Traktir Rus

I finally made it down to Serpukhov, some 100 kms south of Moscow, to check out this brewpub. It's located just off of Lenin Square in the heart of the city, in a nice 19th century style two story building right on a busy corner. The entrance leads into a foyer, with decent bathrooms on the right and the bar in a room through the door on the left. The barroom is pretty small, with six stools at the counter and one little table in the corner. To the right of the bar is a double gate and two steps down leading into the dining room. This room is overdecorated, with dark wood paneled ceiling, elaborately carved wooden columns, engraved bronze panels depicting great moments in Serpukhov history hanging on the walls, cheap blue carpet on the floor, and 8 wooden tables with enough elaborately carved wooden chairs to seat about 50. The brewkettles are visible through an iron grate to the left as you enter the room. Brass chandeliers with white glass globes hang from the ceiling. Pretty big windows line one wall, but the dark wood gives the place a dark impression. The menu is extensive, although the promised oriental cuisine was nowhere to be found. The waitress was attentive and pleasant, but my main course took forever to arrive. And wasn't worth the wait.

An advertisement flyer on the table promised three beers: pale, wheat and dark. The menu only offered pale and dark. The waitress told me all they had was pale. Sigh. I had two half-pints - one came in a globular windowed mug, the other in a straight-walled mug. The 33cl desert beer came in a goblet. All the same beer, of course. The beer was fresh, and served well. There were some guys in the bar when I arrived at about 1:00 on a Saturday afternoon, but no one in the restaurant. By the time I left at 2:30, four tables were occupied.

Serpukhov was a disappointment, offering little in the way of architecture or culture. This place is undoubtedly the best beer opportunity in town, but I can't say there is any reason to make the trip from Moscow. The beer wasn't that good.