Moscow restaurant White Sun of the Desert

Moscow restaurant

White Sun of the Desert

Moscow restaurant White Sun of the Desert is one of the first theme restaurants in Moscow. White Sun of the Desert opened in 1997 and was an immediate hit. The restaurant’s founders had the idea to make a sequel to a film, and the only one that fit was the universally quoted and beloved “White Sun of the Desert”. The film is a quotation, an aphorism, in which every phrase has long ceased to be merely words spoken by characters, having become turns of phrase used in situations quite distant in nature from those in the movie. When a film is really loved by audiences, they don’t want the film to end. At this restaurant, unlike in the movies, there are no closing credits.

The restaurant has almost the exact same decorations as the cult film. A man with a gun stands at the entrance. Inside are free-spirited Eastern women in ethnic clothing. Behind the bar are bleached-white walls with peeling plaster; on the walls hang carpets, old weapons, and musical instruments. Moscow restaurants The menu includes dishes from Uzbek, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Azerbaijani culinary traditions. Dishes and offerings include kazi, the boiled and smoked horse meat; delicious shish kebabs of lamb, lamb liver, and sturgeon; and, of course, the Uzbek soup lagman, for which connoisseurs of Central Asian food come here specially. And, most important of all, plov, which can, at a guest’s request, even be prepared with dried apricots or raisins. Desserts include Turkish delight, an apricot roulade, and baklava. Green, black, and fruit teas are all available.

July 23, 2011