Moscow is a big city and I guarantee that you won't be bored there. Whatever you prefer, there is a place for you to go for a good time. The following is a comprehensive list of bars, casinos, entertainment complexes, gay places, nightclubs and strip clubs offered by the Moscow Times.
Bars,
casinos,
entertainment complexes,
gay clubs,
nightclubs,
strip clubs
Bars:
American Bar and Grill
Moscow's original American grill-style restaurant serves hamburgers, french fries, steaks and breakfast specials worth getting out of bed at 6 a.m. for. Weekend happy hour at the Taganskaya bar lasts from midnight to 5 a.m.
Cover: none. 2/1 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Ulitsa. Metro Mayakovskaya. Tel. 251-7999/9671. 24 hours. 59 Zemlyanoi Val. Metro Taganskaya. Tel. 912-3615. Noon to 2 a.m. Credit cards: all.
Angara
This enormous bar is one of the few in Moscow that sells its own out-of-this-world in-house brew. The food's not bad either.
Cover: none. 19 Novy Arbat. Metro Smolenskaya. Tel. 203-6936/291-9079. Noon to 5 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
B.B. King
The place where aging stars go to scrawl on the walls after Moscow concerts. Sting played here, as did the bluesman the club is named for. Allegedly. Quiet, friendly atmosphere for a chat and a sup. Not for those on a budget. Offers crocodile meat to get you in that southern blues mood.
4/2 Sadovaya-Samotyochnaya Ulitsa. Metro Tsvetnoi Bulvar. Tel. 299-8206. Noon to 2 a.m., Fri. and Sat. until last customer. Credit cards: all.
Baskerville
Billiard bar with 60 kinds of whiskey.
Cover: none. 55 Leningradskoye Shosse. Metro Rechnoi Vokzal. Tel. 234-1790. 11 to 5 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
Basset Club
Billiards, games. Manhattan Express, only smaller.
Cover: none. 5/4 Vetoshny Pereulok. Metro Teatralnaya. Tel. 298-0329. Credit cards: none.
Beer Bar
A two-level German beer hall with folk music and German food.
Pivnushka. Cover: none. 28 Leninsky Prospekt. Metro Leninsky Prospekt. Tel. 952-5567. Noon to 11 p.m. Credit cards: all.
Bluebird
Cheesiness is a funny thing. When something is so bad it's good, you've embraced the aesthetic and the creator must be taken seriously. This is why hip, ironic attempts at producing real cheese don't satisfy. Credit is due, then, to Bluebird, a putative jazz club with a vibe so tacky it reveals an almost breathtaking cluelessness on the part of those responsible. Cheap Baltika and pricey food.
Sinyaya Ptitsa. free on Sundays. 23/15 Ulitsa Malaya Dmitrovka. Metro Pushkinskaya. Tel. 299-2225. Noon until the last customer leaves. Credit cards: V, MC.
Boar House
Expat-heavy, with live music, pool tables, Sunday jazz and a long, long bar. Check your belongings in the cloakroom here at your own risk.
26 Zemlyanoi Val. Metro Kurskaya. Tel. 917-0150. Noon to 6 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
Brand
Wins the prize for strangest juxtaposition of entertainment events: This place has everything from live jazz to the "Tarzan Show" on Ladies' Night on Sundays.
1 Smolenskaya Ploshchad. Metro Smolenskaya. Tel. 241-0589. 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC.
Chat
Live music by bards and folk singers.
Besedka. 9/11 Bolshoi Fakelny Pereulok. Metro Taganskaya. Tel. 911-3512. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Credit card: none.
Cooker House
A laid-back cafe that boasts, of all things, a working washing machine. Relax next to Cooker's real fireplace, sip your tea and watch your socks go 'round and 'round. Best to reserve a table if you want a seat. There are so few chairs here, we expect it's only a matter of weeks before some otherwise civilized tea-sippers come to blows over the ownership of the tall, blue stool.
Dom Kukera. Cover: none. 25 Lubyansky Proyezd. Metro Kitai-Gorod. Tel. 924-5611, 923-2896. Noon to 10 a.m. Credit cards: none.
Ditch
Good beer and a cozy atmosphere. An ideal place to meet after work for drinks, but not dinner, due to the bar's very limited choice of food. Live music on weekends.
Yama. Cover: none. 10 Stoleshnikov Pereulok, Bldg. 2. Metro Teatralnaya. Tel. 292-0115. Fri. and Sat. noon to 2 a.m. Credit cards: all.
Dom
World music, art gallery, performance art.
24 Bolshoi Ovchinnikovsky Pereulok, Bldg. 4. Metro Novokuznetskaya. Tel. 953-7236.
Elephant
A small, cozy bar in the basement of a residential building. Live music.
Cover: none. 12 2nd Kolobovsky Pereulok. Metro Tsvetnoi Bulvar. Tel. 200-5492. 1 p.m. to midnight. Credit cards: none.
RECOMMENDED! Embassy Club
Moscow's first cigar bar, with a range of malt whiskies and top cognacs. Very comfy sofas; smart dress code and unexpectedly cheap beer.
8/10 Bryusov Pereulok, Bldg. 2. Metro Okhotny Ryad. 5 p.m. until last customer leaves. Tel. 229-6563/7185. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Forpost
No alcohol served. Live folk and reggae, plus ""literature parties.""
28 Khamovnichesky Val. Metro Sportivnaya. Tel. 242-1654. Thurs. to Sun. 7 to 11 p.m. Credit cards: none.
Forte
The space is small and square with low ceilings, but the artsy clientele and attentive management make it feel more cozy than cramped. Great for live music, especially jazz. Good Czech beer on tap. Better than average Russian food.
18 Bolshaya Bronnaya Ulitsa. Metro Tverskaya. Tel. 202-8833. 2 p.m. to midnight, concerts start at 9 p.m. Credit cards: none.
Four Rooms
This four-room bar with billiards, dancing and live music has gone way, ***way*** downhill since its heyday in '98.
Chetyre Komnaty. 4/5 Raushskaya Naberezhnaya. Metro Tretyakovskaya. Tel. 959-3320. 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Credit cards: all.
Fox and Pheasant
A traditional Irish bar, or at least a Russian attempt at one. Dark, varnished wooden tables and waistcoated bartenders give it some Irish character. Rude staff.
Lisa i Fazan. Cover: none. 16 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Ulitsa. Metro Mayakovskaya. Tel. 251-0974. 5:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
Full Moon
This '60s-themed club, a favorite with flower-children, has two halls one with a disco ball and one with pillows on the floor. Very young crowd.
Polnoluniye. 2 Karetny Pereulok. Metro Tsvetnoi Bulvar. Tel. 209-4346,299-1655. Fri. to Sat. 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., Sun. 7 p.m. to midnight. Credit cards: none.
Gertsen
Another Justo clone: a bar, with a Japanese restaurant, too. Tiny dancefloor and indifferent staff.
Cover: none (face control). 12/1 Bolshaya Nikitskaya Ulitsa. Metro Okhotny Ryad. No telephone. 2 p.m. to 7 a.m. Credit cards: none.
Golden Fish
Quiet during the week, this beer bar is hoppin' on Friday nights. Cheap beer and billiards.
Zolotaya Vobla. Cover: none. 19 Starovagankovsky Pereulok, Bldg. 7. Metro Biblioteka Imeni Lenina. Tel. 203-0389. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC.
Grouse's Nest
Bard cafe with a reasonably-priced menu of Russian food. Twelve different bliny meals, plus all the usuals. Concerts by the best of the Russian bards every night in the main room.
Gnezdo Glukharya. 22 Bolshaya Nikitskaya Ulitsa. Metro Okhotny Ryad. Tel. 291-9388. Noon to 11 p.m. Credit cards: none.
Gvozdi
Try the khrenovukha, liquor made from horseradish. Live music.
In the courtyard behind the Helikon Theater, 19 Bolshaya Nikitskaya Ulitsa. Metro
Arbatskaya. Tel. 290-2254/3645. Noon to 5 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC.
Horse and Hound
Used to be one of the only places in Moscow where you could bet on live horse races. No more. Now it has strip shows instead.
Kon i Pyos. 16/27 Malaya Kommunisticheskaya Ulitsa. Metro Taganskaya. Tel. 912-6963, 234-1900. Noon until last customer leaves. Credit cards: MC, AE.
Intersection
Bard rock and Russian-style ""authors' songs,"" avant-garde performance art, alternative fashion shows and puppet shows. No alcohol served.
Perekryostok. 13 Volokolamskoye Shosse. Metro Sokol. Tel. 158-1700. 5 to 11 p.m. Credit cards: none.
Krai
Trance music parties. Indian music on Sundays. Dance barefoot on the bar's carpeted floors. Vegetarian food.
14 Spartakovskaya Ploshchad. Metro Baumanskaya. Tel. 267-0390. Thursday to Sunday 7 p.m. to midnight, Fri. and Sat. 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Credit cards: none.
Krizis Zhanra
Tucked away in the basement of an apartment block, this is a lovely, mellow venue, good for lunch or to kick off an evening out. Since the neighbors like to sleep at night, it closes far too early but usually squeezes a band in before the stage turns into a pumpkin at midnight. Popular among students and tourists, it can get far too crowded.
Cover: none. 22/4 Prechistensky Pereulok. Metro Kropotkinskaya. Tel. 241-1928. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: none.
Last Drop, The
Tiny pub buried in a courtyard just off Pushkin Square. Someone ought to tell the doormen that cellar pubs aren't supposed to have face control, though: These guys have been known to interrogate women wearing too much mascara or low-cut shirts.
Poslednyaya Kaplya. Cover: none. 4 Strastnoi Bulvar, Bldg. 3 (enter the courtyard through the archway). Metro Pushkinskaya. Tel. 292-7549/7681. Noon to 6 a.m. Credit cards: none.
Lighthouse
Private club for the theater crowd owned by famous actor Maxim Sukhanov. You'll get past the door guards only on the arm of a celebrity. Billiards, restaurant and other amusements.
Mayak. Cover: none. 11 Maly Kislovsky Pereulok. Metro Arbatskaya. Tel. 291-9746. 11 a.m. until last customer leaves. Credit cards: none.
Lite
Trance music bar that draws mostly teenagers. Tiny dance floor and waitresses in starched hats. Inexpensive Russian fare.
40/3 2nd Tverskaya-Yamskaya Ulitsa. Metro Belorusskaya. Tel. 250-1274. 11 p.m. until last customer leaves. Credit cards: none.
M Bar
A comfy bar with daily jazz gigs.
Cover: none. 28 Ulitsa Petrovka, Bldg. 1. Metro Pushkinskaya. Tel. 200-2766. Noon to midnight; concerts start at 8 p.m., Sun. at 8:30 p.m. Credit cards: all.
Mesto Vstrechi
Cavernous brick cellar restaurant/club just off Tverskaya Ulitsa. Reasonable prices and one pool table. Serves alcoholic cider.
Meeting Place. Cover: none. 9/8 Maly Gnezdnikovsky Pereulok, Bldg. 7. Metro Pushkinskaya. Tel. 229-2373/3016. Noon to 5 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
Mix
The latest by the father of the Moscow club scene, Valery Novak, who's got two White Cockroaches, Bedniye Lyudi and Four Rooms under his belt. His latest venture, Mix, aims for a little more sophistication with jazz-influenced house, inexpensive fare and television monitors in every room broadcasting a nonstop reel of commercials from all over the world. But it fails with flying colors.
Cover: none. 11 Novinsky Bulvar. Metro Smolenskaya. Tel. 255-4333/5874/9303. Mon. to Wed. noon to midnight, Thurs. to Su. noon until the last customer leaves. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
RECOMMENDED! Museum
A lounge for the Gallery crowd, Museum competes with Pyramid on Pushkin Square. Located in the building made infamous by former-tenant Carousel's showgirls (whose uninspired window ""dancing"" was probably responsible for more than a few fender-benders on Tverskaya), Museum is strictly drug-free an enormous, brightly lit room where designer-clad types hang out between dinner and dancing.
Cover: none. 11 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Ulitsa. Metro Mayakovskaya. Tel. 251-6444. 2 p.m. to 6 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC, DC.
Niagara
Paris Life with an even nastier doorman. Convenient to nothing.
55 Leninsky Prospekt. Metro Leninsky Prospekt. Tel. 135-9538. Noon to 5 a.m. Credit cards: none.
RECOMMENDED! Oracle
Warm, unpretentious feel right down to the butcher-block tables, drippy candles in bottles and Gothic scrawl on the walls. The bar has undergone a few changes in the last year they've dispatched to Hades the Greek mythology references from the menu, but the high-quality Russian dishes remain. Efes and Stary Melnik on tap, Corona in bottles. Live greyhound racing from Florida also on tap some nights, but no betting.
Orakul Bozhestvennoi Butylki. 1 Sredny Ovchinnikovsky Pereulok, Bldg. 13. Metro Novokuznetskaya. Tel. 953-0556. Mon. to Fri. noon to 6 a.m., Sat. and Sun. 4 p.m. to 6 a.m. Credit cards: none.
Orange Tie
Named for the popular Bravo song, this '50s bar is a decent place to have a drink or two if you're wandering around this attractive part of the center with nowhere else to go. Despite the Tie's polite staff, relatively inexpensive beer and an adequate Russian menu (it doesn't include, to our disappointment, Bogart Burgers or Monroe Milkshakes), you're still better off at one of the other cafes on the street.
Oranzhevy Galstuk. Cover: weekdays free. 5 Kamergersky Pereulok. Metro Okhotny Ryad. Tel. 299-1952. Noon to 6 a.m.Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
P. i R. O.G.I.
This spinoff of Project O.G.I., the underground bar on Potapovsky Pereulok, features better service and a larger menu than its dingy predecessor, but those loyal to Project O.G.I. will be disappointed with O.G.I.'s less stylish spinoff.
Cover: none. 29 Pyatnitskaya Ulitsa. Metro Tretyakovskaya. Tel. 927-5678. 24 hours. Credit cards: none.
Permanent Address
Billiards, dancing and live music.
Postoyannoye Mesto Zhitelstva. 165 Lyublinskaya Ulitsa, Bldg. 3. Metro Marino. Tel. 346-9410. 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC.
Pizza Express
In addition to a full menu, this restaurant and bar also features live jazz from noon to midnight every day. Live jazz, pop and rock on Friday nights from 10 p.m., with lotteries thrown in for extra topping.
Cover: none. In Smolensky Passazh, 3/5 Smolenskaya Ploshchad. Metro Smolenskaya (light blue line). Tel. 937-8261/62. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: all.
Plekhanov
A small bar that serves European food and cheap beer. From time to time, hosts live rock and Russian '60s-style bard-type musical performances.
36 Stremyanny Pereulok, Bldg. 3. Metro Serpukhovskaya. Tel. 237-9209. Noon until last customer leaves. Sun. 5 p.m. to last customer. Credit cards: V, MC.
RECOMMENDED! Project O.G.I.
Good food at bargain basement prices. Try the burritos, which are surprisingly delicious, or the stuffed eggplant appetizer. Great recorded music and dancing after midnight on most nights. Occasional live concerts and kids programs. The bookstore upstairs is open all night. Now with business lunches. Art gallery.
Proekt O.G.I. Cover: none. 8/12 Potapovsky Pereulok, Bldg. 2 (enter through the courtyard). Metro Chistiye Prudy. Tel. 927-5776. 8 a.m. to 6 a.m. Credit cards: none. proekt-ogi@mail.ru
R Club
New location of the R Club you might have read about in some circa 1995 copy of "The Lonely Planet" guide to Russia. Maybe. This one's less genuine and more dangerous. If you're not a seasoned veteran of the bottle-throwing, head-kicking, stage-diving world of mosh pits, you'd better be armed. After a couple of liters of what they call "beer" here, you'll probably have to use the bathroom avoid this, or bring a pair of hip boots.
19/21 4th Roshchinsky Proyezd. Metro Tulskaya. Tel. 952-0478, 954-7402. 6 to 11 p.m. Credit cards: none.
Restoration
Home improvement theme and several dozen kinds of whiskey.
7 Leontevsky Pereulok. Metro Pushkinskaya. Tel. 290-5659. Noon to 5 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC.
Rhythm and Blues Cafe
If you like rhythm and you like the blues go somewhere else. You'll find little of either here. Owned by well-known musician Stas Namin. Weekly blues parties.
19 Starovagankovsky Pereulok, Bldg. 2. Metro Biblioteka Imeni Lenina. Tel. 203-6008/6556, 203-0147. 11 a.m. until last customer leaves. Credit cards: none.
Rosie O'Grady's
Another neighborhood Irish pub. Stay away from the food if you value your small intestine.
Cover: none. 9/12 Ulitsa Znamenka. Metro Alexandrovsky Sad. Tel. 203-9087/3822. Noon until last customer leaves. Credit cards: all.
Sally O'Brien's
This Irish Pub often attracts a boisterous crowd of regulars.
Cover: none. 1/3 Ulitsa Bolshaya Polyanka. Metro Polyanka. Tel. 230-0059. Noon to 1 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC, DC.
Schwein
If Miss Piggy had a hangout, it'd be Schwein. This place has the dubious distinction of being Moscow's only pig-themed bar, with plenty of roast pork, pork chops, pork roll and porkette on the menu to prove its devotion to the beast so often hailed as being smarter than dogs and cuddlier than kittens. Live rock, country, blues and Celtic music starting at 10 p.m. Suey!
50/12 Baumanskaya Ulitsa. Metro Baumanskaya. Tel. 267-4504. 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Credit cards: none.
Shamrock Bar
Turn left out of the pub and you're right in the middle of the Irish House's department store. Ten years ago, if you were an expat, you hung out here. This is no longer true, however, and this end of the rainbow has long been deserted by Moscow's Johns, Susans and Charlies.
Cover: none. 13 Novy Arbat. Metro Arbatskaya. Tel. 291-7681. 11 to 1 a.m. Credit cards: all.
Sport Bar
Management is more interested in strip shows than sports, though there are lots of televisions and a big screen if a match is on Kosmos-TV, they'll show it.
10 Novy Arbat. Metro Arbatskaya. Tel. 290-4311/7895. 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Credit cards: none.
Sportland
Bar and restaurant with betting tables, darts, pool and even board games. The usual reasonably priced pub grub, chilled beer glasses and ridiculously tight security including metal detectors and body and bag searches. Televised sporting events.
Cover: none. 21 Novy Arbat. Metro Arbatskaya. Tel. 291-2041, 745-5839. 24 hours. Credit cards: V, MC, DC.
Suds
The name is misleading. The place is an entertainment complex that also happens to serve beer and not particularly good beer at that. Pay 800 rubles to enter the VIP room (the main attraction of which is a strip show) or 3,500 rubles for an hour in the sauna (the main attraction of which is the presence of a gaggle of hookers they cost extra, by the way).
Pena. 37 Prospekt Andropova. Metro Kolomenskaya. Tel. 114-8321/8478. 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC.
Taxman
An unpretentious place to down a few beers and listen to some live music.
In the Central House of Artists, 10 Krymsky Val. Metro Park Kultury. Tel. 238-0864. Thurs. to Sun. 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Credit cards: none.
Trety Put
A damp bar located inside a former ***kommunalka***, complete with chess tables, moth-eaten couches and cheap beer. Attracts an intentionally dishevelled crowd of ""artist types."" A real bohemian experience.
4 Pyatnitskaya Ulitsa. Metro Tretyakovskaya. Tel. 951-8734. Fri. and Sat. 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Credit cards: none.
U 2
Located in the vacant insides of a Soviet-era movie hall, the place gets murderously hot during the summer and freezes during the winter. Management has also been known to lock all the doors and refuse exit to the people dying of heat stroke inside. But none of this really bothers the provincial teenagers inside: The beer's cheap. Enough said. Occasional live concerts by local and international alternative bands.
In the Baltika Theater, 54 Skhodnenskaya Ulitsa. Metro Skhodnenskaya. Tel. 493-3511/4355. 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.Credit cards: none.
Uncle Sam's
Popular with students who don't seem to be bothered by the often outdated tunes spun by the DJs. Cheaper, less popular and less fun than nearby Propaganda.
Dyadya Sem. Cover: none. 18 Myasnitskaya Ulitsa. Metro Turgenevskaya. Tel. 923-3744, 923-6743. 8 p.m to 5 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
Wild West Bar
Live music and dancing. Striptease. Billiards and karaoke.
18/16 Ananyevsky Pereulok. Metro Sukharevskaya. Tel. 207-0483. 24 hours. Credit cards: V.
Woodstock
Billiards, dancing and live music.
Cover: none. 3 Pokrovsky Bulvar. Metro Chistiye Prudy. Tel. 917-2921, 206-6984. Noon until last customer leaves. Credit cards: V, MC.
Zen
White walls, hundreds of tiny white lights and fake algae all over the place. Standard live-music assortment. A nice alternative for a late evening snack if you're tired of the Chinese Pilot.
Dzen. 9 Ashcheulov Pereulok. Metro Turgenevskaya. Tel. 207-9178/0969. 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Credit cards: none.
Zoo
A small bar and restaurant in the Stalin-era highrise opposite the city zoo. A large water tank stands in the middle of an otherwise nondescript, relaxing interior.
Cover: none. 1 Kudrinskaya Ploshchad. Metro Barrikadnaya. Tel. 255-4144/4108. Noon to midnight. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
Casinos:
Alexander Blok
Weekly drawings of large cash prizes (Wednesdays and Saturdays). Free buffet for players on drawing days.
Cover: none (face control). 12 Krasnopresnenskaya Naberezhnaya. Metro Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Tel. 255-9278, 253-9284. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) $1 to $1,000, (Blackjack) $5 to $1,000, (Poker) $5 to $7,000. Credit cards: none.
Ambassador
Weekly drawings of large cash prizes (Wednesdays and Fridays). Free buffet for players on drawing days.
Cover: none (face control). 1 Ulitsa Balchug. Metro Novokuznetskaya. Tel. 232-5694/5696. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) $5 to $4,000, (Blackjack) $10 to $3,000, (Poker) $10 to $1,000. Credit cards: V, MC, DC.
Beverly Hills
Open bar and buffet for players.
Cover: none (face control). 1 Kudrinskaya Ploshchad. Metro Barrikadnaya. Tel. 255-4228. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) 25 to 500 rubles, (Blackjack) 100 to 2,000 rubles, (Poker) 100 to 2,000 rubles.
Casablanca
Monthly prize drawings with automobile as top prize. Live music on weekends. Open bar (except whiskey and cognac) for players.
Cover: none (face control). 90/2 Leninsky Prospekt. Metro Leninsky Prospekt. Tel. 737-6749. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) $2 to $50, (Blackjack) $5 to $500, (Poker) $50 to $500. Credit cards: none.
Corona
Lottery every Friday and Saturday. Live music. Erotic shows. Open bar for players.
15 Novy Arbat, Bldg. 1. Metro Arbatskaya. Tel. 202-6990. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) $1 to $200, (Blackjack) no limit, (Poker) no limit. Credit cards: V, DC, AE.
Cosmos
Prize drawing with automobile as top prize every Sunday. Open bar for V.I.P. players.
Cover: none (face control). In the Hotel Cosmos, 150 Prospekt Mira. Metro VDNKh. Tel. 234-1000. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) $1 to $10,000, (Blackjack) $10 to $2,000, (Poker) $10 to $2,000. Credit cards: V, MC.
Crystall
Prize drawing with automobile as top prize every Wednesday. Open bar for players.
38 Marksistskaya Ulitsa, Bldg. 1. Metro Marksistskaya. Tel. 911-7076. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) $2 to $100, (Blackjack) $10 to $200, (Poker) $10 to $200. Credit cards: V, MC, DC.
Golden Palace
Prize drawing with automobile as top prize every Tuesday. Free buffet and taxi service for players.
(cover charge entitles customer to chips in amount of charge, face control). 15 3rd Ulitsa
Yamskogo Polya. Metro Belorusskaya. Tel. 212-3909. Bets (Roulette) $5 to $100, (Blackjack) $10 to $500, (Poker) $10 to $500. Credit cards: V, DC.
Golitsyn
Lottery every Tuesday and Saturday. Open bar for players.
Cover: none (face control). 15 Staraya Basmannaya Ulitsa, Bldg. 4. Metro Kurskaya. Tel. 265-6518. Bets (Roulette) $1 to $500, (Blackjack) $10 to $200, (Poker) $10 to $200. Credit cards: none.
Grand Prix
Monthly prize drawing with automobile as top prize. Free buffet for players. Live music every Wednesday and Friday.
Cover: none (face control). 2 Berezhkovskaya Naberezhnaya. Metro Kievskaya. Tel. 941-8698/8697. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) $5 to $20, (Blackjack) $10 to $3,000, (Poker) $10 to 3,000.
Infant
Lottery every Monday. Open bar for players.
Cover: none (face control). In the Mezhdunarodnaya Hotel, 12 Krasnopresnenskaya Naberezhnaya. Metro Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Tel. 967-0374. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) $2 to $50, (Blackjack) $5 to $500, (Poker) $5 to $300. Credit cards: V, MC.
Korus
Regular prize drawings with automobile as top prize. Open bar for regular players, free champagne for all other players on drawing days.
Cover: none (face control). In the Izmailovo Hotel, 71 Izmailovskoye Shosse. Metro Izmailovsky Park. Tel. 166-3781. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) $1 to $100, (Blackjack) $1 to $100, (Poker) $1 to $100. Credit cards: none.
Marilyn
Monthly prize drawings. Open bar for players. Live music on weekends beginning at 9 p.m.
Cover: none (face control). 14/7 Ulitsa Krasina. Metro Mayakovskaya. Tel. 254-4708/06. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Bets (Roulette) $1 to $50, (Blackjack) $5 to $500, (Poker) $5 to $500. Credit cards: none.
Metelitsa Casino
This legendary establishment on the Novy Arbat is still a neon-heavy hit. Nightly entertainment, including performances by Russian pop stars.
21 Novy Arbat. Metro Arbatskaya. Tel. 291-1130. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) 50 to 80,000 rubles, (Blackjack) 200 to 4,000 rubles, (Poker) 200 to 50,000 rubles. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Metropol
Live music every night. Free buffet for players every Tuesday and Friday.
In the Hotel Metropol, 1/4 Teatralny Proyezd. Metro Teatralnaya. Tel. 927-6950. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) $5 to $200, (Blackjack) $25 to $3000, (Poker) $25 to $500. Credit cards: V, MC, DC.
Mitsar
Free buffet for players every Friday and Saturday beginning at 10 p.m.
24 Simferopolsky Bulvar. Metro Kakhovskaya. Tel. 119-3824. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) $2 to $500, (Blackjack) $10 to $300, (Poker) $10 to $300. Credit cards: none.
Moscow
Free buffet for players. Live music every night, performances every Saturday.
Cover: none (passport mandatory). 21/40 Kalanchevskaya Ulitsa. Metro Komsomolskaya. Tel. 975-1967. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) $1 to $1,000, (Blackjack) $5 to $1,000, (Poker) $5 to $1,000. Credit cards: V, MC.
Pavilion
Lottery every Friday and Saturday. Open bar for players. Live music every night.
Cover: none (face control, passport or driver's license mandatory). 2 Ulitsa Pyreva. Metro Kievskaya. Tel. 147-5490. Bets (Roulette) $2 to $50, (Blackjack) $10 to $200, (Poker) $10 to $200. Credit cards: none.
Pekin
Monthly prize drawing with automobile as top prize. Free buffet and open bar (for players) beginning at 10 p.m.
(cover charge entitles customer to chips in amount of charge). 5/1 Bolshaya Sadovaya Ulitsa. Metro Mayakovskaya. Tel. 209-0922. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) $1 to $100, (Blackjack) $5 to $500, (Poker) $5 to $300. Credit cards: V, MC.
Podkova
Open bar for players.
(cover charge entitles customer to chips in amount of charge). 71 Profsoyuznaya Ulitsa. Metro Kaluzhskaya. Tel. 334-9215. Bets (Roulette) $2 to $600, (Blackjack) $10 to $300, (Poker) $10 to $300. Credit cards: none.
Royale
Twice-monthly drawings of large cash prizes (Saturdays). Poker tournament every Monday. Free buffet (for players) beginning at 9 p.m.
(cover charge entitles customers to $60 in chips). 22 Begovaya Ulitsa, Bldg. 1. Metro Begovaya. Tel. 945-4842. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) $1 to $100, (Blackjack) $5 to $2,000, (Poker) $10 to $2,000. Credit cards: V, MC.
Shangri-La
Daily prize drawing at 11:30 p.m. Live music every night beginning at 9 p.m.
(cover charge entitles customer to 20 chips of $10 value, face control and dress code, passport or driver's license mandatory). 2 Pushkin Square. Metro Pushkinskaya. Tel. 209-6400. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) $2 to $2,000, (Blackjack) $10 to $2,500, (Poker) $10 to $500. Credit cards: V, MC, DC.
Treasure Island
Cash lottery every night at midnight. Open bar for players.
Ostrov Sokrovish. Cover: none (face control, passport mandatory). Bets (Roulette) $1 to $2,000, (Blackjack) $5 to $2,000, (Poker) $5 to $1,500. Credit cards: none.
Universitetsky
Prize drawing every Saturday. Free buffet and open bar for players.
Cover: none (passport or driver's license mandatory). 8/29 Michurinsky Prospekt, Bldg. 1. Metro Universitet, Kievskaya. Tel. 939-9454. Bets (Roulette) $1 to $50, (Blackjack) $5 to $200, (Poker) $5 to $200. Credit cards: none.
Vinso Grand
Twice-monthly drawings of high-ticket prizes. Open bar and buffet for players. Live music beginning at 10 p.m.
(cover charge entitles customer to chips in amount of charge). 12/4 Taganskaya Ploshchad, Bldg. 5. Metro Taganskaya. Tel. 912-5726/9830. 24 hours. Bets (Roulette) $2 to $4,000, (Blackjack) $10 to $5,000, (Poker) $10 to $2,500. Credit cards: V, MC.
Entertainment Complexes:
Airplane Bowling
Bowling and dancing, plus billiards, karaoke, several bars and restaurants and even a cinema.
Samolyot Bowling. 14/1 Presnensky Val. Metro Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Tel. 253-6340. Noon to 5 a.m. Credit cards: none.
B 69
Six bowling lanes.
69 Ulitsa Vavilova. Metro Profsoyuznaya. Tel. 935-0504. Noon to 6 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC.
Ball Lightening
Five bowling lanes.
Sharovaya Molniya. 36 Leningradsky Prospekt. Metro Dynamo. Tel. 212-0779. Noon to 5 a.m. Credit cards: none.
Bi-Ba-Bo
Seven bowling lanes.
9 Karmanitsky Pereulok. Metro Smolenskaya. Tel. 937-4337. Noon to 5 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC, DC. www.bibabo.ru
Bow Ball
Eight bowling lanes.
2 3rd Ulitsa Yamsogo Polya. Metro Belorusskaya. Tel. 257-0048. Mon. to Thurs. noon to 5 a.m., Fri. noon to 6 a.m., Sat. 11 to 6 a.m., Sun. 11 to 5 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC.
Champion
This huge, cavernous venue has pretty much everything you need for a long (read: endless) night out billiard and pool tables, VIP rooms for karaoke, 20 bowling lanes, a bar, rock-climbing, a dance floor. Even slot machines and an ice-cream bar. Go nuts, kids.
16 Leningradskoye Shosse. Metro Voikovskaya. Tel. 747-5000. Weekdays 5 p.m. to 6 a.m., Fri. to Sun. noon to 6 a.m. Credit cards: all.
Cosmik
Thirty-two bowling lanes. Billiards
18 Ulitsa Lva Tolstogo. Metro Park Kultury. Tel. 246-3666. Noon to 5 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC.
Disco Bowling
Ten bowling lanes, plus bar, restaurant and dance area. Monday: ""American Day"" (free drinks for Americans. Tuesday: ""European Day"" (free drinks for Europeans). Wednesday: "Tall Girls Day" (free drinks for tall women).
42 Ulitsa Udaltsova. Metro Prospekt Vernadskogo. Tel. 947-5308.
Miami Bowling
Eight bowling lanes.
16 Kastanayevskaya Ulitsa, Bldg. 1. Metro Filyovsky Park. Tel. 142-0814/3228. 11 to 3 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC, AE. www.m-bowling.ru
Gay:
Central Station
Moscow's most popular gay club just keeps getting better, now featuring live shows Thursday through Sunday, including the famed "Gay Broadway" drag extravaganza Friday nights. The two spacious dance floors and beefy male strippers draw a large, loyal crowd that fills up the two-story brick, glass and metal interior described as "English-Russian postindustrial" by the owners.
16/2 Bolshaya Tatarskaya Ulitsa, Bldg. 2. Metro Tretyakovskaya. Tel. 959-4643. Thurs. to Mon. 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Credit cards: none. www.gaycentral.ru
Chance
Chance has fallen hard from the dizzy heights it once enjoyed as Moscow's premier gay nightclub. The droves of gays who once used to hang out here on the weekends have been largely replaced by straight couples. The occasional transvestite still makes an appearance, but the raw energy of the mid-1990s is gone.
11/15 Volochayevskaya Ulitsa. Metro Ploshchad Ilycha. Tel. 298-6247. 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Credit cards: none.
Elf
A small gay bar with an appropriately tiny dance floor. And, no, all the men here are not short.
Cover: none. 13 Zemlyanoi Val, Bldg. 1. Metro Kurskaya. Tel. 917-2014. 11 to 3 a.m. Credit cards: none.
Gifts of the Sea
Also referred to as "Ryba," or "Fish," this place is tucked away in the courtyard behind the Dary Morya seafood store at 17 Tverskaya Ulitsa. It's small and gets very smoky and crowded after 11 p.m.
Dary Morya. Cover: none. 9 Maly Gnezdnikovsky Pereulok, Bldg. 6. Metro Pushkinskaya, Tverskaya. Tel. 229-7709. 10 a.m. to midnight. Credit cards: none.
Imperia Kino
Japanese animation shown on large screens, Russian pop music and some occasional techno and a mainly gay and lesbian crowd. Popular restaurant in the back.
33 Povarskaya Ulitsa. Metro Barrikadnaya. Tel. 290-4489. Thurs. to Sun. 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Credit cards: none.
Kazarma
The downstairs men-only underground dance club at Chameleon. Erotic shows several times a week. Cinema, private cubicles.
Cover: varies. 14 Presnensky Val. Metro Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Tel. 253-6343. 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. Credit cards: none.
Night Owl
Dance floor, restaurant, sex shop, private rooms and sauna. Tuesdays men only.
Nochnaya Sova. 8 Golovinskoye Shosse, Bldg. 2. Metro Vodny Stadion. Tel. 452-7175. 10 p.m. to 9 am. Credit cards: none.
Nightclubs:
Art Garbage
Two cozy sitting rooms and one tacky dance hall. Get a table next to a window and watch the world go by. The potato pancakes alone are worth a trip.
Zapasnik. 5 Starosadsky Pereulok. Metro Kitai-Gorod. Tel. 928-8745. 11 to 6 a.m. Credit cards: none.
B2
Cover: 200 to 500 rubles on concert nights. 8 Bolshaya Sadovaya Ulitsa. Metro Mayakovskaya. Tel. 209-9918
Barmalei
Pop icon Oleg Gazmanov's nautical-themed club and restaurant named for the pirate immortalized in Russia's version of "Dr. Dolittle."" Plenty of famous faces, a spacious dance floor and moderately priced drinks.
5 Mantulinskaya Ulitsa. Metro Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Tel. 256-2694. Thurs. to Sun. 11 to 6 a.m. Credit cards: none.
Bells
Unremarkable, mainstream cellar disco with a restaurant. Usually buzzing for some reason.
51 Ulitsa Bolshaya Polyanka. Metro Polyanka, Dobryninskaya. Tel. 959-3737, 951-4900. Noon to 6 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC.
Beverly Hills
Another all-in-one casino, club and restaurant. Mainstream disco in the club. Erotic shows.
1 Kudrinskaya Ploshchad. Metro Barrikadnaya. Tel. 255-4228/4013. 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Boogie Woogie
Bad design with plenty of neon.
1 Delegatskaya Ulitsa. Metro Mayakovskaya. Tel. 972-1132, 251-9860. 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Credit cards: V.
Bridge
Competition for Circus and Gallery, Most, or Bridge, occupies 850 square meters at the former headquarters of a shipping company. Blindingly shiny black granite floors and plenty of glass. Restaurant, dancing and fashion shows.
Most. (strict face control and dress code). 6/3 Ulitsa Kuznetsky Most, Bldg. 3. Metro
Kuznetsky Most. Tel. 928-1707. Thurs. to Sun. 8 p.m. until the last customer leaves. Credit cards: V, MC, DC, AE.
Budda Bar
Occupies the rooms of what used to be Gramophone and much of this club's interior is suggestive of that short-lived club adored by so many with a few very conspicuous and ill-thought exceptions. One is that the bar is within sniffing distance of the toilet. Another is that the whole place appears to have been scribbled on with a big indelible Tacky marker. Site of inaugural roving da CITY house party. Note: The odd spelling of ""Buddha"" is the bar's.
Cover: varies. 3 Pushechnaya Ulitsa. Metro Kuznetsky Most or Lubyanka. Tel. 924-5633. Thurs. to Sun. 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC.
Bunker
Rip off of the legendary Bunker club that ruled Moscow's alternative scene in the early '90s. Now located across from the mayor's office, it's a typical Moscow cellar joint with cheap food served Soviet-style with a 50-minute wait and a waitress you suspect of spitting in your drink.
12 Tverskaya Ulitsa. Metro Pushkinskaya. Tel. 200-1506, 209-4470. 24 hours. Credit cards: V, MC.
Cabana
Not much different from the other bars in the neighborhood Four Rooms, Vermel, the now-defunct Bedniye Lyudi, etc. In fact, no different.
4 Raushskaya Naberezhnaya. Metro Tretyakovskaya. Tel. 238-5006. Mon. to Fri. noon to 6 a.m., Sat. and Sun. 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Credit cards: V, MC, AE.
Center
Huge disco, rave and dance club with skating, bowling, Quazar and a restaurant.
Tsentr. 3 Kholodilny Pereulok. Metro Tulskaya. Tel. 952-7828, 954-0158. Mon. to Thurs. noon to midnight, Fri. and Sat. noon to 6 a.m., Sun. 10 a.m. to midnight. Credit cards: none.
Chameleon
Bar, dancing, restaurant. Downstairs is the gay club Kazarma.
Cover: varies. 14 Presnensky Val. Metro Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Tel. 253-6343. 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. Credit cards: none.
RECOMMENDED! Chinese Pilot Dzhao Da
This restaurant and club is another child of club world high priestess Irina Papernaya and probably one of the trendiest venues in the center. Great bands and international cuisine at reasonable prices recommend the club. Live music by mostly big name artists every night.
Kitaisky Lyotchik Dzhao Da. Cover: 100 to 250 rubles depending on concert. 25 Lubyansky Proyezd. Metro Kitai-Gorod. Tel. 924-5611. 24 hours. Credit cards: none. www.jao-da.ru
Circus
