Restaurant Zolotoy Zayats (Lepre d’Oro)

In Moscow, restaurants worth changing your usual route for don’t appear very often. In Skolkovo, such a new address has become “Zolotoy Zayats” (Lepre d’Oro) — a large-scale Italian restaurant by Andrey Zaitsev.

The emphasis here is not only on the cuisine but also on a full-fledged social-gastronomic experience: a spacious hall with an open kitchen, floor-to-ceiling windows, a terrace immersed in real countryside greenery, secret rooms for long dinners, and the recognizable chic of country dolce vita. The sense of grandeur and theatricality is enhanced by figures of golden hares and mannequins with hare heads.

The kitchen is led by Carlo Scafetta, who draws on the traditions of Campania and Lazio: Sicilian red shrimp crudo, scallop carpaccio, handmade pasta, seafood from the raw bar, Lepre d’Oro pâté and alla Lepre ragù made from hare and rabbit — dishes destined for social media, and profiteroles that have already stirred up half of Moscow’s high society.

The wine list matches the scale of the project: around 300 labels with a focus on Italy — from well-known regions to small appellations, rare estates, and bottles for special occasions.