Restaurant Balzi Rossi

This is quite a strange thing – to get into the other reality, called ‘ideal’ from the culinary point of view. Especially if we consider the background.

Here was a Soviet food store. For the recent 20 years the grand Imperial premises in the building with golden towers and spires has had a good and bad luck. It used to be a self-service canteen and a hip-hop cafe. Nowadays here is situated Balzi Rossi, the restaurant with a cuisine  of a stately Mediterranean Riviera with all small details confirmed.  You will find a lot of tricks and they are all impudent in a good sense. 

Russian is not spoken at Balzi Rossi in Moscow (Ventimiglia is another Balzi Rossi). So what would look like an incredible impudence in other places in Moscow, sounds and looks absolutely natural at Balzi Rossi.   Hostesses, waiters and cooks speak English, French and Italian. The menu is commonly available in English.

PatricBochard is responsible for service and team spirit. He is a man with strong handshake and noble pirate appearance, who honorably served in Courchevel and Sent-Tropez for many years. Patric has brought his team of French waiters to Moscow and their immediate service, kind humor and charm createcomfortable and unconcerned  ambiance, so unexpected in Moscow conditions for adults and small kids.

Italian chef Emanuele Mongilo is a south man and perfectionist, sincerely dedicated to the culinary civilization and premium-class products. He has collected a team of similar fans from Southern and Northern provinces of Italy.  Tough discipline and unbelievable concentration prevail in a perfectly designed kitchen with the modern equipment. There are no and can’t be indifferent people here. The Balzi Rossi Restaurant in Kudrinskaya square has a delivery of fresh fish from the Indian ocean twice a week. A separate company cooperating with the port on Seychelles is responsible for it. Fish and seafood is cooked with all respect to tender structure of the pearl substance, delicately highlighting it with perfectly sel ected sauces.

The menu includes Italian hits of the modern cuisine, such as salad with octopus and broccoli puree dressed with dried tomatoes, Florentine steak, risotto with shells, pumpkin and lemon, tartar with gorgonzola sauce, mashed potatoes with truffle, tender cream ravioli with red snappers. For experienced visitors in terms of culinary there are such incredible dishes as burrata with red fresh prawns seasoned with confit tomatoes or potato cappuccino with porcini topped with smoked cheese sauce in a light coffee cloud with particles of salty cacao.Challenging experiments in the kitchen go on among desserts too. At Balzi Rossi they serve ideal Rhum Baba abundantly soaked with spicy rum, dressed with thin slices of dried oranges and petals of flowers. As for classical Pavlova, it’s transformed into a fragile apple made of meringue and vanilla cream. Italian cuisine is complemented with Singapore menu from Mr. Chong. It’s worth mentioning that Mr. Chong has left Singapore for the first time and he’s made it exclusively for Balzi Rossi. 

Chef Chong cooks Creamy Crab and Chili Crab, noodles with prawns, pork or chicken, pork ribs and dim sums to any taste (pork, beef, vegetarian).

The menu includes only two prices: any dish is 1200 rubles and any dessert is 600 rubles. Water, coffee, tea and selection of petit four and chocolate sweets for tea or coffee are served free of charge. 

As for wine and bar lists, the sommelier Alex Didaliler, the specialist from Cote-d-Azure and Cap Horn in Courchevel is responsible for them. The collection includes rare and unusual samples from the New World and classical hits from Europe. All 150 wines might be ordered by glasses. Besides, you will easily find unique home infusions in a bar list, for instance: Limoncello made of lemons fr om Amalfi coastline, Genepi made of Alpine herbs.

French bar-tenders at Balzi Rossi in Kudrinskaya square are specialists in traditional old fashioned stuff and are not afraid of mixing such ‘challenging’ ingredients as cheese, insects, frogs, oysters with alcohol.

Tamara Dulovatogether with a design agency Saligramis the author of the Balzi Rossi design project. The architect has managed to keep the historical grandeur of Stalin Empire style with all required crystal chandeliers, columns, statues and fountains. She has also balanced stained-glass windows, gold and marble with palm trees, stylish garden furniture and absolute Mediterranean table textile with touchy rose sticks.

The combination of all mentioned above conditions, external and internal content of the Balzi Rossi Restaurant easily causes euphoria among visitors – you just come in and… Moscow together with Kudrinskaya square vanish and you find yourself at the honored restaurant on Cote-d-Azure. Shall we check?