Gastronomic sirtaki – Weekend

Kefi

Masterpiece tiropita pie

The Greek restaurant Kefi appeared on the site of the famous “House 12”, which, according to its founding father Dmitry Borisov, completed its nine-year cycle at a certain final point and gave rise to a new one. Being one of the most courageous and informal players in the restaurant market, Borisov quickly and sensitively responds to the requests of the target audience. Over the past year or two, the bohemian-intellectual-artistic audience of “House 12” has indeed been forced to take stock of all sorts of results and start life anew, so the decisive transformation of an almost club project into a restaurant with popular Greek food turned out to be very timely. At the same time, the project team remained, but the key figures in the kitchen changed, starting the game anew and according to new rules. Kefi chef Evgeny Dokunin once started at Ragout, then worked at Carre Blanc and Marie Vanna and had never dealt with Greek cuisine before. And the ideological inspirer of the menu and curator of the entire project was a Greek with almost thirty years of Moscow experience, development director of Bosco di Ciliegi, socialite and adherent of traditional Greek values ​​in the field of gastronomy, Konstantin Andrikopoulos. It was he who inspired Evgeny Dokunin to pursue creative searches and spent a fair amount of time with him in the kitchen, shoulder to shoulder, in order to teach him the nuances of the family recipe and imbue him with the spirit of mastic, thyme and rosemary so that all Kefi dishes acquired an authentic sound. In some incredible way, such a strange creative tandem succeeded. The food at Kefi, compared to other Greek discoveries in Moscow, seems surprisingly convincing – both in content and form. An open, bright, intense, energetic flavor palette of dishes, laconic but elegant presentation, a lot of characteristic spices and seasonings, which Evgeny Dokunin does not spare – unlike most of his colleagues, who are afraid to once again incur the wrath of a certain collective guest from Patrikov, as if would be sentenced to a hospital diet for life – all this distinguishes Kefi from its competitors, as well as a conscious refusal of metropolitan glamor. Unlike Eva, Meraki, The Greeks and Moro, Kefi does not flaunt exquisite interiors, skimps on hand cream in the toilet rooms, is not afraid of slippery tiles on the porch, and this is another sure step towards authenticity, because where Have you seen the design solutions of leading architects using expensive materials and textures in taverns in Greece? All these are Moscow affairs, and Kefi looks at local stereotypes in a “fun” way, in accordance with the name. But the plates are full of fun and a real Greek holiday. We can safely say that Kefi has the most delicious tzatziki in Moscow (450 rubles), which can be safely ordered as a full-fledged wonderful dip (and this is an unprecedented thing in Moscow restaurants, everywhere tzatziki is at best a sauce, and at worst a useless appendage to meze), a very authentic taramasalata (450 rubles), albeit with red caviar, silky-tasting blanched cherry tomatoes with thyme honey and goat cheese mousse (650 rubles), which can be eaten with a spoon like a salad, and honest pita with olive butter (250 rubles), without any merchant Moscow sweetness, which is common in the pitas of all thematic establishments of the Boulevard Ring. Among the hot appetizers, you should pay attention to saganaki shrimp with fresh tomatoes, sweet peppers, feta and ouzo (950 rubles), crispy zucchini croquettes with tomato jam and mint yogurt (650 rubles) and an absolutely perfect tiropita pie (850 rubles) made from crispy phyllo dough with the most delicate fluffy filling of feta cheese and a spicy Parmesan sauce – this dish can rightfully be considered the hallmark of the new restaurant, and it definitely deserves a special visit. If a declaration of love for Greece could be embodied on a plate, then it would definitely turn out to be this tiropita, no more and no less. For him – my most emotional compliments to the creative duo of Dokunin – Andrikopoulos. Well, another absolute hit is stewed lamb shoulder kleftiko (1,800 rubles) with herbs, powerful demi-glace sauce and standard lemon potatoes. And for dessert – feta mousse with cherry jam (750 rubles), demonstrating an excellent balance of salt and sweetness, mastic ice cream (250 rubles), sorbet of olive oil, orange and lemon juice (250 rubles) or tarragon sorbet , mint, dill, parsley and cilantro (250 rubles). Powerful flavor code on sirtaki level!

Twins Garden

Dominant radish with black caviar

The first set of the Twins Garden team, created after the departure of the Berezutsky brothers, is called “Journey along the Golden Ring” and is dedicated to gastronomic images of Russian cities. The set includes eight dishes and costs RUB 19,000. There is a separate wine pairing by chef sommelier Svetlana Lomsadze – a choice of gaming “Blind Sparring” (9,000 rubles), in which the guest guesses Russian wines for a prize bottle of wine, a themed pairing “Eastern Mediterranean” with little-known wines from Lebanon, Israel and Syria ( 12,000 rub.) and classic accompaniment “Only Pinot” (18,000 rub.), from sparkling to dessert wines. The set starts with the image of Sergiev Posad, embodied in an edible nesting doll – radish with black caviar, radish with scallop and turnip in the form of jelly stuffed with crab. This bright, dynamic starter immediately sets the tone for the entire set and determines its stylistic dominance. Pereslavl-Zalessky presents salted whitefish with potato donut and vendace caviar. Rostov the Great is symbolized by an edible pearl stuffed with abalone, surrounded by a stew of rapana and porcini mushrooms. Yaroslavl – tiny rabbit loin in a duet with rabbit breast, oven-simmered cabbage of various varieties and pickled kale. Suzdal is represented by lamb meat in a pot with masterly low-temperature vegetables – turnips, carrots and zucchini, enclosed in beeswax turnips. And for dessert there is a fabulous story about Vladimir and his cherry orchards, embodied in cherry mousse in a crispy tube with white chocolate “truffle”. In general, the set looks very confident (not counting the obvious failure with the fantasy “macaroni and cheese” on the theme of Kostroma, which clearly does not reach the level of the other positions). The Twins Garden team demonstrates a strong grasp of the storytelling skills that underpin any fine dining restaurant, and a deep understanding of how to make complex food comfortable and delicious (something Twins Graden hasn’t always had before). So the prospects for a Michelin-starred restaurant are as optimistic as possible in the current realities.

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