Karavaev Brothers Cafe: A Great Moscow Brunch
When your travel partner changes, your whole day changes. When I was with my older brother, we'd wake up early, grab whatever was available in front of the hotel, visit our planned destinations for the day, and bring food back right on schedule. To put it nicely, it was a very straightforward trip; to put it bluntly, I couldn't tell if we were traveling or doing a training exercise. But now, we sleep in until the sun is high in the sky though the sun is already high by 7 AM anyway and have our first meal so late it's hard to tell if it's brunch or lunch. It's turned into a slow-paced trip where we chat in scenic spots and just soak in Moscow rather than rushing around.
I was touched by my girlfriend's effort—she had looked up a few restaurants before we even came to Moscow, determined to have a special, delicious lunch today. So, instead of going to a famous tourist attraction, we decided to visit a highly-rated Italian restaurant she found.
However, we were a bit too lazy. By the time we arrived at the restaurant, the brunch menu was completely gone. We could only order coffee and a few salads they were selling to tide people over until dinner. We had no choice but to step back outside, which is when the Karavaev Brothers Cafe nearby caught our eye. It was introduced in our guidebook and had good reviews come to think of it, I've never seen a guidebook say a place is bad, so we chose it as our backup plan.
With a unique name and an even more fascinating sign, this restaurant had a massive line of people waiting right from the entrance. The display cases were filled with incredibly delicious-looking food I hadn't seen before. It was surprising to learn this place is a franchise, but even more surprising that we hadn't spotted one until now. We needed to order, but it was crowded and confusing, so we panicked a bit at first. After sneaking a peek at what others were doing, we figured out their system: 'pull a ticket and order when your number is called.' We grabbed a ticket and found a seat. There must be a lot of offices nearby because many people were getting takeout, and with plenty of seating available, we easily found a table despite the long line.
The menu is mostly filled with Russian food, and just by looking at it, the quality and quantity are noticeably different from what we've eaten so far. There was such a wide variety of dishes that deciding what to eat made the wait time fly by. Even after waiting all that time, the two of us—both terribly indecisive—still hadn't made up our minds when our number was called. That's how many delicious-looking options there were. Having tasted the food, I think it's definitely better than 'Mu-Mu' (another local chain). By our standards, it was a really delicious spot. My girlfriend especially praised the blini (Russian pancakes) as the best. You definitely won't regret coming here.
For reference, it seems they currently only operate in Moscow.
Go to Karavaev Brothers Cafe website
Expenses
- Water, juice 135R
- Brunch 632R
- Coffee 495R
- Tretyakov Gallery for two 400 * 2 800R
- Audio guide 500R
- Souvenirs 2399R
- Dinner 1165R
- Chocolate kefir 170R, beer, water 230R
- 2 nights hotel $99.10
Total Expenses 6526R + 99.10
Total Trip Expenses 525,936원 + 30,558RUB + $152.26