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Have you ever encountered conscious discrimination disguised as intellectual chosenness? Have you ever felt the sorting into social classes veiled under exclusive membership? Have you ever been labeled as a second class person simply because you don't dress the right way or look the wrong way? If not, then you can experience all this in the renovated restaurant "", which was remade into the "Moscow Capital Club" a couple of months ago.
The first signs that a club for the elite has settled in a historical mansion of the 19th century with a long history can be seen even on the street. New flags with the club's emblems flutter above the front entrance, which has a tattered, worn red carpet. There are new business cards on the hostess counter. A security guard is also standing there and warily watching all the guests who have arrived, seeing them off with a stern look up the stairs, where at the entrance to the Oak Hall there is a sign with the inscription: “Only for members of the club and their guests.”
Despite the fact that nothing has changed in the interior of the restaurant, you will not be able to enjoy all the grandeur of the old design, sit under the chandelier presented by Stalin to Gorky, or look at the wall frescoes. If you are not a “member”, then they simply will not let you in there, but will send you to a separate wooden room called the “Fireplace Room”, where behind a massive door there are a dozen heavy tables, large chairs with straight high backs, a fireplace, a small office and a black going to the toilet, hidden from the eyes of the "members" as much as two curtains. The decoration of the room does not raise any questions, a little chivalrous, very museum-like and very soundly. But the fact that, without any explanation, the guest is hurriedly taken away from the bright, large and colorful "Oak" hall into an empty room, they throw the menu on the table and leave it in complete silence and cold (the air conditioner worked so hard there that discomfort came in about five minutes), leads to certain questions.
The menu in "" has changed, slightly grown in size, has acquired new sections and two columns with prices. For "non-members" - more expensive, for "members" - cheaper. The names of the positions are quite clear, but there is no explanation for them. The set of dishes shimmers either with the colors of the Soviet era or with European classics. It is difficult to understand what Mr. Comm has worked on on the menu, because there are no intelligible marks next to the dishes, but there are either postscripts of the overseas word “New”, or some year. The waiter could not answer my questions about the maestro's creations, and not because he did not want to, he simply did not know. His answer is verbatim: "Probably the one with notes on the side is Comm, the rest is old." Given that almost the entire menu was marked, I had to choose at random.
Somewhere in the middle of the meal, people periodically began to tumble into the "special room", either one at a time, or in whole groups. At first, I thought that these were typical excursions, but no, they were employees of the establishment, who very loudly and defiantly discussed various aspects of their work, where to move the tables, how to arrange the glasses, where to place the chairs. They didn’t care at all that I was sitting at a distance of two meters and seemed to be having lunch. They ignored my presence point-blank, and none of them thought of apologizing, or at least speaking a little quieter. But a lone waiter in a black vest appeared in the special room only with dishes. The rest of the time I sat alone (a young couple sat with me for about 15 minutes, but, apparently, realizing where they were stuffed, they asked for a bill and left). As I have already noticed, the dishes arrived late. I spent about 1 hour and 40 minutes on a six-course lunch. No one gave me any information, did not explain the menu, did not advise, and did not even try to find out if I needed anything besides the order. Although what am I talking about? I am not a member. And if I were a "member", I would sit, like respected people, in the "Oak Hall".
The bottom line is this:
Undoubtedly, with the arrival of M. Comm, the food in the city has become better. Of course, there are many new items on the menu. But none, even the most tasty food from the eminent chef himself, the unpleasant feeling that in the newly created a la “elite” club all guests are deliberately and deliberately divided into necessary and unnecessary, right and wrong, members and non-members, hiding all this under a veil of exclusivity.
Publication from Mikhail Kostin (@mkostin_ru) Jul 12, 2017 at 1:30 PDT
This is not just a restaurant, it is a legend, a Moscow, Soviet, literary and partly architectural legend. It’s worth going there if only to say “I’ve been to”, and it’s not so important what kind of food is there and what kind of service is there, the fact itself is important. Previously, there were other similar establishments in Moscow, for example, restaurants "Prague", "Beijing", "Arbat", "Soviet", restaurants at Intourist and at the Actor's House. Now, alas, they are no longer there, from the old-timers there are "Uzbekistan", a remake of "Aragvi" and, of course,.
A couple of years ago, the Ragout team led by Alexei Zimin, Semyon Krymov and Ekaterina Drozdova took over the restaurant. But the project did not work out and, after two years, traces of their "modern" approach disappeared, as, by the way, did Ragout itself. Today, inside a luxurious mansion of the late 19th century on Povarskaya Street opposite the State Film Actor Theater, behind the massive doors to which the red carpet leads, a piece of history, both Russian and Soviet, is once again hidden.
One can talk a lot about the Central House of Writers and its history, but since I was interested in the cuisine, I skipped the tour and went up the dark stairs to a large oak hall (there are six different rooms in the restaurant plus a veranda), dressed from head to toe in red tree, with stained-glass windows, a carved staircase, a high ceiling, a large fresco on the wall and a huge chandelier that Stalin presented to Gorky. A black piano with photographs on the lid winked at me from one corner, a fireplace from the other, and a large vase of flowers flaunted in the very center. At lunch, only two tables were occupied, however, excursion groups with cameras and telephones periodically floated around the hall.
The menu cannot be called compact, it is quite voluminous and tries with all its might to show the author's view of chef Sergey Lobachev at the same time on European dishes and traditional Russian cuisine, but if you look closely, you can see the spirit of the Soviet Union in almost every item. There are also Soviet notes in the design of dishes, although their comrade Lobachev hides them very diligently under all sorts of chips, drops, stripes and pinches. As for the tastes and recipes, they are not even shy about their old-fashioned nature and send guests straight to the USSR with a culinary express.
Bread basket, 0 ₽
Pie with mushrooms, 130 ₽
Beef jelly with horseradish mousse, 650 ₽
Dessert from Anna Pavlova, 350 ₽
, 500 ₽
Water Aqua Panna 0.75, 400 ₽
Grilled snapper with zucchini looked boring, and that boredom carried over to the palate. The fish is harsh and dry, and the zucchini is damp. "Lamb by old recipe"I was pleased with the juiciness (both the rack and the brisket), aromas, a pleasant crust and richness of taste, but upset me with too harsh sauce and annoying crumbs. "Beef Stroganoff with mashed potatoes"- the dish is impeccable, the meat is of high quality, soft, the sauce is sour cream, the puree is dense, without lumps, but not mousse either. Of the desserts, I didn’t understand “Dessert from Anna Pavlova”, which was a tasteless pink clot with fragments of meringue. But Chess amused me. Dessert - original in appearance, tasty and similar to "Bird's milk".
The service reminded me of scenes from Soviet films. All the waiters, in black and white, aged, with stern faces, looked sternly at first, then smiled, followed everything, advised, and periodically offered “vodka”. Yes, this is not a new modern young brethren with smiles, Diesel T-shirts and New Balance sneakers, but the work of the veterans was close to the ideal, and this is the main thing.
This institution is, without a doubt, a favorite among the past and present writers and secular community. The house of writers, where even in difficult times life could not stop! The first canteen (later a restaurant) for writers was founded here. And for fans of creativity and connoisseurs of literature, the Central House of Writers has become something like a temple of literature. After all, several generations of Muscovites and guests of the city considered it happiness and honor to attend a literary meeting, and it was perceived as a bright event of a lifetime, along with a visit to Taganka or Bolshoy.
background
By the way, Povarskaya Street, on which the building itself was built (in 1889), until the revolution, was considered one of the most aristocratic in Moscow, and among the homeowners were princely and count families. Here, in the mansion, the most influential noble-Masonic lodge in Russia also gathered. The house itself, reminiscent of a castle, was made in the modernist style of the romantic direction. The last private owner is Countess Alexandra Olsufieva, the general's wife, née Miklashevskaya. She lived here until 1917, and after the revolution she was forced to emigrate.
After October, the urban poor settled in the house. In 1925, the house was occupied by the so-called "children's" department from the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, in 1932 the building was transferred under the auspices of writers. The CDL itself - the House of Writers - was founded already in 1934, after the 1st Congress of Soviet Writers and - then - the formation of the Writers' Union of the USSR. Since then, the legendary and famous club has become a real haven for many famous people of the Soviet and post-Soviet era.
House of Writers. Visitors
Who has not been only to the CDL for many years of its hospitable existence! Here for the first time poets read their poems, argued, celebrated holidays and anniversaries, celebrities such as Tvardovsky and Simonov, Sholokhov and Fadeev, Okudzhava and Yevtushenko, and many others simply ran here to drink a cup of coffee. Meetings were held here with hero cosmonauts led by Gagarin. Niels Bohr and Indira Gandhi, Gerard Philippe and Gina Lollobrigida - actors and scientists, public leaders of world renown also visited these walls. Countess Olsufyeva, the granddaughter of the former owners of the mansion, also flew to the Central House of Writers and presented her books “Old Rome” and “Gogol in Rome” as a gift. There were legends about some visitors to the House, which then got into the media and books. Today, the House of Writers is open to everyone, and anyone can go there. Literary events and festivals are still held here, films are shown and concerts are played.
Restaurant and more
Undoubtedly, this magnificent mansion with oak walls is quite worthy of being one of the city symbols of Moscow. House of Writers - 1st writer's club. Now it has a venue for concerts, performances, a cinema, a library, a restaurant (updated in 2014). Kitchen in modern restaurant The CDL is simple, with a Russian twist (by the way, borscht is also on the menu). However, in the soup section there is also a hodgepodge with crayfish. And most importantly - good prices.
The street on which the mansion, built in 1889, stands was called Povarskaya and was part of an important road from the Kremlin to Volokolamsk and Veliky Novgorod.
Ivan the Terrible, having identified the street as an oprichnina, granted it to his faithful servants - the nobles, whose estates were interspersed with the courtyards of state cooks, from where the name of the street and the settlement came from. The surrounding lanes still retain their old names: Canteen, Tablecloth, Khlebny, Knife.
Under Peter the Great, the cook's settlement was abolished, and the well-born nobility completely took over the street. Until 1917, Povarskaya was considered the most aristocratic street in Moscow, among its homeowners there were one princely and seven count families.
The mansion, where the most influential noble Masonic lodge in Russia once gathered, was built in 1889, by order of Prince B.V. Svyatopolk-Chetvertinsky designed by the famous Moscow architect P.S. Boytsov. The house, "like a castle", is made in the modernist style of the romantic direction.
Shortly after perestroika, the house was bought by the wife of the cavalry general, Countess Alexandra Andreevna Olsufyeva, Hofmeistrina E.I. Highness V.K. Elisaveta Fedorovna, nee Miklashevskaya. She lived here until 1917 until she was forced to emigrate.
After the October Revolution, the house was settled by the urban poor, who lived within these walls until 1925. Then the house was occupied by the department of children's institutions under the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, and in 1932 the building was given to the House of Writers.
The Central House of Writers itself was founded in 1934 - the year of the first congress of Soviet writers and the formation of the Writers' Union of the USSR.
The legendary creative club of Moscow writers became a real home for many famous people of that era.
The CDL immediately became a favorite place for the writing community, and even during the war years, life in the CDL did not stop. A canteen was set up here for writers and members of their families. For lovers of literature, the CDL has become a kind of temple of literature. And these are not empty words either. Generations of Muscovites considered it an honor to attend a meeting at the Central House of Writers and perceived it as a bright festive event in their lives.
The Central House of Writers was first located on Povarskaya Street, which later became Vorovskogo Street for a while, and then regained its historical name.
In the late 50s, a new building was added to the house from the side of the courtyard with access to a parallel street - the current Bolshaya Nikitskaya, more recently - st. Herzen.
So CDL became the House on two streets. He got new Big and Small halls, a basement where a cafe still operates, billiards, a beautiful lobby and hall, office space and a new large cafe, which eventually became known as the Motley Hall.
Legends and Myths CDL
The atmosphere of Moscow at the end of the 19th century reigns in the CDL restaurant. The spirit of Alexander III, who visited the house of Countess A. A. Olsufieva, still hovers in the Oak Hall of the club-restaurant.
According to legend, Alexander III, who somehow honored Olsufiev with his visit, stumbled and broke his leg, climbing out of this hall along a narrow ladder. In 1905, in the neighborhood, at the barricades, Presnya stumbled on both feet and the entire tsarist regime.
…spooky things happen at night in the famous CDL. Sounds and shadows come to life, a crystal chandelier is suddenly lit, donated by Stalin (it used to hang at one of the stations of the metropolitan subway), a wooden staircase made without a single nail creaks piercingly. The shadow of the Russian Emperor occasionally rises up the hall's massive oak staircase.
The old mansion of Countess Olsufieva on Povarskaya Street keeps many secrets and mysteries.
The walls of the CDL remember the meetings of the Masonic Lodge.
Of course, sometimes there was some discrepancy between the facts in time, but the point of the legends is that they connect and reconcile the times.
Who has not visited the Central House of Writers during the years of its existence!
Here they read their manuscripts, argued, celebrated anniversaries, and sometimes Tvardovsky, Simonov, Sholokhov, Fadeev, Zoshchenko, Okudzhava and others simply ran in for a cup of coffee.
The meetings with the heroes - cosmonauts led by the legendary Yuri Gagarin will remain in my memory for a long time. The world-famous Danish physicist Niels Bohr, an excellent artist and progressive US public figure Rockwell Kent, Gerard Philippe, Marlene Dietrich, Indira Gandhi, Gina Lollobrigida have visited the House.
The granddaughter of Count Olsufiev, the former owner of an old mansion, came to Moscow twice as a tourist from Italy. The former countess presented to the CDL library two of her books published in Italian: Gogol in Rome and Old Rome.
There were legends about visitors to the CDL, many of which later found their way into newspapers and on the pages of books. Today, anyone can enter the CDL. Literary evenings, festivals, concerts and the best films are still held here.
This magnificent building with fireplace halls, oak walls and marble staircases may well claim the status of a national symbol.
RESTAURANT
The renovated CDL restaurant opened in February 2014. 
At the end of Povarskaya there is a remarkable mansion, which everyone who happens to visit this part of the street invariably pays attention to - a house built at the end of the 19th century for Prince Svyatopolk-Chetvertinsky, and in the Soviet years - the famous and legendary CDL - the Central House of Writers.
The mansion, in its architecture reminiscent of European castles of the Renaissance, was built in 1887 by order of Prince Boris Vladimirovich Svyatopolk-Chetvertinsky. The project was commissioned by the architect Pyotr Samoilovich Boytsov, who by that time had already built a house for the prince in his country estate, Uspenskoye (on Rublevo-Uspenskoye Highway). Here Boytsov designed a small city mansion in the French Renaissance style with elements of Baroque architecture. The main attraction of the mansion is a truly luxurious design of its interiors, which have survived to our time in an almost untouched form, which is amazing in itself. The decoration of the main halls of the mansion is made in the Gothic style, almost all the rooms are finished with wood - panels on the walls, coffered ceilings, parquets, the main staircase, furniture - all carpentry work was done according to the sketches of Boitsov himself. Wooden carving is distinguished by the finest elaboration of every detail. The biggest impression is made by the huge front hall with high windows and amazingly beautiful stairs leading to the second floor. The staircase is decorated with carved details, for example, the pillars that support it are entirely covered with carvings depicting a vine. The Gothic windows are decorated with colored stained-glass windows, the walls are covered with fabrics, and a large tapestry hangs above the stairs. Fireplaces are preserved in the halls, some of which are also decorated with wood.
In the interior design of the mansion on Povarskaya, Boytsov's talent as a draftsman was fully manifested - after all, the first years of his creative career he worked mainly in the field of decorative art - he was engaged in interior design, made sketches of furniture, and later took part in the design of Moscow for the coronation celebrations of 1896.
The owner of the mansion, Prince Boris Vladimirovich Svyatopolk-Chetvertinsky, came from an ancient noble family, descended from Rurik. He was the grandson of the last chief master of the horse, the hero of the Napoleonic Wars, Prince Boris Antonovich Svyatopolk-Chetvertinsky. Prince Boris Vladimirovich himself was a well-known horse breeder, he was engaged in breeding horses in his Uspenskoye estate near Moscow, and founded a stud farm here.
In the late 1890s, the heirs of Prince Svyatopolk-Chetvertinsky sold the house on Povarskaya Countess Alexandra Andreevna Olsufieva, lady of state, chamberlain of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna (chauffeur - one of the highest female court titles). Countess Olsufyeva has always been at court - first a lady of state to Empress Maria Feodorovna (wife of Alexander III), and since 1892 - the chamberlain of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, at whose court she served until 1909. She was quite close to Elizabeth Feodorovna and maintained a relationship with her even after the Grand Duchess dissolved her court in 1909. Later, in exile, Countess Olsufieva wrote and published memoirs about the Grand Duchess.
The countess and her husband, a cavalry general, philologist and writer, Count Alexei Vasilyevich Olsufiev (who, incidentally, was Alexandra Andreevna's uncle) were closely acquainted with the famous poet, who dedicated one of his poems to the countess:
Countess Alexandra Andreevna Olsufieva
when receiving hyacinths from her
In embarrassment, the mind cannot be tied with a glance,
And dumb language:
You are with hyacinths - and next to you
Sick old man.
But indifferently, selflessly
The power has been given to you:
Where you reign so amiably, -
Always spring. (1887)
The Olsufievs were also known as philanthropists, Countess Alexandra Andreevna was a full member of the Moscow Charitable Society of 1837.
The Olsufyev family lived in their mansion on Povarskaya until 1917. Fleeing from the Bolsheviks, they left Russia and settled in Italy, at their villa in San Remo.
The mansion itself was nationalized, but miraculously survived the looting. The house was occupied by the department of children's institutions under the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, and in the early 1930s it was given to the Writers' Union - and the Central House of Writers, better known as the Central House of Writers, was located here. It was a legendary place - all famous Soviet and Russian writers visited it in different years, it was also visited by distinguished guests from abroad - Marlene Dietrich, Gerard Philippe, Gina Lollobrigida, US President Ronald Reagan and many others. Later, the famous CDL restaurant was opened in the front halls of the mansion, which became a cult place for Moscow literary and not only literary bohemia. Many writers and poets were regulars of the restaurant, especially loved by the "sixties"; the CDL restaurant got into the pages of many novels (not to mention memoirs).
The restaurant is still here, and although it retains its old name "CDL Restaurant", now anyone can get here.
Central House of Writers - the abbreviation is so simply deciphered CDL. However, behind the three-letter abbreviation lies a life full of tragedies, historical inconsistencies, tears, laughter and curiosities. It is located in a two-story mansion with turrets, on Moscow's Povarskaya street. The eclecticism of the architectural style and the interior of the building reflects the hybrid of eras and the complex history of its existence.
Built in the 19th century by princely order, the mansion was bought by the family of Count Olsufiev, and in 1932, at the request of Maxim Gorky, the building was transferred to the Writers' Union. In the year of the first congress of Soviet writers, the Central House of Writers named after Alexander Fadeev was founded there. Over time, the building grew in breadth, and the name, on the contrary, was shortened to an abbreviation.
The House of Writers quickly became the center of a stormy literary life, turned into a writers' club with a restaurant and a hall for general meetings, which still retains its former appearance and is commonly referred to as the Oak Hall. Its oak-panelled walls and exotic carved columns adorn its cozy space. On the second floor, in the so-called Fireplace Hall, a bizarrely curved wooden staircase, made without a single nail, which rests on sandalwood columns, leads.
Birthdays were celebrated in the Oak Hall, feasts were celebrated, reports were made and drinks were drunk. During the day, the halls changed their function more than once. First, let's say a memorial service. Then a meeting at which someone was worked out. Then - a tavern. It didn't bother anyone. Here, poetry and prose were discussed, members of the Soviet cultural elite quarreled and reconciled. It was here that the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the President of the United States washed the agreement on the end of the Cold War.
These halls saw all the celebrities of Russian literature, several of its generations: from pre-revolutionary futurists and, later, front-line writers, to contemporary writers. Mayakovsky thundered here, Pasternak sang his poems and Yuz Aleshkovsky arranged brawls, Tarkovsky's creative evenings were held here and listened to David Samoilov's transparent verses in Pushkin's style. The walls of the CDL remember Tvardovsky, Zoshchenko, Sholokhov, Okudzhava, as well as Niels Bohr, Marlene Dietrich, Indira Gandhi and many other celebrities.
In the 50s, after a new part was added to the mansion from the side of the courtyard, it had two exits, new Large and Small halls, a beautiful hall and a new large cafe, which eventually became known as the Motley Hall. If, as a rule, a respectable audience gathered in the Oak Hall of the restaurant, then in the Motley Hall the audience was motley. But this did not mean that there were some class boundaries in the writing business at the table. There was a constant rotation in the halls. Crowds of visitors and writers wandered from restaurant to cafe and back. There was a bar between the cafe and the restaurant. Amateurs often get stuck at this counter. Some have spent their entire lives at the writer's bar.
The Motley Hall was a favorite hangout for writers of the 1960s and 1980s. In many ways, it was similar to an art cafe. silver age"The Stray Dog", where for the first time poems were read and musical plays were heard, about which many memories have been preserved. Just like Anna Akhmatova, who dedicated the poems “We are all hawkers here, harlots ...” and “Yes, I loved them, those gatherings of the night ...”, famous, recalling his stormy youth, spoke enthusiastically about the “Colored Hall” , so called by visitors not only because of the motley audience, but also because on its walls there were (and still are) caricatures and autographs of the classics: poets, prose writers, playwrights, artists:
« We hung out here sometimes for days. There were amazing waitresses, absolutely gorgeous women who believed in our debt !».
Here, under a debt entry in a notebook, they could feed and pour a glass or two of temporarily penniless writers. It is known that such a procedure, sharp on the word Mikhail Svetlov, called "recording". Usually, other visitors with their chairs pulled up to the table at which Svetlov sat, and those who did not have time to squeeze through stood behind. Every now and then, causing the envy of the entire cafe, explosions of laughter were heard from there. The level of his wit was not lower than his poetic talent.
He is credited with a metaphorical answer when he came straight from the hospital to a cafe, and Yuri Nagibin asked him how he felt:
—Like an eagle, - answered Mikhail Arkadyevich, - who returned to the pawnshop for his wings!
Many writers of that time were also distinguished by eccentricities and wit. Already famous in the 60s, the poet Yaroslav Smelyakov used to relax in the "colorful" hall of the CDL restaurant, sitting alone at his favorite table with a glass of vodka. At the same time, he never gave up the second empty chair from his table, no matter what the writers' crush in the restaurant was at that time.
—Who are you waiting for?! - once the young poet Peter Vegin was indignant, after refusing to lend him an empty chair.
— Pushkin! Smelyakov replied calmly.
It is possible to list such cases endlessly, because for several decades, writers brisk in inventions have provided the hall with a history full of tales and anecdotes.
They say that the poet Anatoly Peredreev, if he came to the “motley” hall of the Central House of Writers alone, then ordered vodka to the waiter and sat alone for a long time at his favorite corner table. Peredreev was famous for his phenomenal memory for poetic lines. When one of the unfamiliar poets approached him, he invariably asked:
- Who are you?
The stranger introduced himself. Peredreev instantly read two or four lines of poetry and sternly asked:
- You wrote?
“Me,” he confessed.
- Go to x ...! said Peredreyev gloomily.
The opposite happened much less frequently. If the lines were wonderful in Peredreev’s eyes and taste, then he invited the poet: “Sit down!” - and poured vodka.
His behavior exactly corresponded to the inscription-warning of the poet Rasul Gamzatov, inscribed in red paint to the right of the arch leading from the Motley to the elite Oak hall of the restaurant:
Everyone can drink
Only needed
Know where, when and with whom,
For what and how much.
On the contrary, in the left corner of the hall, V. Livshits left his admonition-couple :
"Oh, young people, stay strong
At the sight of a restaurant counter"
.
In general, if you turn all four walls of the cafe, covered with numerous autographs and cartoons of venerable writers into one, then this will be a huge panel, which is appropriate to call the "Wall of Laughing and Weeping."
The literary neophyte, who for the first time found himself in a noisy cafe hovering in clouds of tobacco smoke, with its motley walls, was struck by the sight of the celestials who were “alive” sitting at the tables. Only here one could hear how the "rulers of minds and hearts" poets, Boris Slutsky and Joseph Brodsky order bottled beer and a mountain of famous Tzedeel puff pastries with meat and cabbage in the lower buffet.
The feeling of being part of this "temple of literature" was dizzying and obscured from the eyes of someone's ingrained inscription on the wall: « here once I ate stew and saw Yevtushenka».
There were also "local attractions". In the Central House of Writers of the 1970s, they were women from the staff of the Central House of Writers, already of advanced age. It seems they have been working here since the day they were founded. All these women had - as a matter of choice - unusual romantic names: Rose, Ada and Esthesia. As well as complex hairstyles in the pre-war fashion and nostalgic dresses. They have always been very well-groomed and spectacular. Rumor attributed to Rosa, Ada and Esthesia novels with the most famous writers of the USSR.
By the time of closing, the cafe was hovering in tobacco smoke. Tipsy, or even completely drunken guests did not want to disperse. Someone was already snoring softly in the corner. And then, Estesia appeared, as if she had come out of Chekhov's play staged by the Moscow Art Theater. She waved her arms smoothly and widely, making passes and repeating measuredly: “We are getting up ... We are going to the exit ... We are leaving ...” The most amazing thing is that even the most stubborn and half-drunk writers obeyed her, like children to a teacher, and obediently trudged to the exit.
No less respected among the writers were the full-time hairdresser and funeral director of the Central House of Writers. Although, often, they became objects for caustic jokes of literary wits.
The hairdresser at the Central House of Writers in the 1960s–1970s was Moisei Mikhailovich Margulis. At his workplace at the armchair, he performed sacred rites: haircuts, shaving, hot massages, hair washing, and so on. He was the hero of numerous anecdotes that spread from the walls of the Central House of Writers all over Moscow. At the same time, the tales that he himself composed and poisoned left and right were a great success in writers' circles. Many sincerely advised him to change the hairdressing scissors for a pen. But the hairdresser answered that he was born a hairdresser and that he would end his glorious path, crowned not with writer's laurels, but with hair.
President Reagan's visit to Moscow and the decision to arrange his meeting with the Soviet creative intelligentsia at the Central House of Writers put an end to the barbershop, beloved by writers, which had been functioning smoothly for decades. Due to the fact that the CDL was equipped with two toilets - but one is located on the top, where it is difficult to climb, and the other - in the basement, where it is difficult to descend - they tried to build a closet from Margulis's room (something like modern dry closets). Ironically, the distinguished guest was not impatient during his stay at the Central House of Writers. The cabin was demolished some time later. But the barbershop never revived.
No less famous throughout Moscow was Ariy Davidovich Rotnitsky, who conducted writers' memorial services at the Central House of Writers. A man of extraordinary connections, knowledge and skills in the world of cemeteries, morgues, hearses, tombstone workshops. Unchanging in appearance, a pink, polite old man with a bare head and a silver beard. His age was indeterminate. It was only known for certain that Arius participated in the funeral of Leo Tolstoy.
In addition to them, there were more than a dozen personalities who remained in the oral and written testimonies of eyewitnesses of those events. But the theme of the site, like a compass, leads us to the writer's kitchen. There, too, there were not without outstanding personalities.
It should be noted that not only the creative atmosphere attracted writers of that period to the Central House of Writers. This was facilitated by the fact that for many years the departmental writers' kitchen was supplied with the best products in the USSR. As a result, not only pressed caviar or fresh cucumbers in winter, but even hazel grouse. An equally important factor of attraction was the excellent cuisine, which was led by a legendary man (as well as in creative and restaurant circles in Moscow) -. 
In 1925-1931, Rosenthal was the director of the restaurants of the Herzen House, the Writers' Union House and the Press House. Subsequently, he became the manager of the restaurant of the Club of Theater Workers.
According to the memoirs of the famous "Domovoy" - the legendary and for several decades the permanent director of the Central House of Writers - Boris Filippov:
“He had an impressive height, a representative appearance, a thick black Assyrian cone, a large, chest-length beard. Rosenthal was not just an administrator and a culinary virtuoso, who knew the restaurant business to perfection, but also a hospitable host who created a special coziness and homely intimacy in his establishment.
This black-eyed handsome man in a tailcoat, with a dagger beard to the waist, was a fan of cooking, an admirer of literature and theatrical art. His character and portrait were authentically captured by Mikhail Bulgakov in his novel The Master and Margarita. There Rosenthal appears in the image of the restaurant manager Archibald Archibaldovich. Unless, the writer transferred his possessions to the premises of the “Massolit” invented by him (a parody abbreviation of “Master of Soviet Writers”), with his “Griboyedov House”.
Undoubtedly, Bulgakov also uses the name "Griboedov's House" in his novel in a parody, which is associated with the passion of the members of "Massolit" for gluttony. As a result, inimitable Griboyedov's "portioned perch" and "cocote eggs with mushroom puree in cups" appear in the novel.
By the way, Bulgakov's restaurant "Griboedov's House" is a generalized image of several places where Yakov Rosenthal worked and which the writer and his colleagues visited, including many celebrities. They invariably migrated after the Beard (as Rosenthal was jokingly called) to all his places of work. At the same time, he was not only closely acquainted with the entire metropolitan beau monde, but also remembered the tastes of each of them.
Thanks to the personality of Rosenthal, it really came true comic wish, expressed by one Moscow comedian at the first organizational meeting of the House of Writers: “ ... grubs should have been such that people would stop going to the Metropol or the National. Interestingly, this joke turned out to be prophetic in the end.
At the end of the 80s, a major restoration was carried out in the premises of the Central House of Writers. The interiors and decorative details of the central "Oak Hall" were kept practically unchanged. The sandalwood columns that support the stairway are a whole world of images. Allegorical portraits of the count and countess, the vine motif, swirling acanthus leaves give an outlandish appearance to the wooden support. The tree in the house is everywhere. It is used in the processing of walls, ceilings of all halls. The look is complemented by amazing stained-glass windows made according to the ancient technology with the use of lead.
AT Soviet time the interior of the "Oak Hall" was decorated with a monumental chandelier presented by Stalin to Maxim Gorky, who headed the Writers' Union at that time. Initially, it was made for one of the metro stations.
A library, a reading room and a cinema were left in the Central House of Writers. The billiard room also remained in its place. But the time when any writer, even the most inconspicuous and poor, could calmly walk around the Central House of Writers, where he wanted, is a thing of the past.
The legendary writers' center has turned into a respectable institution. The entrance from Povarskaya has become exclusively a restaurant entrance. The restaurants occupied several halls, which differ from each other in interior, but are united by one concept and decorative details.
The "Oak" hall still has two tiers. There was bleached oak furniture, old Chinese vases, stained-glass windows, an old clock next to the entrance. There was also a wooden staircase, made without a single nail, resting on sandalwood columns with bas-reliefs of Count and Countess Olsufiev. Under the stairs there is a round table for 8-12 persons.
Through the "Fountain" hall you can get into the former "Motley" hall, which now houses a restaurant with the pretentious name "Hunter's Notes" (it is decorated with luxurious products of taxidermists - the heads of zebras, bears, wolves and other unfortunate ones), where you yourself feel game for uniformed headhunters. Although this is a more democratic part of the extension, unlike the "old" wing, where the pompous restaurant is located Italian cuisine, made in light pink tones with Venetian mirrors on the walls and white columns located along the perimeter of the hall. And in the foyer, tightly blocking its doors, they figured out the Artistic restaurant, for those actors who can afford it.
The menu impresses with a variety of "bourgeois" dishes, the main concept of which is "traditional Russian cuisine". It is prepared according to the recipes of the century before last, adapting to the present. The menu includes such dishes as: fish soup in rye pots, baked and stuffed whitefish, sturgeons, suckling pigs and lambs, Siberian dumplings with salmon, beef tartare on the bone, borscht with aged lard and lamb with sabrefish.
Writers now wander here extremely rarely. And having got on the occasion, they feel discomfort. This is evidenced by fresh "notes on the cuffs":
Borya, - the prose writer Anatoly Shavkuta tells me once in the Central House of Writers, - and you noticed that a lot has changed in the House of Writers with this restructuring. For example, the balance is broken.
— What is the balance, Tolya? I ask him.
- Well, some kind of ... - Shavkuta answers. “Before, we never had more than two alcoholics and one lunatic in our restaurant. This is the living writing environment. And now they are gone, gone! The nouveau riche do not recognize them. And the balance is out of whack...
The restaurant for a long time retained the heavy aura of the era of stagnation: there was a very expensive kitchen, and the condo pathos of velvet curtains and oak panels supported high prices.
Only the Lower Buffet remained democratic. Among the characters flooding it, there were restless intellectuals, retired actors and writers of not the highest rank, who secretly bring with them and pour alcohol under the table, or, having ordered beer or coffee, talk for a long time at round tables about literature, in the twilight of a cozy smoky hall. Here one involuntarily recalls one story from the distant past of the Central House of Writers:
We are sitting in the “colorful hall” with guests, some foreign tourists. They speak good Russian. We drink dry wine, coffee. Our writers behave with dignity, treat foreigners, somehow try to be proud and even defend Russia. It feels good. At the end of the evening, the foreigner, smiling broadly, says a compliment to all of us:
- You are a happy people, Russians! You don't even know what kind of poverty you live in...
The owner changed in 2014. Restaurateur Aleksey Zimin, developing a fundamentally different gastronomic concept for the CDL wine restaurant, turned to the bureau WOWHAUS with a request to create a bright, provocative, but at the same time easily changeable interior, focused on a new audience of the restaurant - "workers in the creative industries aged 25-45 years." We assume - actors of popular television series and writers of unpretentious detective stories for the masses.
The halls were upgraded in the spirit of art intervention. To the historical decoration of the halls - authentic elements of the neo-Gothic interior: oak panels, fireplaces, chandeliers - modern, easily removable structures were added in contrast.
Openwork designs with WOWHAUS's favorite circle motif have become a leitmotif that runs through all the restaurant premises. In the upper room, these elements are repeated even in the design of the wallpaper and wall lamps. With the help of white plastic frames, the legendary creaky staircase was turned into a kind of backlit techno portal.
After these ambiguous innovations, the sacredness of the place disappeared from the CDL, the sacred ceremony and the theatricality that Andrei Dellos, the creator of utopian projects - elite restaurants "Cafe Pushkin", CDL and "Turandot".
With the change of scenery updated and restaurant menu. The innovative kitchen is hosted by Aleksey Zimin, the author of books and articles on gastronomic topics, and not only. He is a former editor of the men's magazine GQ", and now a successful restaurateur: his " Ragout" once received prizes for being, like an icebreaker, the first to enter the topic of luxurious and fashionable food served in an ultra-modern ascetic interior.
Although Zimin studied at a cooking school Cordon Blue and trained in the kitchens of many great chefs - from Michel Guerard to Raymond Blanc, he and his partner Taras Kiriyenko did not begin to make cardinal gastronomic changes. Their cooking is some kind of rethought variations on the theme of "Russian cuisine". Although elements, like - are present ...
For example, - totem for all "culinary chemists", foamy sauce. In this case, it is made from sour cream with grated milk mushrooms and pickles, which is served with dumplings with venison and veal.
Or mashed bacon “driven” into borscht broth. And the lemongrass (lemongrass) used in Ziminsky cabbage soup instead of sauerkraut looks quite simple.
Following the trend of unexpected "mixes" characteristic of modern cuisine, a dish « nanny», which resembles either the Russian version of the Scottish haggis- a lamb stomach stuffed with giblets, or - “kundyubki”, for a combination of buckwheat porridge with giblets, which were served in Khlestakov on Frunzenskaya. By the way, they differed there in broth, which softened the density of such a union. Here, a bed of the softest mint lamb plays such a role:
Visitors with more traditional flavors, to the wine is offered guinea fowl liver pate . BUT medallions from foie gras grilled served with mango and apple salad.
Of course, those who wish can get by with a "simple" order in the left, more "democratic" wing. There they will be served appetizers in the form of Muromsky mushrooms, pike-perch in aspic, quail julienne or pancakes stuffed with pheasant.
In general, the cuisine is good, but from restaurants with a price list “above average”, prices are not too different from Pushkin. But, it's up to you to decide whether restaurant complex CDL is more accessible and better.
Finally, it should be said that the famous Motley Hall, as before, is open only to members of the Writers' Union, but the atmosphere that once reigned here no longer exists. Legendary writers no longer sit at tables. There were no individuals left who could play a trick on them, as the administrator Arkady Semenovich did (the same one who once did not let Mikoyan himself into the Central House of Writers).
It was he who, in the midst of the feast and immoderate gluttony with boiled crayfish with beer (and they were consumed in huge quantities in the writer's buffet), waited until the visitor completely fell into nirvana, got his fingers dirty, breaking off crayfish claws and necks, suddenly appeared before him and categorically demanded:
- Present your membership card of the Writers' Union!
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It seems that the unforgettable Mikhail Svetlov, answering the question " what is the difference between fashion and fame?, turned out to be presciently right: — Fashion is never posthumous. Only glory is posthumous...
