“Soup for 750 rubles is the new norm”: prices in restaurants continued to rise

The situation in Moscow restaurants is moving towards decline from all sides. In those establishments that have managed to achieve an enviable reputation thanks to excellent cuisine, unique dishes on the menu or simply an unusual concept, everything is fine: demand is still high, guests are willing to spend several thousand, and without pre-booking a table you won’t be able to sit down even on a weekday. However, such establishments are becoming fewer and fewer, and many others – those that cannot boast of anything special – stand empty. The explanation is quite simple: prices continue to rise – just as they started in 2020, they continue to do so.

In 2022 and 2023, restaurateurs explained most of their problems with sanctions and difficulties with supplies: they say, today you won’t get any Greek olive oil, or Spanish capers, much less forbidden French cheeses… and if you do, they will cost a lot of money, so Constant price increases are a fact that you just have to come to terms with. And at the same time, in Moscow, which has already seemed to come to terms with the inevitable turn to the East and the rejection of everything European (including recipes and spices), Asian cuisine establishments are gaining popularity.

This, of course, is not just about sushi – those who reduce Asian gastronomy to California rolls have clearly fallen victim to the “bring back my 2007” meme.

Today, the Moscow catering market is gradually being captured by Japanese ramen, Korean fried chicken, Chinese Peking duck, as well as many Thai dishes – from unusual curries to tom yum soup. There is nothing to say about the Vietnamese – a rich beef broth with noodles and meat, called pho bo soup, has long become a worthy competitor to shchi and borscht: it goes too well with the cold Russian climate.

That’s where it would seem! – nothing should become more expensive. Asian countries are mostly friendly, it is much easier to establish logistics from there than from modern Europe, so it should be easy to bring the necessary ingredients. Well, most of the products – unless, of course, we are talking about rare spices and sauces! – You can even buy it in Russia. However, in practice, we see something completely different – prices in Asian restaurants have jumped even over the last year (and there is no point in comparing with earlier periods).

For example, an establishment on Novaya Square lures customers with classic – they say, standard! – ramen with beef. A year ago, this dish cost 550 rubles – this is evidenced by photographs of the menu and reviews of restaurant bloggers preserved on social networks – and today they will ask for 750. Shrimp kebab has also become more expensive – it is sold for 690 rubles instead of 570 rubles a year ago.

The situation is comparable in another Asian restaurant: for example, crab cutlets, which cost 1,050 rubles just in March 2023 (not even a year has passed!), are now on the menu with a price tag of 1,390 rubles. Udon with shrimp then cost 790 rubles, today it costs 920. However, hot dishes costing more than a thousand, and sometimes one and a half, will not surprise anyone – and soon, it seems, everything will go even further. For example, a large portion of eel with rice in an Asian restaurant near the Belorusskaya metro station today costs 2,170 rubles, but a year ago it cost 1,970.

A natural consequence of rising prices is a reduction in the number of customers: every month, fewer and fewer people can afford it. By the way, the decline in the purchasing power of customers is most noticeable not even in restaurants in the city center, but in markets that were supplemented with food courts several years ago. In 2018–2019, the question and complaint is “Who will go there?” seemed naively old-fashioned: the implication was that no one was special, just locals from nearby neighborhoods would happily eat a burger, coffee and cake, or a bowl of Vietnamese soup after they bought their groceries. Today the situation has changed: firstly, the notorious pho bo has imperceptibly risen in price from 300–400 rubles to 600, and secondly, fewer and fewer people are ready to spend this money just like that. So corner cafes in markets in residential areas are slowly closing one after another. The first to fail are those that required European products – for example, an Italian pizzeria has already waved its hand to the residents of the south-west of the capital, followed by a stall with Greek gyros.

“It’s stopped paying off, no one is eating,” a saleswoman named Rose, who sells Greek olives at the same market, readily said. — My customers still walk around somehow, they say they’ve gotten used to it. Although less than before. And they stopped buying from their colleagues completely: they say that no one needs shawarma for 500 rubles. So they closed last month.

Formally, of course, Greek gyros is not exactly shawarma, and its cost is quite justified due to the ingredients… however, this does not change the facts: people are really not ready to spend money.

A similar trend is observed throughout the city. Those restaurants that are located on busy central streets still exist as before, but those that have appeared on the outskirts are much less lucky.

“Our flagship cafe is located on Patriarch’s Street, they opened here quite recently,” said the manager of the establishment, hidden in the courtyards on Krasnaya Presnya. “But it seems it was a miscalculation.” At the Patriarch’s the hall is always full, but here there seem to be a lot of people walking around, but there are no clients at all. I don’t know: either they don’t trust the new name, or they don’t want to spend money?

The employee’s words are easily confirmed by facts: on Friday evening, when it’s 19.00 and everyone seems to be rushing to friendly meetings and romantic dinners, only one table is occupied in the spacious hall of the cafe. The rest are empty. Well, two steps from here, the empty windows of an establishment that closed after the New Year look at everyone with a silent reproach – a small cozy breakfast cafe did not survive the crises of recent years and gave way to the next tenants: maybe they will be luckier?

At the same time, the self-service Asian eatery, which was previously used by employees of nearby offices for quick lunches, is crowded in the evenings. Alcohol appeared on the menu, the average bill per nose increased to 1000–1500 rubles – and this is still cheaper than in a “real” cafe. However, as Sergei Mironov, a representative of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers, previously noted in a conversation with an MK correspondent, the past 2023 was marked by a real boom in fast food establishments – we are, of course, not talking about whites from a station tent, but about the same Asian eateries or modern burger joints. The explanation is simple: restaurants have become expensive for both customers and businesses. Well, people still want to sit and eat in a pleasant environment.