkin owned several dairy factories, so all products in the shop were, as is now customary to say, from the manufacturer. In general, the enterprising merchant had an innovative approach to his business. For example, in order to attract customers, he came up with a peculiar marketing ploy: every evening, milk that they did not manage to sell was poured directly onto the pavement. It was a public demonstration that all the products in the store are exceptionally fresh.
Sellers, according to the dress code, were dressed in all white, and the walls were tiled with the color of fresh milk. Also in the Chichkin shop there was another know-how for that time - cash registers.
With the advent of Soviet power, the store became state-owned, but did not change its direction: milk was traditionally sold there. The pre-revolutionary interior remained intact until 2011, when the establishment was closed for repairs. Long lines, noisy saleswomen, shopping bags with glass containers and milk, which cost 45 kopecks, are all these realities of past years that rejoice at the compassionate grandmothers who mourn the appearance of a restaurant on the site of the monument to Soviet trade.
New face
In 2015, after a lengthy repair, the eponymous restaurant of European cuisine was opened on the site of the Milk store. It seems that the attempt to pour new wine into old wineskins was a success. It’s true that only the name is left of the interior and exterior of the former dairy store, and thanks for that to the owners. Otherwise, another beauty salon would have appeared on this place, and even no trace would have remained.
It is interesting that the building itself was restored in such a way that it is not immediately possible to understand in which years the institution was built: either in pre-revolutionary Russia, or during the days of party leaders, or a couple of years ago. In a word, "Milk" is a restaurant that is, as it were, out of time due to its surroundings. This impression is created due to the use of leather, brick, wood in decoration. The sofas are upholstered in velvet, in the corner is a piano. The color scheme of the room ranges from light beige to dark brown. In summer, a small but comfortable veranda is open. Such is the classic of the genre in the style of the good old Viennese coffee houses.
Working hours
"Milk" - a restaurant open around the clock. The institution works seven days a week. On weekdays, breakfast is served from 7.00 to 13.00. This is very convenient, because most metropolitan restaurants open only at 11.00. And on weekends you can stretch the pleasure of breakfast until 15.00
If you plan a mass trip to the "Milk" (restaurant), phone +7 (495) 692-03-09 or +7 (495) 374-92-99 will not be superfluous. Tables are best booked in advance. Moreover, this service is free even on a holiday.
Blurred concept
It is true that this restaurant was not awarded a special highlight. There is no clear concept. As for the menu and the interior, this is a typical good restaurant, but no more. There are a dime a dozen in Moscow. Although people are always there, many come to eat purely, and most often - to have a coffee, and he is very good at it. The strict style of the interior creates an ideal atmosphere for business meetings: it does not distract anything, you can safely chat.
But basically the restaurant "Milk" (Moscow) is scolded for a simple menu. It is, as they say, about everything and about nothing. True, the audience in Moscow went picky: if it’s bread, then it’s focaccia, and if it’s spectacle, it’s certainly some kind of phantasmagoria. But even a well-prepared Caesar salad is already considered banal.
Main menu
If you give a general assessment, then all the dishes are quite simple, most are served in a traditional reading (homemade porcini mushroom soup, Olivier salad). True, sometimes some zest is added. For example, in chicken soup it’s not ordinary, but Ligurian noodles, testaroli, in borscht is not just pork, but venison, and even smoked.
From the first courses, the already mentioned soups and borscht are served, as well as tom yam with shrimps and tomato mashed soup with crab.
The list of hot dishes is opened with beef carpaccio, followed by baked eggplant with salsa, salmon or tuna tartar, tortilla, chicken cutlets, beef stroganoff, beef cheeseburger with french fries.
Among the salads there are variations on the theme of Greece (baked beets with pear and feta cheese, a classic Greek salad) and Italy (mozzarella with tomatoes, Caesar with shrimps, warm salad with arugula).
In a word, making up the menu of the Milk restaurant , the owners made a bet on those visitors who do not particularly like experiments and in any institution, among a huge list of positions, are looking for mashed potatoes with cutlets. Therefore, in order not to impede their choice, all the most demanded dishes of European cuisine were collected here with some interspersed with Oriental.
Beverages
But as for coffee, the offer here is simply huge (more than 30 positions). Many come here purely for this purpose. Original alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails with a multifaceted aftertaste are refined, refined, colorful.
And it would be strange if the milk itself were not served here. Of course it is here - hot, fresh, fresh. He is brought from the Moscow region daily.
"Milk" (restaurant): overall impression
Passers-by who do not know the history of this place are unlikely to understand why the name of the institution with European cuisine is such. But, on the other hand, it is intriguing and invites inward.
There is plenty of space here. The tables are located at such a distance from each other that even at rush hour you do not feel like a herring in a barrel. The interior falls in love at first sight: everything looks fashionable and expensive. It seems that the restaurant is located on the ground floor of some fashionable hotel. In one room, the entourage is more solemn; in another, a less formal atmosphere is conducive to soulful communication with a cup of coffee.
The service is gallant, it is clear that well-trained waiters are also very competent in the technology of cooking.
The style of a classic European cafe, a small but informative menu, a variety of coffee and cocktail cards, unobtrusive background music, breakfasts from 7 in the morning are obvious advantages that the Milk Restaurant (Bolshaya Dmitrovka) can boast of.
One of the minuses is the lack of parking. Many more sweet tooth complain of a meager dessert menu. Also, the price tag slightly "bites": the average bill is 1000-1500 rubles. But for the money you can really eat hearty there, and not just taste the dishes. In addition, on weekdays until 16.00, a 20% discount applies to all menus, which is good news. Recently, they introduced the modern European tradition of "suspended" coffee. This means that you can pay an extra cup and treat the guest who wants to use such a nice bonus.
So, "Milk" is a restaurant with a good reputation. Thanks to the decent quality of food and service for many, it has already become a favorite place to which people come with or without.