Chainaya

Address: 29-1 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya St., Moscow, 125047, Russia
Tel: +7 495 967 3052
Style: Restaurant bar

Review

This is one of the newest, most evocative and arguably exciting little bars in the city. But it's the sort of place you need to be shown, as it's a little out of the way. Hidden away in the backstreets of Moscow's Chinatown, Chainaya has been a teahouse for eight years but has now added to their offering of fine tea to include a little bar run by a small, independent team of some of Moscow's most well-liked and best-travelled bartenders.

To find it, you'll need to take a daring turn into what appears to be the deserted back yard of the Chinese restaurant it sits beneath. Stepping over shattered concrete and minding your head on exposed pipe-work and air-conditioning units, head towards the light at the end of the alley and on the left you'll find a small door with a buzzer.

Step through, and the lighting darkens and the atmosphere immediately intensifies. The small, one-station, spot-lit bar is directly in front of you and a few stools allow you to get right up close to the glass topped bar housing an array of teas and spices. Served from a bamboo bar mat, the drinks list is small, fantastically well executed and in keeping with the style of the venue. Not surprisingly, there is a quite a deal of tea used, but also a selection of shrubs, homemade cordials, and a great array of oriental spices as well as a couple of Moscow's contemporary classics - the Visionary and the Pikovaya Dama. The kitchen serves a cross-section of Chinese cuisine.