The legendary Yar Restaurant is considered one of the best in Moscow. Founded in 1826 and rebuilt in 1910, it has preserved the atmosphere of the early 20th century and exquisite Russian-European cuisine.
“Yar” has always been one of the most popular restaurants, known not only in Russia, but also in Europe. Savva Morozov, Przhevalsky, Pushkin, Chekhov, Kuprin, Gorky, Balmont, Rasputin, Chaliapin, Vladimir Vysotsky and Marina Vladi, Mother Teresa, Indira Gandhi, King of Spain Juan Carlos, Margaret Thatcher, Joseph Stalin, Pierre Cardin, Arnold Schwarzenegger - far from full list of famous guests of the restaurant.
At the end of the 20th century, the pre-revolutionary interior was restored here, the frescoes on the ceiling and walls were restored, and a fountain, created in the image and likeness of the Bolshoi Theater fountain, was installed in the courtyard.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Yar is a restaurant-theater. The show “Russian Ball at Yar” is close in entertainment to the Parisian “Moulin Rouge”. The program consists of 14 numbers: choreographic and acrobatic sketches, Russian, European and ethnic dances (flamenco, gypsy, Arabic). Seasons and countries change on stage - Russian motifs are heard, which are replaced by fiery Spanish rhythms, turning into choreographic miniatures in the style of the film “Cabaret” by Bob Fosse.
Each restaurant room has its own history. The main hall of “Yar” with a large two-tier stage, velvet curtains and a 15-meter ceiling, decorated with a huge crystal chandelier, truly amazes with the scale and soaring atmosphere of Russian festivities.
The interior of the “Green Bar” with a massive wooden buffet, engravings with views of old Moscow life, a fireplace and green velvet curtains is designed in a strict business style. It offers alcoholic drinks, cocktails and cigars.
Elegant and expensive classics - this is how you can define the style of the “Hall of Mirrors”, intended for respectable dinners in a narrow circle: ancient vaulted windows, a white piano, mirrors in gilded frames and the shine of crystal reflected in them.
Filled with daylight, the “Sudakov Gallery” was created in honor of one of the owners of “Yar” - merchant Alexei Akimovich Sudakov - a talented restaurateur who owned the restaurant from 1896 to 1918. The interior of the Sudakov Gallery is designed in the style of the restaurant galleries of the Ritz hotels in London and Plaza Athénée in Paris.
The summer terrace “Yara” is located in a quiet courtyard. The gramophone, Vertinsky's romances, binders of the Yunost magazine, tea drinking from a large old samovar warmed on fir cones, gingerbread cookies, pies and bagels, various types of preserves and board games are transported to Moscow of the 19th century.
Dishwasher
Alexey Sudakov was born in the Yaroslavl province, into a large peasant family. Many of their fellow villagers took their children to Moscow and sent them to work as tanners or blacksmiths, but often in taverns. This was done not out of selfishness and cruelty of the parents, but for the sake of saving children from starvation in the village, which often suffered from crop failures. Working in a restaurant, you certainly won’t die of hunger.
To feed the family, the father went with Alexei to Moscow to the “exchange” - that was the name then of the place where the owners of Moscow taverns chose sex workers (servants in a tavern), waiters for restaurants and clerks among people from the surrounding villages.
Yaroslavl peasants, or, as they were called, “water-drinkers” (by this it was meant that they drank only “fire water”), worked in the best taverns of the city (“Prague”, “Slavic Bazaar”, etc.). For them, this work was an opportunity to break out among people, to become a respectable person.
The duties of a waiter of those years were not particularly different from those of today: take the order, serve the dish correctly, clear the table
The manager of the tea shop liked the cheerful, cheerful boy and he took him to work as a dishwasher, and Alexei’s father as a clerk. And at the age of nine, the future millionaire began his adult life. The life of catering workers is not sweet even now: you have to constantly watch the food, you have to please everyone, you have to calm down drunk boors - in other words, you won’t even be able to sit down.
In a time when there was no running water, no garbage collection, no disinfectants, working in the kitchen was a nightmare. In such an atmosphere, our hero took his first steps towards success, cleaning plates with numb fingers in cold water. Of course, illiterate village children were taught all the dishes that were served, and if now all this is taught from printouts, then they memorized it by ear.
The cook personally undertook to teach the garçon all the intricacies of cooking so that he could answer any question from the guest. The most difficult thing for anyone was to learn the composition of the sauces, of which there were a great variety, and which dish was served with which sauce. They were allowed to work with clients only if the young worker “knew everything about the sauce.”
Having learned the menu, he was allowed into the hall to serve the visitors. Young Sudakov worked in this role for about four years. By and large, the duties of a waiter in those years were not very different from those of today: take the order, serve the dish correctly, clear the table.
Alexey was very smart and lively, diligently carried out all orders, so at the age of 17 he managed to become, in modern terms, a restaurant manager. He could wear a “spatula for stamps” (a wallet where cash receipts and money for food were kept) and a silk belt into which this same “spatula” was tucked. His tea shop began to generate good income, and at the age of 22, the businesslike Yaroslavl resident became the director of the establishment.
Restaurateur
As soon as the young man saved up an impressive amount, he immediately bought a restaurant on Rozhdestvensky Boulevard, which became popular throughout Moscow. Then another one, but the businessman’s dream was chic and beautiful restaurant "Yar"(named after the French chef Yard, and not from the ravine), which is now located near the Dynamo metro station, on Leningradka.
This place was different from other eateries, since they served not only bread, but also spectacles: Stepan Ryabov’s orchestra played, choirs sang, and in general the whole high society visited here: the rich man Morozov, the writers Chekhov and Kuprin, the opera star Chaliapin, the famous “non-believer” director Stanislavsky, “our everything” Pushkin.
Owning such a place meant not only getting rich, but also becoming famous among the elite. At his own peril and risk, having borrowed a tidy sum, in 1896 Sudakov bought Yar from the squandered owner Aksenov. But our hero knew what he was doing, and thanks to his ingenuity, he quickly earned money. In modern terms, he acted as a promoter... of a hippodrome. The fact is that the races took place very close to his café. Having reached an agreement with the racing society, he distributed free tickets to this event among the guests; sweet-voiced gypsies gave them to their fans.
“It’s like a merchant,” a restaurateur who knew merchants first-hand used to say, “if it’s free, then he’ll be happy with coals in hell.” During the day, the public went to look at their favorite horses, cheered for them, and then, tired of their experiences and, wanting to celebrate a victory or drown their grief, they went to have dinner at the nearby Yar. There was no end to customers now.
Using the proceeds from his simple and ingenious idea, Sudakov decided to make major renovations to his establishment. His idea was to turn the ancient wooden building into an Art Nouveau palace. In 1910, the architect Adolf Erichson built a new building with large faceted domes, arched windows and monumental lamps along the facade. Crowds flocked to the rebuilt Yar, even members of the imperial family and the all-powerful Grigory Rasputin were there. The elite especially loved the summer garden, where they could sit in the shade and talk about the fate of Russia.
In the same year, Alexey Akimovich, who had hundreds of thousands of dollars in capital, bought the St. Petersburg tavern "Bear", which was, in fact, a copy of his Moscow brainchild. The restaurateur turns an already chic place into a real “Hermitage”, only in it one could not only admire art, but also have a snack.
As it were, restaurant "Yar" survived the upheavals, and in 1952 became part of the Sovestkaya Hotel. The establishment was restored to its original interiors and name; in it, as in the good old days, a gypsy song plays and famous people come: from Chubais to Schwarzenegger. Each of us can admire the luxurious decoration and sit at Pushkin’s favorite table.
Babi Yar gained worldwide fame as the site of mass executions of the population, mainly Jews, and Soviet prisoners, by German troops in 1941. In total, according to information from various sources, from 33 thousand to 100 thousand people were shot
Babi Yar is located in the northwestern part of Kyiv, between the Lukyanovka and Syrets quarters.
- It was first mentioned under its current name in 1401, when the owner of the inn (Ukrainian “baba”) located here sold these lands to the Dominican monastery. In the XV-XVIII centuries the names “Shalena Baba” and “Bisova Baba” also came across.
- In 1869, not far from Babi Yar, the Syretsky military camp was founded. In 1895, the Division Church was founded on the territory of the camp, destroyed after the revolution. The entrance to the Syretsky concentration camp was later located on the site of this church.
- In 1870, the territory in the south of Babyn Yar was used for the construction of the Lukyanovsky cemetery, which was closed in 1962. Currently, the cemetery territory is a protected area
- In 1891-1894, a New Jewish Cemetery was founded next to Babi Yar. It was closed in 1937 and finally destroyed during World War II. Only a small fragment of the cemetery was preserved; the remaining burials were later moved to the Berkovetskoe cemetery.
During the Great Patriotic War, the occupiers who captured Kyiv on September 19, 1941, used Babi Yar to carry out mass executions. The first execution took place on September 27, 1941 - 752 patients of the psychiatric hospital named after. Ivan Pavlov, located next to the ravine
On September 24, on Khreshchatyk, the NKVD blew up two houses where representatives of the occupation administration were located. Explosions and fires continued in the following days; about 940 large buildings were destroyed. The Nazis regarded this as a reason to liquidate the Jewish population. At the end of September 1941, the Sonderkommando captured nine leading rabbis of Kiev and ordered them to address the population: “After sanitization, all Jews and their children, as an elite nation, will be transported to safe places...” On September 27-28, the Nazi authorities gave the order that On September 29, the Jewish population of the city arrived at the designated collection point at 8 a.m. with documents and valuables. For disobeying an order - execution. More than 2 thousand advertisements were posted around the city. At the same time, misinformation about the census and resettlement of Jews was spread through janitors and building managers. Most of the Jews remaining in the city - women, children and the elderly (the adult male population was drafted into the army) arrived at the appointed time. Representatives of some other national minorities were also gathered
At the end of the street they created a checkpoint; everything that happened behind it was invisible from the outside. 30-40 people were taken there one by one, where their belongings were taken away and they were forced to undress. After this, the police used sticks to drive people to the edge of a ravine 20-25 meters deep. On the opposite edge there was a machine gunner. The shots were deliberately drowned out by music and the noise of the plane circling over the ravine. After the ditch was filled with 2-3 layers of corpses, they were covered with earth on top.
Since they did not have time to shoot all those who arrived in one day, the premises of military garages were used as a temporary holding point. For two days on September 29-30, 1941, Sonderkommando 4a under the command of Standartenführer Paul Blobel with the participation of units of the Wehrmacht (6th Army) and the Kiev kuren of the Ukrainian auxiliary The police under the command of Pyotr Zakhvalynsky (Zakhvalynsky himself had nothing to do with these executions, since he arrived in Kiev only in October 1941; in 1943 he was killed by the Germans) shot 33,771 people in this ravine - almost the entire Jewish population of Kyiv. Further executions of Jews took place on October 1, 2, 8 and 11, 1941, during which time about 17,000 Jews were shot.
Mass executions continued until the Germans left Kyiv. On January 10, 1942, 100 sailors of the Dnieper detachment of the Pinsk military flotilla were shot. In 1941-1943, 621 members of the OUN (S. Bandera faction) were shot at Babi Yar, among them the Ukrainian poetess Elena Teliga and her husband, who had the opportunity to escape, but chose to stay with his wife and friends from the editorial office of the “Ukrainian Word” . In addition, Babi Yar served as the site for the execution of five gypsy camps. In total, from 70,000 to 200,000 people were shot at Babi Yar in 1941-1943. Jewish prisoners ordered by the Germans to burn their bodies in 1943 claimed 70-120 thousand.
In addition, on the site of the military camp of the Red Army units, the Syretsky concentration camp was opened, in which communists, Komsomol members, underground fighters, prisoners of war and others were kept. On February 18, 1943, three players of the “Dynamo” football team, members of the “”, were shot there: Trusevich, Kuzmenko and Klimenko.
In total, at least 25,000 people died in the Syretsky concentration camp. Retreating from Kiev and trying to hide the traces of their atrocities, the Nazis managed to partially destroy the camp in August - September 1943, dug up and burned many corpses on open “furnaces”, bones were ground on machines specially brought from Germany, the ashes were scattered throughout Babi Yar. On the night of September 29, 1943, in Babi Yar there was an uprising at the ovens of 329 death row prisoners, of whom only 18 people escaped, the remaining 311 died heroically. The surviving prisoners subsequently witnessed the Germans' attempt to hide the fact of the massacres. After the rescue of Kyiv by the Red Army on November 6, 1943, the Syrets concentration camp was a camp for German prisoners until 1946. After that, the camp was demolished, and in its place, in the late 1950s, the Syrets residential area was founded and a park named after. The fortieth anniversary of October (now it is called Syretsky Park)
The energy in this place was terrible and accidents were happening all the time. In 1950, city authorities decided to fill Babi Yar with liquid waste from nearby brick factories. The ravine was blocked with an earthen rampart to prevent flooding of residential areas. The features of the shaft and the drainage capacity did not meet even the minimum safety standards. On the morning of Monday, March 13, 1961, due to heavy snow melting, the shaft could not withstand the pressure of water, and as a result, a mudflow up to 14 meters high poured into Kurenevka. An area of more than 30 hectares was flooded with liquid, more than 30 buildings were destroyed, and the tram depot named after. Krasina.
Monument to the victims of the Kurenevskaya tragedy, opened in March 2006
Information about the disaster was subject to strict censorship, and its scale was greatly downplayed. Many victims were specially buried in different cemeteries in Kyiv, indicating other dates and causes of death, and some of the bodies were never found under a huge thickness of pulp. According to the official report of the commission investigating the causes of the tragedy, the accident killed 145 people. But modern researchers of the Kurenevka disaster claim that in fact the number of victims was about 1.5 thousand people. This episode in the history of Babi Yar is called the Kurenev tragedy.
Having visited the scene of the tragedy, Yevgeny Yevtushenko wrote his famous poem “Babi Yar”, which became the basis for Shostakovich’s 13th symphony. It was only in the 60s that the first mentions of mass executions at Babi Yar were published in the Soviet press. In 1966, the magazine Yunost published an abridged version of Anatoly Kuznetsov’s documentary novel Babi Yar, but the novel was never published as a separate edition. After Kuznetsov escaped abroad, copies of the magazine with chapters of the novel were confiscated from all libraries. The novel was published in its entirety in Russia after the collapse of the Union
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After the disaster, work to fill the pit continued. Instead of an earthen dam, a concrete one was erected, a new drainage system was laid, and more stringent safety measures were taken. Part of the pulp that splashed onto Kurenevka was transported back by dump trucks to backfill the ravine. Later, a road was built through the filled spurs of the ravine from Syrts to Kurenevka (part of the current Elena Teligi Street) and a park was built
In 1965, a closed competition was announced for the best monument to the victims of Babyn Yar. The authorities did not like the presented projects, and the competition was closed, and in October 1966, a granite obelisk was installed in the park in the southern part of the ravine, where only 10 years later the monument was finally erected. The opening of the monument was met with harsh criticism outside the USSR, because not a word was said about the Jews
In the early 1970s, television center buildings were built on the site of the New Jewish Cemetery
March 24, 2001 the building of the old cinema named after. Yuri Gagarin, located on the site of the Division Church, was transferred to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for the purpose of creating the Syretsky memorial (it included the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a museum, a monument and a film lecture hall)
In addition to the monuments mentioned above, Babi Yar also contains:
Menorah is a monument to executed Jews in the form of a menorah. Erected on September 29, 1991, the 50th anniversary of the first mass execution of Jews. The Road of Sorrow was laid from the former office of the Jewish cemetery to the monument.
Monument to executed children. Opened on September 30, 2001 opposite the exit from the Dorogozhichi metro station
Cross in memory of executed Orthodox priests. Established in 2000 on the site where on November 6, 1941, Archimandrite Alexander and Archpriest Pavel were shot, calling on the population to fight the fascists
The cross in memory of the 621 executed OUN members was erected on February 21, 1992, on the 50th anniversary of the execution of Elena Teliga and her associates.
And a number of other monuments:
- Stella in memory of Ostarbeiters, installed in 2005.
- Monument to the mentally ill executed on September 27, 1941.
- Cross in memory of German prisoners of war.
- A monument by an unknown author, representing three crosses welded from iron pipes, with the inscription on one of them “And in this place people were killed in 1941, Lord rest their souls.”
There has been a long discussion about creating a monument to the gypsies who were shot here.
Restaurants appeared in St. Petersburg and Moscow only in the third decade of the 19th century, becoming symbols of foreign chic. The legendary Yar restaurant was the first to appear in Moscow and has remained unsurpassed, diluting the Western-style establishment with purely Eastern revelry. The popularity of “Yar” continued to grow, and, having reached its peak in the 1910s, sank into the abyss along with noble and merchant Russia, only to be revived a century later.
"...How long will I be in this hungry melancholy
Involuntary fasting
And with cold veal
Remember Yar's truffles?..."A.S. Pushkin
The history of the legendary “Yar” begins in 1826, when on Kuznetsky Most in the house of the merchant Chavannes “a restaurant was opened with lunch and dinner tables, all sorts of grape wines and liqueurs, desserts, coffee and tea at very reasonable prices” (modern address: Kuznetsky Most, 9 – ed.). This was stated in the Moskovskie Vedomosti newspaper.
Needless to say, this was completely untrue? Even breakfast at Yar cost an amount equal to the cost of a grain train, and fried poulard (fatty, well-fed grilled chicken prepared according to a special recipe) cost 25 rubles. in silver - an amount equal to the monthly budget of an average-income family. But you can’t order just one chicken for dinner at Yar.
Russia in the 19th century actively adopted Western technologies, skillfully adapting them to its own realities, and often this very adaptation was carried out by Russified foreigners. The name "Yar" has nothing to do with the ravine; the restaurant was founded by a foreigner, the Frenchman Tranquil Yard, in 1826, and inherited the surname of his parent. The location on Kuznetsky Most was chosen to be lively: in the house of Ludwig Chavannes there were also fashionable shops of wines, snuff, perfumes, hats, fabrics and books.
The Tranquil Yard restaurant was visited by famous people; it was an elite place in the full sense of the word. Members of the imperial family and literary bohemians, railway concessionaires, bankers and stockbrokers spent their time here. The “spirit of the times” was fully felt in Yar; the legendary restaurant played the role of a meeting place for those who made history. Savva Morozov and Gilyarovsky were regulars at Yar; Plevako, Przhevalsky, Chekhov, Kuprin, Gorky, Leonid Andreev, Balmont, Chaliapin and Rasputin came here.
Pushkin mentioned his favorite restaurant in the poem “Road Complaints”: “...and remember the cold truffles “Yara” with veal...”. In his memoirs “The Past and Thoughts,” the writer Alexander Herzen recalled how he and a friend went to Yar for lunch: “We were still complete beginners at that time and therefore, after thinking for a long time, we ordered oukha au champagne (champagne soup), a bottle of Rhine wine and what - something tiny game, due to which we got up from dinner, terribly expensive, completely hungry.”
Despite the monstrous cost, “Yar” very soon became a trendsetter in the restaurant world. The old modest premises could no longer accommodate everyone, and already in 1848 the restaurant moved to Petrovka, closer to the Hermitage Garden. However, the Hermitage Garden also could not accommodate everyone who wanted to visit Yar. In addition, there was no room for the breadth of scope and implementation of all ideas. "Yar" is moving for the last time - to the Petersburg highway.
Now this is the beginning of Leningradsky Prospekt - a prestigious, almost central area, but then, in the middle of the 19th century, it was a countryside area surrounded by gardens and dachas. Having moved outside the city, “Yar” did not move into the category of run-of-the-mill restaurants that are of interest only to summer residents. The road to Yar, both in winter and summer at night, was brightly lit, and mad troikas were galloping along it - all in Yar.
It was at this time that the gypsy choir became an inseparable part of Yar. The leader of this choir, as well as the relationship between the singers and their fans, was Anna Ivanova, talented not only as a singer, but also as an organizer. The gypsy choir “from Yar” becomes the best in Moscow, the gypsies in it were the most beautiful and vocal. The position that Yar occupied in relation to its guests - satisfying any (absolutely any) whims and defeating the imagination - made the restaurant a powerful magnet that attracted Volga and Siberian capital. Misfires were rare.
“Who doesn’t remember the famous Yar with his soup a la tortu from a veal’s head, which was in no way inferior in taste to real turtle,” wrote the Moskvityanin magazine in 1858, “with his Bivsteak, with truffles, with his fried partridges en Perigord, in of which again there were more truffles than meat, with his chickens in the month of January, with fresh beans, with his cropadins from young grouse, steamed breams and, finally, with his matlot of sterlet?
In 1871, “Yar” became the property of the merchant Fyodor Aksenov and in the following decades amazes contemporaries with the originality and scale of merchant revelry. Imagine an open piano, full to the brim with water in which fish are swimming - this is how the drunken merchants played in the aquarium in the Yar. No expense was spared here to satisfy the whims. Moreover, they tried to invent something that no one had done before: it was a matter of prestige. Stories about merchant quirks were passed from mouth to mouth with a tinge of surprise and admiration, became legends, and settled in anecdotes and memoirs.
Gradually, a kind of price list for those who like to indulge was formed at Yar. The pleasure of smearing mustard on a waiter's face cost, for example, 120 rubles, and throwing a bottle at a Venetian mirror cost 100 rubles. However, “Yar” only grew richer from such ruin: the entire situation was prudently insured for substantial sums. The guest paid “for pleasure”, the insurance company paid for damage.
The waiters were not offended either - tips, if the guest was satisfied, were handed out in batches.
Everyone went crazy in their own way - someone came to Yar accompanied by a tame tigress, someone gave the ladies champagne from a glass with a handful of diamonds at the bottom, and all this was watched by a satisfied owner who knew how to wisely spur the rich and made huge profits from this revelry.
Continuing to invest money in Yar, Aksenov is undertaking a global restructuring of the building. The restaurant was to become a real palace with a winter garden, fountains and swimming pools, equipped with the latest technology. Unique furniture was ordered for “Yar”, the project had already been launched, but... an unexpected death prevented the implementation of Aksenov’s Napoleonic plans.
In 1895, “Yar” went to a native of Yaroslavl peasants, Alexei Akimovich Sudakov. Yaroslavl peasants have long gone to work in Moscow taverns and restaurants. So Alexei Akimovich, despite his 27-year-old age, had plenty of experience: he started as a boy in a tea shop, then rose to become the owner of a tavern. Sudakov did not ruin the work of his predecessors; moreover, it was under him that “Yar” became the most famous restaurant in Russia, costing almost three hundred thousand rubles.
In 1910, Yar was finally rebuilt: from a modest wooden house it turned into a luxurious palace with columns. The building was rebuilt by the famous Art Nouveau architect Adolf Erichson. The pre-revolutionary Yar was magnificent and eclectic: in addition to the Great and Small Halls in the imperial style, there were separate rooms in the Moorish, Russian and French styles.
The rooms were designed for both distinguished guests and simpler audiences. In the courtyard of the restaurant there was a beautiful summer garden with 250 seats with mysterious stone grottoes, gazebos covered with ivy, a fountain and lawns. “Yar” with “cellars and gardens” already occupies an entire block. Under it, a small village is formed in which an army of employees lives.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the restaurant was the first to open a garage, from where cars would pick up customers at any time of the day. At Yar they kept records of famous clients: at the entrance to the restaurant there was a stuffed bear with a silver tray in its paws, and by the end of the night a mountain of business cards left by the guests grew on the tray. The press reported that the new restaurant building “exceeded all expectations in terms of richness and even luxury of decoration, and most importantly - in great taste and elegance of execution. Experienced people found it difficult to say whether they had ever seen anything similar in grandeur and splendor among the foreign temples of gluttony.”
The attraction of the establishment was a huge tank with sturgeon and sterlet, from where the client could choose fish to prepare a signature dish. “A lover of boiled sturgeon came up to the pool,” recalled a contemporary, “and pointed his finger at this or that fish. It was immediately caught with a net, and the amateur cut out a figured piece from the gill cover with scissors. When this fish was served on the table, already boiled, a piece was applied to the cutout. If it matches, that means it’s the right fish! No deception."
The unprecedentedly magnificent Yar lasted only a few years. In 1818, Sudakov was taken straight from Yar by stern men in leather jackets. The owner of Yar never returned to his restaurant. The victorious proletariat fiercely knocked down the stucco molding, loaded luxurious furnishings onto carts and covered up the paintings on the walls - “Yar” ceased to exist.
From 1918 to 1952, the restaurant building housed a cinema, a gym for Red Army soldiers, a hospital, a film college, VGIK and the Pilot's House. In 1952, on the personal instructions of Stalin, a hotel complex in the Russian Empire style was added to the restaurant building (now the Sovetsky Hotel). And in 1952, after more than 30 years of oblivion, the restaurant reopened. True, it began to be called “Soviet”, but it still remained elite - only the very best visited here. Over the years, the restaurant was visited by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, government delegations of foreign powers, famous artists and others.
The Sovetsky restaurant arrived in new Russia in a very deplorable state. In 1998, new general director Valery Maksimov began the reconstruction of Yar, restoring its former glory. Today, the pre-revolutionary interior has been completely restored: the frescoes of the beginning of the century on the ceiling and walls have been restored, the chandelier from 1912 and lamps from 1952 have been restored, and the fountain in the courtyard has been recreated. Traditions are also slowly being revived, although modern merchants are not so tyrannical. However, we'll wait and see...
In the nineteenth century in Europe it was very fashionable to go on vacation to Russia. In restaurants in London and Paris, the highlights of the menu were dishes of Slavic cuisine. Gradually, residents of the Old World began to open their own taverns in Russia. People visited such establishments not only to delight their bodies with food and drinks, of which there were many on offer, but also to indulge in various types of entertainment. Along with a great variety of national cuisine, cabaret dancers performed in restaurants with a Russian character, and musicians, singers and readers delighted the ears of visitors.
Two centuries of history
A striking example of successful business was at that time, and at the moment is also, the Yar restaurant (Moscow). Photos of this establishment often adorn the pages of guidebooks to the capital. This place is known not only by the local residents of the city, but also by tourists. This establishment began its existence in 1826. The founder of this place, which quickly became popular, was Tranquil Yar. It was his last name that became the name of the establishment. The entire European elite gave honor and praise to this place, which was an excellent example of the original culture of an ancient people. The famous Slavic hospitality, an abundance of varied dishes for every taste, an excellent program - all this has made the Yar restaurant the most famous establishment in the capital.
Favorite place of the intelligentsia
Initially, this “gourmet paradise” was a favorite meeting place for Moscow’s elite. Merchant children, factory owners, and large shopkeepers spent their evenings here. Almost every evening one could meet a cultural representative in the hall. Anton Pavlovich Ivanovich Kuprin, Konstantin Dmitrievich Balmont, Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin, and even Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin visited the Yar restaurant more than once, choosing it from many similar establishments in the city. Among the patrons of the arts, Savva Timofeevich Morozov honored this place with his presence.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, difficult times came for Russia. Revolutions, strikes, uprisings, wars - the people and the authorities built socialism. In the course of political events, many and other establishments, where the owners were foreign persons, were nationalized. Almost every institution with foreign capital was closed. The Yar restaurant also suffered a sad fate. The meeting place for high officials and wealthy merchants suspended its activities. Soon, the Sovetskaya Hotel was located in the building, where the vaults were decorated with stucco and the windows were decorated with frescoes and stained glass.
High status
After some time, it was decided to restore the former splendor of the popular place. The unique and inimitable atmosphere has been revived. Architecture and design are once again filled with new life. The Yar restaurant became a vivid reminder of the “walking” Moscow of the nineteenth century. This establishment continues to operate directly under the wing of the Sovetskaya Hotel. That, in turn, is one of the most successful and comfortable hotels in the capital. Foreigners often rent rooms here. Laudatory reviews from foreign guests visiting the restaurant support the high status of the establishment not only in Moscow, but also far beyond its borders.
Back to basics
According to many guests, Yar offers “the most Russian cuisine.” In addition, this establishment is perhaps the only one in the city where the consistent and at the same time pompous interior of the bourgeois capital of the nineteenth century has been preserved. Helpful staff, an excellent menu, and an excellent program are a good reason to visit this “gourmet paradise.” As in the old days, the restaurant's audience is quite diverse. Representatives of culture and show business, businessmen and socialites often appear here. And at the neighboring tables, ordinary families and couples in love are enjoying delicious dishes.
Interior decoration and location
There are a huge number of restaurants in Moscow, but it’s unlikely that any of them can compare with the establishment in question. After the re-opening, not only the kitchen, traditional for that time, was restored here, but also the entire interior, down to the smallest detail. The high ceilings are decorated with ornate frescoes. Similar decorative elements can be found on the walls. In the center of the main hall there is a huge chandelier with numerous pendants on top. Malachite columns, tall mirrors and numerous gildings - modern designers have done everything possible to return to the once popular place not only its former glory, but also the Empire style architecture. From the main room you can go to the courtyard, where a delightful panorama appears before your eyes, the crown of which is a fountain, created in the likeness of the fountain of the Bolshoi Theater. Several halls, each of which is a historical exhibit - all this is the Yar restaurant.
The address of this establishment is quite well known: it is located on Leningradsky Prospekt, in the center of the intersection of two metro stations: Belorusskaya and Dynamo. From the underground trains the establishment can be reached by any type of public transport. If the visitor arrives in his own car, he can freely leave his “iron horse” in the free parking lot.
Main room
As mentioned above, the Yar restaurant is divided into three halls. The first, the largest of the available ones, bears the name of the same name. The architecture of this room allows you to easily find out what a pompous and bright Empire style is. The hall can accommodate 150 people. Therefore, this place is simply perfect for a big celebration. It is noteworthy that in the Yar hall there is also a stage where various types of equipment are located. As a rule, this is where most of the public gathers. The daily show program, more reminiscent of theatrical performances, is also the Yar restaurant. Feedback from visitors suggests that the issue of entertaining customers is not the last priority for the administration of the establishment. Girls floating under the ceiling, extraordinary and vibrant shows, performances by musical groups and cabaret dancers, gypsies and magicians - the program is quite diverse and wide.
Other rooms
The second room, which is also located inside the restaurant, is a VIP room called the “Mirror Hall”. Its name seems to hint to the visitor about its presence. However, few people actually expect that there will be a lot of mirrors. Thanks to their correct placement, the room seems very large. In fact, the Hall of Mirrors can accommodate fifty people. As an additional element of the interior, there is a fireplace, giving the room a touch of home comfort. For more relaxed gatherings, the restaurant offers a lobby bar that can easily accommodate forty people.
In addition to the interior premises, “Yara” is also comfortably located “under the wing” of the establishment. It works only in the warm season. The terrace is located in the restaurant's courtyard. Its highlight is the magnificent fountain. Every object here brings back memories of the Soviet Union: Yunost magazines forgotten on tables, Vertinsky's romances coming from an old gramophone, a quiet atmosphere...
Contemporary dishes and historical reminders
The restaurant's cuisine is famous for its sophistication and tradition. At the same time, the chef often spoils the public with his new masterpieces. On the menu you can find both pies and lobster with shrimp. Beef stroganoff, tender veal, venison and pork, foie gras, country-style potatoes and mushrooms in pots - everyone can choose a dish to their taste. In addition to the standard and permanent menu, there are also seasonal updates. On a hot day you will be offered to refresh yourself with cranberry juice, and on a winter evening you will be offered to warm up with a glass of sparkling aged wine or a cup of mulled wine. The average cost of an order per person is within 3,000 rubles.
Analogs
It is worth noting that not only in Moscow there is a restaurant “Yar”. Kolomna can also boast of having an establishment with a similar name. The history of this place does not go back to the century before last. The cuisine is quite standard and includes Russian and European dishes. Visitors note the low level of service, which, you see, is quite unacceptable, if only out of respect for the illustrious name of the Moscow establishment.
Another city where the Yar restaurant is located is Krasnodar. Here customers are pleased not only with service, but also with very tasty dishes. The interior and atmosphere are also at the highest level.
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