Selfie

Russian produce at the open pass

At the open pass, Anatoly Kazakov cooks as chef at Selfie in Moscow, keeping the room close enough to see the hand before the plate leaves. His station is built around Russian produce and traditional techniques, with Italy named by Kazakov himself as a point of formation: “I learnt about gastronomy in Italy.” The route matters because it gives the food its tension. The plates do not read as nostalgia, and they do not treat local ingredients as decoration. They take pork from Kursk, halibut from Murmansk, veal from Bryansk, asparagus from Tver, Crimea truffles, Sakhalin scallops, Kamchatka king crab and other products as the beginning of the method. Kazakov has led the kitchen since 2014, the year Selfie opened under White Rabbit Family, and that tenure gives the restaurant a settled grammar rather than a seasonal costume. The work now associated with him is modern, but its pressure comes from origin: birch sap, celery root, yellow beetroot, black salsify, Jerusalem artichoke, herbs and berries handled with enough restraint that the product keeps its first voice.

Fifteen regions on the menu

The kitchen’s geography is specific. Selfie has worked with products from 15 regions of Russia, and its tasting format has included Russia.Doc, a 12-course structure that folds the regular repertoire into newer trials. The method favors clean interventions: raw presentations, poaching, broths, curds, truffle work, acid held in check rather than pushed forward. A scallop can arrive with tomato water and black truffle; caviar of white fish can sit with buckwheat brioche and green apple. The signatures listed by the house range from Beef Tartare with Parmigiano and Black Truffle Sauce to Spinach Ravioli with Mushrooms, Panna Cotta with Sour Milk Ice Cream, and a Truffle Set. Kazakov’s own titled dish, Kazakhstan: 3000 kilometers of taste, sets scale directly into the name, using distance and geography as part of the plate’s architecture. The wine program is curated to sit beside that work, with pairings and signature cocktails kept in the same formal register as the pass.

The counter sees the discipline

The room lets the kitchen remain visible without turning it into spectacle. Selfie sits on the second floor of Novinsky Passazh, near Kudrinskaya Square, in a modern dining room shaped by warm lighting, candles, decorative elements and a chef’s counter facing the open kitchen. The pace is formal, but the noise stays conversational; the room gives the hands enough air. From the counter, the sequence is practical: ingredients move to the bench, plates are finished at the pass, servers carry them into a space that feels more controlled than theatrical. The contemporary design, credited to Italian architect Andrea Viakava, leaves the kitchen as the main instrument in the room. Selfie has held recognition across years, including a Michelin star in 2021 and 88th on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, and Kazakov is at the pass with Murmansk halibut, Crimea truffles and Kamchatka king crab.