“Moscow?!”, they cry as I announce my upcoming gastronomic foray. “What will you eat? ‘I’m not sure’,” I say gaily. “But definitely vodka and caviar.” In most people’s minds, visions of grey Soviet-era streets and grim, shuffling bread queues persist. Yet our Cold War-coloured impression of the Russian capital is as out of date as the Hollywood spy movies that helped create it. These days, Moscow is as full of Pradas and Zaras as the rest of the known universe. While there’s no denying the vast, Siberia-wide chasm between the haves and the have-nots, I am also struck by the excellent produce on show at the city’s fresh food markets. And at the numerous classy restaurants – from luxe diners to mid-range mod-global eateries and cafes that still manage to feel oh-so-Moscow. Like many, leading Moscow chef Vladimir Mukhin of White Rabbit restaurant is bent on reviving the grand traditions of true Russian gastronomy. “The Soviet Union killed Russian cooking,” he explains. “Food is like a time machine. You need to go back to find the stories.”

Peasant in its origins, Russian food is remarkably on trend with its love of whole grains, fermentation, smoking and pickling, yoghurts, creme fraiche, cured meats, baked root vegetables and interesting beverages, whether fermented or brewed. Influenced through history by the French, the Scandinavians, the Germans and surrounding republics such as the ‘Mediterranean’ of the Caucasus Georgia (Try Georgian khachapuri – cheese-filled pastries – at the Kafe Khinkalnaya chain.), today’s dishes remain earthy but refined by good ingredients and technique. Classics include soups (the famous brick-red beetroot borscht), blinis (tiny buckwheat pancakes) with creme fraiche and fish roe, elaborate terrines, horseradish- and sour cream-dressed salads, and beautiful vegetable ‘caviars’ (such as a babaghanoush-like dip). Breakfast is a major meal and the Grand Budapest Hotel-style Cafe Pushkin (26A Tverskoy Blvd) does an excellent version. (True, its vintage charm is actually repro but the old-world, uniformed service is timelessly authentic.) Start the day with a rich millet porridge (kasha) sweetened with pumpkin, followed by syrniki (little fresh-cheese hotcakes) with all sorts of curious jams – pine cone, cloudberry and sea buckthorn. And of course there’s red (salmon) caviar with little buckwheat blinis and smetana (sour cream).

With the best view in Moscow, Vladimir Mukhin’s glamorously luxurious restaurant White Rabbit (3 Smolenskaya Square) is all glass (windows and ceilings), smartly dressed customers, wide, welcoming tables and sink-into couches. It’s also Russia’s only restaurant on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, at a lofty No. 23. Mukhin tells plenty of tales here through his modern-global tasting menu, the fun ‘Gastrobar’ menu matched to cocktails, and a more traditional a la carte. Travellers will prefer the latter: starting with a range of zakuski, or cold appetisers, such as a delicate crab salad, a seasonal medley of mushrooms, potatoes, dill, garlic scapes and cranberry, or a smooth rabbit pâté with hazelnuts. The seafood is exceptional (from Russia’s various coasts) and Mukhin’s classic borscht, served in a wooden pot with carved wooden spoons, is simply fabulous. The birch flour bread (another tradition) is excellent and fruit teas – try bright orange sea buckthorn – are a revelation. And an addiction. Also from Mukhin, try Kutuzovskiy 5 (5/3 Kutuzovskiy Prospect), an attractive modern space with serious historic notes, including a menu dating back to the 1700s. The pickle selection is extraordinary, as are delicious salads, kvass (a rye-base beer-like brew) and those fruit teas.

With its whiter-than-white interior splashed with Soviet vermilion, Grand Cafe Dr. Zhivago (5\1 Mokhovaya St) is a smart 24-hour cafe that covers all the bases, from breakfast through to late night caviar and vodka (or the artisanally distilled samogon – now considered superior to the more industrially processed vodkas). Caviar comes with blinis, chopped onion, sour cream and chopped egg. Just dollop, top and swallow. Vodka meanwhile is tossed back in one go. Have it with a cucumber pickle chaser. Stay long enough and you’ll see the sun rise over the Kremlin nearby.

The vision of an embalmed Lenin will stay with me for a while. (You can visit the former leader’s mausoleum on Red Square, for free.) But my 20-something tour guide Victoria (moscowfreetour.com) says many of her generation are more interested in the Tsars, and even the fairytale onion domes of the Orthodox Church. They also have a kind of perverse nostalgia for the bad old Soviet days of food shortages, communal living and workers’ canteens, evident in these clever dining concepts.

The multiple brass nameplates and doorbells outside Mari Vanna (10A Spiridonyevskiy Ln) are a cute spoof on Soviet-style living – where multiple families shared a kitchen space. In the shabby foyer, the coat-check girl is a guy in trackie dacks. The dining rooms are like a little apartment full of knickknacks and USSR-kitsch, with a menu to match – borscht, Russian salad, stroganoff and lots of tea and vodka. It’s the original in a now-global franchise (New York, London, St Petersburg and beyond).

So this is what it was like, back in the USSR (you don’t know how lucky you are…). Cafe Mu-Mu (45/24 Arbat) is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the bad old days when workers’ canteens were the main source of sustenance for many Soviet citizens. Line up with a tray for self-service Russian salad, herring, jellied terrines and stews, soups and dumplings doled out by stern-faced Russians. Desserts are border-line lurid but there is beer. And tea, of course. Families, students and budget travellers keep this popular chain busy around the clock.

Uilliams (20A Malaya Bronnaya St) is in a pretty part of the city. (While here, stroll to the nearby Patriarch’s Pond and ogle the cartoon-like cakes at Cream Dream.) Uilliams is a busy, trendy, open-kitchened bistro. “It’s full of creatives,” says my companion Anna, “as there are lots of media and ad agencies in this area.” They eat Italian-accented dishes of grills, soups, salads and pasta dishes using great Russian ingredients – local cheeses, mushrooms, salmon, duck – and daily specials. The Italian chef, Uilliam Lamberti, is well-known around town for multiple ventures. Selfie (TDC Novinskiy, 31 Novinskiy Blvd) is a crazy name, yes. “But the Russians love it,” says owner Boris Zarkov, the dynamo-preneur behind the rapidly expanding White Rabbit Family restaurant group. With its potted palms and cosy table lamp lighting, this large, buzzy place-to-be-seen (or selfie-d) is Zarkov’s take on a Manhattan-style diner. There’s a global edge to the food – including share plates! – but it’s undeniably Russian, from teeny green pelmeni (ravioli-like dumplings) with porcini and parmesan to beef tongue, lardo and fresh-grated horseradish, or croquettes of chicken and veal with a cucumber “ketchup” sauce. Don’t be surprised to see feijoa featuring on the dessert menu, perhaps with dulce de leche ice cream and brioche. Muscovites prize this strange, guava-like fruit.

To get a real sense of what, and how Muscovites eat, a market moment is essential. As White Rabbit’s chef Mukhin explains, “Moscow is all about [the] South.” That’s where much of the capital’s fresh produce is sourced. Danilovsky Market (74 Mytnaya St) is a giant farmers’ market where it goes on show. And what variety! Fresh fish, spices, pomegranates and pineapples stack-up besides the most extraordinary array of pickles, smoked meats and cheeses such as chechil – a curious smoked string cheese. Street food from the ‘Stans is super popular in Moscow. Try samsa and other filled savoury pastries from the Uzbeki stall at the entrance, or walnut baklava and pelmeni dumplings, filled with meat or fresh cheese and potatoes, and eaten with black vinegar and sour cream, from the Daghestani cafe inside. With plenty of farm produce but slightly less ‘boutique’, Dorogomilovsky Market (10 Mozhaiskiy Val St) is also a great showcase for Georgian produce such as churchkhela (chewy fruit and nut leathers dried on long strings), fabulous honey, jams – think sweet cherry, pine, watermelon, rose – and many varieties of smoked fish and caviar (both red and black).

And finally, the city’s most luxurious (and for locals, pricey) food hall, GUM (3 Red Square). “Everyone wants to be seen carrying a GUM shopping bag,” says my guide Victoria as we browse the incredible choice of teas, jams and signature Red October chocolates and candies on lavish display in the Gastronome No.1 section of the famous state department store on Red Square. This is an excellent place for edible souvenirs. And aren’t they the best kind? Buy up big and get a GUM shopping bag to show off.

From Red Square (Lenin Mausoleum is optional, but free), make sure you visit the KREMLIN – a walled triangular citadel housing five immaculate government palaces as well as four superb churches, each lined with beautifully preserved gold-leaf icons and other treasures. Also check out the architectural extravaganzas that are the Metro stations such as Arbatskaya and Sokol,, book a night at the Bolshi Theatre, and see the ancient icons at the State Tretyakov Gallery. For a bit of culture – with cafes and bars – make sure you head to the following Moscow landmarks: A beautifully designed space in one corner of the famous Gorky Park, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (9/32 Krymsky Val Str) is a centre for contemporary art, events, a permanent collection as well as rotating exhibitions, a fun museum shop and cool cafe. There’s also the tea-themed Pueroport ice cream shop along the river, from the people behind the Chaynaya Vysota tea chain. Red October Chocolate Factory (6 Bersenevskaya Embankment) was the original home of Russian’s equivalent to Cadbury (get their wrapped candies at GUM). Situated by the river, the huge factory space is now a design and technology centre, photography museum and party hub. Check out the cool shops, bars, restaurants and clubs.