Moscow is a fantastic place: there are many things that they haven’t got in Britain, and then there are things that they do have. Just like you may never leave Manchester because you have Piccadilly, Pall Mall, and Albert Square there, so you may not need to go to Britain or New York because there are Starbucks’, Subways, and Costa Coffee cafes.
My favourite Costa in Manchester was actually situated in Bolton; my Moscow’s favourite Costa is sitting in Maroseika Street, next door to McDonalds and with a few other coffee houses across the road. It is absolutely one of “my” places in my native city. I nearly went into another Costa Coffee in Kuznetsky Most street, but the atmosphere was nowhere near the one I enjoy at the cafe in Maroseika. Having said that, Maroseika is generally one of my favourite streets in town, so we are talking of the location and the place complementing one another. Today I was lucky enough to find myself a seat by the window. I reviewed my plans for this year, as well as some of my work, while drinking an Americano with a slice of lip-smacking chocolate cake. In the end, I left a comment in English in their guestbook, telling the guys how good they are.
I will surely be going back to England… but not for Costa Coffee, it seems.
4 Comments
LOL … I still remember reading the BIG news when McDonald's first arrived in Moscow. The world will soon just be one ubiquitous village when it comes to eateries.
Agree!! Imagine, though, that people used to queue to McDonald's as if it served the most succulent, lip-smacking, to-dit-for food! Now, my parents never took me there when it arrived, so if I'm not mistaken the first time I went there was in about 1997/98.
I read a funny thing in one LiveJournal the other day: a Russian restaurant owner Arkady Novikov is planning to open a restaurant in London's Mayfair. The cuisine is described as Italo-Asian. The meaning of which is kind of elusive, but if he is thinking what I am thinking, then the combo may be a bit terrifying.
Hard to imagine what Italo-Asian means in practice. What a pity I'm no longer in touch with any of my London acquaintances. I could ask them to try out Arkady N's establishment once it opens and report back 🙂
I realised, after I'd posted my initial comment that I've never knowingly visited a Costa coffee shop. They must have only come to London after I'd already left the city.
I actually do like Costa. A friend of mine prefers Caffe Nero, which is obvious – they are both from Milan 🙂 The only thing they haven't introduced in Moscow Costa (yet) is the loyalty card that allows you to not merely get an “x” cup for free, but to collect points and use them to pay for muffins etc.