For those of you who have dined out in Moscow (even just for one night), you will have realized that I was being utterly sarcastic in the first paragraph.
The truth is Moscow is a place where the “customer is always wrong”. Moscow is a place where you pay top dollar for rubbish. A place where whatever you order is “nyetu”. If I want potatoes with my chicken instead of vegetables, this would be fine in any other city. In Moscow I would never DARE to try to change something on the menu, because the answer will inevitably be “nyet, nevozmozhno”. Just hope to god that your meal is not spoilt in some way. If you dare try to demonstrate your food is not up to scratch then you are AUTOMATICALLY WRONG and an idiot. If you ask them to take the bad food back and replace the order with something else instead then you will be paying for both meals. Moscow is the only place I’ve ever been where you have to shout at the waiters to get their attention. I could never imagine shouting “BOY” or “GIRL” in any other place on Earth (though I’m not very well travelled). But in the end, every place you go is full. You can’t get a seat anywhere on a Friday or Saturday night (unless, of course, you leave a “depozit” of 1500 rubles per person several days in advance). It’s unbelievable that people are paying so much money to be disappointed by the food and insulted by the waiters (ok, the service is not always offensive, but 99% of the time, you leave the restaurant feeling agitated instead of satisfied).Above: This is me at the height of my dining satisfaction in Moscow
Below: "Kholodets" -- Paradoxically, a popular Russian appetizer! (Basically, a cold meat jelly)
