A few days ago I ran into the wife of the Brazilian ambassador at my favorite terrace Coffeemania on Bol. Nikitsky. She complained about the high prices of Coffeemania and told us that she likes Coffee Bean much more. So what and where is this Coffee Bean place? I had a closer look.

There are a few Coffee Bean’s across the city. My two favorites are the one on Tverskaya and another one on Pokrovka. Coffee Bean generally looks like some Seattle Coffee Shop. They serve many different flavors and blends of international coffee and you should not just have the obligatory Café Latte, but try one of their coffees. Their pastry and the sandwiches are very delicious. All of it comes for a price much lower than Coffeemania, but its still pretty pricey. A sandwich or a pieve fo cake are between $5 and $7. The cafe latte is $4, compared to more than $6 at Coffeemania. Then again you don’t have the comfort, service and people watch of Coffeemania near the music conservatory.

The service of Coffeebean can be lame sometimes, especially in the Tverskaya location. Still, this shop is excellent for a quick meet with friends in the centre or just to hang out at one of the large windows and watch the people on Moscow’s most busy sidewalk pass by.

The Pokrovka shop is much nicer in terms of the interior and it offers a small terrace, where you can lounge and enjoy one of these hot summer nights in Moscow. This is an excellent place to have a desert and a coffee after you have been in one of the various restaurants on this busy and upcoming street. You can also have a walk around the nearby Chistey Prudy Pond and grab a coffee before or after. A downturn is the always busy Pokrovka street. Traffic jams and bypassing cars are just not too nice to watch, especially here in Moscow and 3 feet away from your face. That of course, doesn’t bother the Moscovites. Some even seem to like it.

Ah, one more thing, don’t go visit the toilets (if you don’t really have to). They have been among the worst I have seen in a long time. Nice and modern interior, but stinky and dirty like a train station toilet. Someone needs to clean them you know? There is a list on the door, where the staff signs off every half hour, after they have checked it. Seems like the staff is blind and cannot smell anything or they have a similar mess at home and find it normal. How good is that list and sign-off, if nobody does anything about the filth? A typical Russian story. Some imported American mechanismn that doesn’t work with and for the Russians.

Address:

Throughout the city center.

1) Tverskaya st., next to Tsentralnaya hotel (down along Tverskaya from Pushkinskaya metro);

2) Kuznetsky Most street, #12 in front of Moscow Artist House and Jagannath vegeterian restaurant (#11) - metro Kuznetsky Most;

3) Pokrovka, #17 (metro Kitai Gorod). Open: 8.00-23.00