Soaring high above Moscow on the top of Europe’s tallest skyscraper OKO but grounded by its most ancient culinary roots is Ruski, the very successful joint venture of two Moscow restaurant giants, Chaikhonka and GINZA.
On the tower’s 85th floor, Chef Alexander Volkov-Medvedev is reinventing Russia’s oldest methods and recipes with the help of the restaurant’s immense Russian “pechka” or stove, which once stood at the heart of every Russian home, providing the banked heat that warmed the dwelling and cooked Russia’s soups, stews, porridges, and pottages.
Chef Volkov-Medvedev takes an academic approach to creating the menu at Ruski. Working with culinary historians, Olga and Pavel Syutkin, Ruski offers new interpretations of Russian classics with an emphasis on pastries, including coulibiac and kurnik, both festive pies stuffed with fish, rice, eggs, vegetables, and poultry.
Fish abounds at Ruski, as it has in the Russian diet for centuries, from the delectable starter of marinated herring with rye toast to the main dish of Karelian trout with celery root cream. These simple dishes are elevated to new heights by the careful selection of excellent quality ingredients and the assiduous attention to the method of preparation, all done on site at Ruski. Chef Volkov-Medvedev salts, smokes, marinates, and preserves all primary and ancillary ingredients himself, bringing inimitable Russian kitchen traditions to this popular eatery.
Add to unrivaled views of the Russian capital a full-size ice bar with the loan of a fur coat to sample home-brewed vodka infusions and Russian caviar, and you are halfway to heaven on the 85th floor!
Ruski. 21 1st Krasnogvardeisky proyezd, Bldg. 2. 85 floor of OKO building, Moscow City. Mezhdunarodnaya Metro. +7 (495) 777 7111. //ruski.354group.com/en/
This article has been produced in partnership with Ruski.
