More than 40 years ago Gilbert Becaud, famous French chansonier, gave performances in Moscow. Returned to France, he wrote a song “Natalie” and dedicated it to Natalie, his Russian interpreter. There are such words in this song: “We are walking around Moscow, visiting the Red Square and you are saying learned words about Lenin, the revolution, but I am thinking: “I wish we sat in the “Café Pushkin”, with snow falling outside the windows, we would be drinking hot chocolate and talking of another things… ”.

The song became incredibly popular in France, and it is no wonder that in Moscow the Frenchmen searched for the “Café Pushkin” and failed to find it because it was solely the poetic fantasy of Becaud. It was the song that compelled Andrey Dellos  to create “Café Pushkin”.
And finally on June 4th, 1999, on Tverskoy boulevard Moscow,  “Café Pushkin” was opened in a Baroque mansion, which opening was attended by Gilbert Becaud and there he sang his world-famous song “Natalie”.

http://www.cafe-pushkin.ru/en/

The café, which is really a five-star restaurant, is open 24 hours a day and is a local signature.  It was a most intriguing place for us.  The waiters stood guard around me with my camera.  “No pictures! We do not compromise the identity of our patrons.”  We lingered over a long lunch next to a table of dark suited, expressionless, silent  men in waiting with double parked Mercedes along the curb outside, all in a dark suit  with an ear phone at the ready,  Right out of a James Bond movie.

With special permission, I was allowed to take a picture of our dessert to share.