There are not many restaurants and cafes in these cities where you can try pure Russian cuisine. Nowadays Russian food is a mixture of cuisine from neighbouring countries such as Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and those of Central Asia. You can try pancakes and pies with different fillings, delicious khachapuri (traditional Georgian pie with home-made cheese suluguni), caucas kebabs, Uzbekistani plov (rice dish with meat and vegetables) and soups (traditional Russian schi with solty cabbage or Ukrainian borsch with beetroot).
Your leader will arrange group dinners in different restaurants to get the most out of this gastronomic mix throughout your journey. Restaurant Chekhov in St Petersburg and Cafe Chekhov in Moscow can be considered as places to try Russian cuisine (fish soups, solty black milk mushrooms, aspics, poultry, jellies). Vegetarians are well catered for in Moscow and St Petersburg but lesser so outside of these main cities. Expect to pay £20-30 per person for dinner and between £8-10 for a lunch snack.