If you are stuck for an idea where to hold your office party then I would highly recommend the Northern Club.
Located at 16 Nabarezhnaya Reka Karpovky, this is not your ordinary run-of-the-mill restaurant. It never advertises, has no signs outside its discreet premises and from the outside, to all intents and purposes, doesn't even look like a restaurant.
Actually, if it hadn't been for the fact the restaurant we were due to review next door was closed, we would never have found it.
This appears to be a private club which operates solely through word of mouth and invitation and caters for business parties and special clients.
On ringing the door bell, we were at first eyed with suspicion by two smartly dressed waiters who politely informed us that this was an exclusive club. However, after our convincing patter, they allowed us in to dine.
On entering the plush premises we nearly offended the hostess by asking if her club was for rich "new Russians" -- the polite term for mafia -- to which she replied with a hurt expression that only clientele of the highest caliber were allowed into her establishment.
The menu, with prices in Japanese yen, gave weight to the type of rich and important clientele the club attracts. And with dishes like perch, sturgeon, crab omelette and fried aubergine on the menu, we could tell this was a classy joint with an Eastern flavor.
Surprisingly, the price of the food was not beyond the reach of the average Western pocket. It was the small extras that seemed to push the bill up.
The first course dishes seemed to cost as much as some of the main courses and a simple orange juice from a carton will set you back $3.
For starters we indulged in Korean carrot salad with garlic and spices at $2 and sliced spiced ham with parsley garnish at $6. Despite the simplicity of the dishes they were excellently presented in nouvelle cuisine style with bits of carrot carved into intricate shapes. Following that came the main dishes of a light and fluffy crab souffle at $10 and succulent grilled perch (sudak) in a cream sauce served with mushrooms, french fries and salad garnish at $9.
Other dishes available for the main course were spiced ham at $15, Danish schnitzel at $14, country steak at $9, filet in game sauce at $10 or filet in Creole sauce at $9.
Despite the fact we were the only two diners in the entire restaurant that night, the atmosphere was warm and cozy and the decor pleasant with rose-colored reproduction Louis XV chairs around the eight or so tables each laid for four people.
The establishment is split into two sections, one for banquets and the other for small parties. The cream colored walls were covered with some interesting oil paintings reminiscent of Beryl Cook's work -- large, cynical-looking women smoking cigarettes, taking money and looking corrupt and jaded.
This is a good place for vegetarians, with dishes like cabbages and smetana (sour cream) at $7, cauliflower and smetana $7, fried egg plant at $6 and potato and mushroom pie at $8.
Sweets, as in most Russian restaurants, were few and simple. About the most exotic was kiwi cocktail with cream at $7 and fruit salad or ice cream with cream at $6. The meal was rounded off with coffee and tea at $1 each.
All in all we enjoyed a delicious meal at reasonable prices with the bill for two people coming to 200,000 roubles, or $40. The club's manageress said that while she welcomed small groups of diners, the club catered mostly for well-known figures from the world of sport and culture as well as local politicians, firms and business delegations.