Solemn opening ceremony of the Moscow legendary Aragvi restaurant

On the 7 of April, after a long restoration, the famous Moscow restaurant Aragvi at 6 Tverskaya St. reopened. The opening ceremony was held under the slogan “The Legend Returns.” The restaurant’s twelve dining halls, each in the style of a different historical period, span 1,800 sq m. The investor, Tashir Group, had spent 20 million dollars on the project overseen by Managing Partner Gor Nakhapetyan.

During the reconstruction Aragvi’s original exterior was renovated, its territory expanded and the building enlarged. Work had begun in 2005 under control of Moscow’s Department of Cultural Heritage. Over six years of painstaking scientific efforts the venerable building’s 17–18th century halls and the walls of the 19th century Dresden inn had been restored. Discoveries had been made along the way, including fragments of unique wall paintings and unusual brickwork ceiling roses; the restoration team had been able to clean up and preserve these elements.

On the 4 of March Moscow’s mayor Sergey Sobyanin examined the results, saying: “Moscow has gained a new historical object, a unique object. Aragvi was visited by famous figures—Russian boyars, Tolstoy, Pushkin, Turgenev. During the reconstruction remnants of stone halls of 17th century stone halls were discovered, from the times of Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich. It is an amazing event we are attending.”

The Aragvi is competing in the municipal contest for the best restoration and preservation project “Moscow Restoration 2016.”

Aragvi restaurant opened in 1938, although the building is much older. The renovated restaurant has 12 themed halls over two floors, 1,800 sq m-large altogether and fit within the original architectural plan. Aragvi brings back the legendary restaurant’s special atmosphere, symbolic of an entire era, preserves historical heritage while offering unique national cuisine that was once considered the best in the Soviet Union.

A number of VIPs visited the evening opening ceremony: the People’s Artist of the USSR Nani Bregvadze, famous actors Veniamin Smekhov, Lyudmila Ivanova, Vera Vasilyeva, Svetlana Svetlichnaya, Svetlana Nemolyaeva, Alexandra Nazarova, Evgeny Mironov, Olga Kabo, film directors Pavel Lungin, Kyrill Serebrennikov, Eduard Boyakov, TV hosts, journalists, representatives of Russian culture and business etc.

Aragvi is a flagship project in Tashir Group’s restaurant portfolio. The holding has worked in the food service sector since 1999 and has built restaurants of various formats and price levels—altogether more than 128 objects all across and outside Russia.