Recently in one of my desperate searches for other food options in Moscow I came across Danilovsky Market. I added it to my list of places to explore when I read that it had some international food choices and colorful stalls of fresh produce.

Shortly after this discovery I was researching my next travel destination. On one of the tourist sites for the country was a description of a promotional event taking place in Moscow at Danilovsky Market. That just seemed perfect, so this past weekend I headed out to visit and hopefully learn more about my next destination.

They say if something sounds too good to be true it usually is. This was one of those times. There was only a small booth with representatives, Russian speaking, presenting information solely in Russian. I guess I had a momentary lapse in judgement thinking I could actually go somewhere in Moscow and not only know what was going on, but learn something as well.

Oh well, the rest of the market was worth a trip. Within the dome shaped building little eateries with food from around the world are situated along the outer circular wall. There is a variety of food options from Mexican to Vietnamese. Each vendor has a small establishment with a few spots to sit or stand to eat. Out of everywhere I have ate in Moscow, the market has the least Russian feel and taste. The people speak Russian and the menus as far as I could tell were solely in Russian though.

The taco place I went to first did not have any English speakers and I was not up for trying to translate.

The eatery that I ended up going with had an employee that spoke a little English. He was able to give me about a one word description for what some of the dishes contained. As you can tell from the picture below, the dishes had a lot more than one ingredient. At least I could go by the look of the food!

I went with some sort of lamb, a vegetable mixture and something resembling an Indian samosa. For some reason throughout the entire meal I thought I was eating Indian food. It wasn’t until later that I realized I missed the only English. “Moroccan” was written on the board and was even on the paper under my food. I couldn’t identify everything I was eating based on taste or appearance, but it was flavorful and that is all I really ask for these days! If you are in a foreign country where English isn’t widely spoken and you don’t speak the native language it is best if you are an adventurous eater!

The center of the market is filled with numerous produce stands. Most are either a mixture of different kinds of vegetables or an assortment of fruits.

There are some stands selling only pomegranates. The person running the stall will offer a free sample drink. I was avoiding it because I didn’t want to deal with the Russian conversation, but the foodie in me finally gave in and I decided the uncomfortable interaction was worth it. It was indeed, so delicious!

There are also a few other types of booths or counters with bread, pastries, nuts, dried fruit, meat, fish or cheese.

It is not a large market and it’s fairly well organized with an outer circle of most of the eateries and an inner circle with the food stalls. The very center holds the fish place. You can walk through the entire place in not too much time. After a couple walks around the place I felt a little strange wandering past the same people again and again. The guy who previously gave me the pomegranate sample pointed at me and said “English” when I walked past him again.

It wasn’t quite Chelsea Market in NYC, but it was probably one of my best food experiences in Russia and I would definitely go back. It was nice to have options to get a meal that tasted a little different and to be able to have a wide selection of fresh items to buy and take home. There was a French waffle dessert that I really want to try!

Visiting Information

Where

Ulitsa Mytnaya, 74, Moskva, Russia, 115191

How to get there

The gray 9 metro line to Tulskaya. Once you get out of the metro look for the big dome. It is pretty easy to see after a minute of walking so if you don’t see it soon, go the other direction!

Recommendations

I would go both for a meal at one of the eateries and to pick up a few grocery items, like fresh produce.

FYI

There are free, clean toilets available.

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