A bar, a lounge and a swanky restaurant. From the summer through to mid-October, there is a gorgeous patio (blankets and heaters supplied for cool autumn days). The bar food includes one of the best hamburgers I've ever had, great chips, fresh salads and more.

7 Maly Palashevsky Per; nearest metro: Pushkinskaya; www.scandinavia.ru

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Try some wonderful Georgian food such as hachipuri, a scrumptious cheese bread; stuffed grape leaves (a Georgian version of the Greek dolmades); roasted rolled up aubergine stuffed with a gloriously garlicky dip; plus the ubiquitous shasleek - marinated grilled kebabs.

It is on Gruzinski Val, right next to Beloruskaya Metro. Walk down from the station about 250 metres, it's on the right-hand side of the street, a small wooden cabin, just after a small but friendlY fruit and veg market

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A brilliant self-service restaurant. Amazingly vast portions of food. Perfect for vegetarians. Great cow pattern everywhere. Very, very cheap.

Myasnitskaya St 14; nearest metro: Lubyanka, Kitai Gorod area;
Arbat St, 45/24; nearest metro: Smolenskaya, Arbat area;
Komsomolsky Prospekt, 26-1; nearest metro: Frunzenskaya;
Mira Prospekt, 114; nearest metro: Alexeevskaya - outside;
Korovy Val, 1; nearest metro: Dobryninskaya; Leningradsky Prospekt, 62; nearest metro: Aeroport

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Arbat Ulitsa (Arbat St) is a pedestrian only stretch of road just east of the Kremlin. It is lined with shops and restaurants as well as souvenir kiosks. The sellers are not in your face and haggling is a must. Most of it is pretty camp, but some is quite nice. Make sure you are looking for Arbat St and not Novy Arbat St, which is a bit dull and lifeless.

Get off the metro at Arbatskaya and look for the statue of Gogol. Walk past the statue and you're pretty much there

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Either heaven or hell, depending on your preference. Affectionately known as "The Whorehouse", all expats and many tourists arrive here eventually unaware of the horrors that lie within. Any sports event worth its salt is shown here, from American football to League Two play-off semi finals.

There are surly bartenders who will only answer shouts of 'Dyevushka!' (“girl!”), a happy hour before 6pm and decent American food. The real draw card for the expat community is on Sunday, when the place is packed with prostitutes and prospective expat clients.

If it's culture you're looking for, you've come to the wrong place, but it's open all night and you're guaranteed some sort of a spectacle at some point. In spite of everything, it's difficult not to have a good time here.

Zemlyonoi Val; nearest metro: Kurskaya (brown ring / dark blue line)

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Mu-Mu is a chain of canteen-like restaurants serving traditional Russian food. The quality is not excellent, but some things are very good and the prices are low: you can have a three-course meal for £7 per person, but it's also possible to eat for £2. Besides, it's a good chance to try local specialities.
There are sometimes queues, but then it's a perfect opportunity to mingle with the locals who love this place.

Myasnitskaya St 14; nearest metro: Lubyanka, Kitai Gorod area;
Arbat St, 45/24; nearest metro: Smolenskaya, Arbat area;
Komsomolsky Prospekt, 26-1; nearest metro: Frunzenskaya;
Mira Prospekt, 114; nearest metro: Alexeevskaya - outside;
Korovy Val, 1; nearest metro: Dobryninskaya; Leningradsky Prospekt, 62; nearest metro: Aeroport

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Don't bother with inflated prices and dressing up for a restaurant. Get yourself a kartoshka (baked potato) with a variety of fillings, a blini with smoked salmon and smetana (Russian sour cream), some tost (toasted sarnie) or a hot dog from any of the numerous and popular street stands.

You can just point and say “Da” if you don't speak the lingo, as the ladies in the stand will treat you like an idiot even if your Russian is perfect. Wash it down with a Baltika, Nevskoye or Zolotnaya Bochka beer. Beer is considered a non-alcoholic drink, although drinking vodka on the street may get you in trouble.

Find yourself a bench on ul Tverskaya, Alexandrovsky Sad, one of the beautiful bulvars, or Red Square itself (when the young guards let you). Sit on top of the bench rather than the seat, and watch the pink-clad Russian ladies and wannabe gangsters/movie stars/oligarchs wander past. Drinks and a meal, Moscow style.

Anywhere in this beautiful city. Most street stands are either in or near a metro station

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Genuine London Routemaster bus situated behind the Bolshoi Theatre. Serves pizza, chips and not very tasty sandwiches - but it is a great place for cheapish beer and awful Russian rock music. Candle-lit and full of Moscow skate kids. Looks beautiful in the snow.

Be warned though, the place is smoke-filled and its strongest point is its location.

Nearest metro: Teatralnaya; behind the Bolshoi Theatre. It's just parked up. You can't miss it

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Generally, beer in Moscow is either crap or very expensive crap pretending to be German at £3 a glass. 317 serves a good pint called Rubinovoe (Ruby) at 70 roubles a go.

The place is relaxing, none of the modern Russian pomp and forced chic. TV with endless reels of fashion walks is, alas, on all the time (muted), but concentrate on beer and you'll be fine.

Find the White House, the seat of government. Turn your back to the river. The very next street to the left of the government compound is the one you need. Nearest metro: Smolenskaya or Krasnopresnenskaya metro

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The artwork in Moscow’s metro stations is stunning, and each one has a different theme. The Kievskaya station is especially interesting, as it depicts Ukrainian agriculture and pride. In light of last year's Orange Revolution and Ukraine's desire to join the EU, the station's murals and mosaics are particularly poignant.

You can explore the station and then head up the street to Yolki Polki, one of a chain of restaurants serving decent Russian food at cheap prices (not an easy thing to find in Moscow). Their generous portion of borsht is delicious.

Kievskaya metro station

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Dining in Moscow needn't be expensive - though wine almost invariably is - here are three good value bars/restaurants frequented by the young and attractive of Moscow:

Suzy Wong serves excellent cocktails and sushi in a New York-style setting, (11 Ulitsa Tiumra Frunze, nearest metro: Park Kultury).

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is open 24 hours and has great breakfasts and pizzas, (24 Ulitsa Bolshaya Lubyanka nearest metro: Lubyanka).

My favourite - Ugni is also open 24 hours and serves excellent steamed fish, borsch and good value wine, (8 Malaya Sucharevskaya Ploschad, nearest metro: Sukharevskaya).

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Bring it from Moscow and share it with your friends.

Some local brands of Russian vodka, such as Russky Standard have a very special taste infused by rye and other natural ingredients.

Caviar is also a very special Russian treat: try it with black bread and butter.

Get it at Duty Free in Sheremetyevo or Domodedovo or in Eliseevsky supermarket on Tverskaya (nearest metro: Tverskaya)

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If you're adventurous enough to go outside the centre of town, try Long John Silver's restaurant. I recommend the wiener schnitzel – the portion is huge, enough for two. There’s a big plus in the summer: you can sit outside and enjoy the restaurant's own private zoo, complete with ducks, turkeys, rabbits and chickens. Those animals able to jump over the high fence will join you at your table. But they're very well mannered.

Otherwise you can look at the people entering and leaving the metro. There’s live music in the evenings and important football events are televised.

Nearest metro: Kaschirskaya, leave from the head of the train and exit right

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A very nice, small cafe, with tasty, cheap food, original and fresh cocktails. It’s the best place to look in and have a snack at lunchtime or before going on to a club.

Not many people know about it, although I have seen Russian pop stars hanging out there.

Solianskii proezd, 4/1 921-1201; nearest metro: Kitai-gorod;
Hours: Monday-Thursday: 8am-9pm, Friday 24 hours, Saturday-Sunday: 8pm-8am

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A tourist hang-out, but also the preferred eaterie of the well-heeled. High-end Russian cuisine where smoked meat meets pickled fish. Expect to pay at least £50 a head.

26a Tverskoi Bulvar; tel: 095 229 5590; nearest metro: Tverskaya

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Azerbaijani food (a little like Georgian, but with more herbs and less melted cheese). Kebabs, pickled vegetable stuffed in previously unimaginable ways. Try the kutab with pumpkin (kutab s tykvy). Drink Georgian Saperavi wine. A drunken feast for about £30 a head.

52 Povarskaya Ulitsa; Tel: 291 6376; nearest metro: Barrikadnaya

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Apparently an exclusive club-restaurant, but they let anyone in who asks nicely (in Russian). Traditional Russian food, ice cold vodka, and bizarre caricature busts of everyone from Lady Di to Dostoyevski. £15 a head for vodka and food.

24 Myasnitskaya Ulitsa (in a courtyard away from the street); Tel: 095 923 0082; nearest metro: Christiye Prudy

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Sushi is all the rage, but you should try this. Grilled meat, fresh vegetables and hachipuri, bread stuffed with melted cheese - easily the most addictive substance in the former Soviet Union.

Genatsvali restaurant on Ostozhenka, 12/1 (nearest metro: Park Kultury) is not the cheapest, but perhaps the best.

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A New York-style delicatessen. Exquisite pizzas and omelettes. Rack of the finest lamb in town. Increasingly and annoyingly popular.

Bolshaya Gruzinskaya; www.correas.ru/

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