I’m in Moscow right now, and I stumbled across something fascinating today — a Ziferblat, or an ‘anti-cafe‘!
I stumbled into it originally because I went to an English Club meeting that happened to be hosted in one, but I couldn’t get it out of my head so I came back and am writing out of one right now.
An ‘anti-cafe’ is a cafe where you pay for the time you spend in it, rather than the food and drinks (which are included, and unlimited while you’re there). The one I’m in is 3 rubles per minute (about $0.04, or $2.40 per hour).
It’s easy to dismiss it as a coworking space, which is what I’m using it for thanks to the included wi-fi, but there’s also board games, and a huge library, and musical instruments, and art, etc. etc. It’s a very creative space and seems to attract very creative people.
I’m at one of the Ziferblat branches in Moscow (of which there are 3, some of which are open 24/7) but they seem to have branches across Russia and branching into Europe: https://ziferblat.net/en
