COFFEE BEANS & BEINGS / ESPRESSO WITH A SIDE OF ESCAPISM

BIG DOG. A mellow afternoon at SURF Coffee in Moscow—where dogs nap, headphones hum, and the coffee never rushes you. This café’s easygoing charm and lifestyle aesthetic have made it a cultural touchstone in the city.
Photo courtesy of the Associated Press. 

With a name like Surf Coffee, the image above could be steps from the Pacific--maybe near UCSB in Goleta, CA. Surprisingly, it's amid Moscow's big city buzz and bustle. SURF Coffee, a small chain of lifestyle cafés, is quietly redefining what it dares to be Western in Russia’s capital one knockov at a time. 

A recent photo by the Associated Press captured the essence of this caffeine oasis: warm wood, casual seating, baristas deep in their groove—and a customer's giant St. Bernard zzzzzing contentedly on the floor next to his much smaller canine pal. Yes, seeing is believing. 

Our cafe correspondent, now in Moscow, insists we don’t mistake Surf Coffee’s curated decor for mere design theater because the coffee holds its own. Their house-roasted beans lean toward nutty and citrusy profiles, with baristas who speak the global language of pour-overs and flat whites fluently. 

A standout is their signature raf—a Russian café classic turned indulgent experience with velvety crema and infused vanilla hints. Surf’s menu often reflects seasonal experiments, but the atmosphere is what lingers: communal tables, soft indie beats, and a sense that this is less a pit stop and more a pause in life’s current. 

Whether you’re a caffeine seeker or a digital nomad hunting a cozy plug-in corner, Surf Coffee captures a rare fusion—espresso with a side of escapism.