Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
246
expensive. The vaulted brick ceilings provide good acoustics during live music perfor-
mances on weekends. The shelves along the walls hold a haphazard collection of books,
but they appear to be more for show than for actual reading. Menu highlights include
the pikeperch and the T-bone steak, a cut of meat you don't find often in Russia. The
pungent “hangover cabbage stew” is an acquired taste, but its fans insist it does the trick
after a vodka-drenched night. The restaurant is sometimes closed for private parties, so
it's a good idea to call in advance even though reservations are not necessary.
1 Birzhevoy Proezd.
&
812/327-8949
or 812/999-8329. Main courses 400-900 rubles. MC, V. Daily noon
until last customer leaves. Metro: Vasileostrovskaya.
Russky Kitsch
RUSSIAN/INTERNATIONAL This theme restaurant makes fun
of wealthy New Russians and their extravagant tastes, and is a fun and picturesque place
to stop for a bite. It offers creative food—kiwi juice, delicious cauliflower saffron soup—
and a stunning view across the Neva River toward the Winter Palace. Many of the menu
items and decorative details are jokes that may be lost on non-Russians, but others are
universally silly: ceiling frescoes feature Russian pop icons and politicians (including,
strangely, Arnold Schwarzenegger), and menus are presented in tomes of Lenin's works.
Despite the faux-imperial atmosphere, prices are mostly reasonable. Ask for a seat on the
glass-enclosed terrace overlooking the river. It feels airy and cheery even in the deepest of
winter. The corner room has raspberry-colored walls in homage to the favored shade of
sport jacket preferred by an entire class of Russian thugs-turned-businessmen.
25 Universitetskaya Naberezhnaya.
&
812/325-1122.
Main courses 200-8,000 rubles. AE, DC, MC, V.
Daily noon-1am. Metro: Vasileostrovskaya.
7:40
(Sem Sorok) JEWISH/RUSSIAN Fun and tongue-in-cheeky, this family-
run restaurant is a culinary and atmospheric treasure plunked in an unfortunately distant
locale. The appetizers, from several versions of gefillte fish to trout in aspic, have more
character than the succulent but standard grilled lamb and beef in the main dish menu.
It's not kosher, despite its Jewish theme, and pseudo-Hebrew lettering. But the fact that
this city is embracing Jewish cuisine at all is unusual and good news, especially for its
culinary diversity. Its name comes from a popular Russian-Jewish song about a 7:40 train
from Odessa. The two floors are often busy but there's rarely a wait. Worth the extra
money on a taxi to avoid the unreliable tram ride to get there.
108 Bolshoi Sampsionevsky Prospekt.
&
812/492-3444.
www.740spb.ru. Main courses 700-1,000
rubles. MC, V. Daily noon-midnight. Metro: Chornaya Rechka.
INEXPENSIVE
Troitsky Most
(Trinity Bridge) VEGETARIAN This small, local chain specializes in
clean living and meatless cuisine, regardless of which continent the food comes from.
Indian, Italian, Georgian, and even Russian dishes make it to the menu, but no alcohol
is served. The whole place is smoke-free, perhaps the only such venue in Petersburg. Try
the fresh pastas or the mixed fruit-and-vegetable salads. The house specialty is a strange
potato-tofu-cheese casserole. Decor is pseudo-Indian, the atmosphere is laid-back to the
extreme, and the prices are low. Troitsky Most has two locations north of the Neva, one
on up-and-coming Vasilevsky Island, and the other near the Peter and Paul Fortress.
6th Liniya 27, Vasilevsky Island.
&
812/327-4622.
Main courses 100 rubles. No credit cards. Daily 9am-
11pm. Metro: Vasileostrovskaya. Also at Zagorodny Prospekt 38.
&
812/715-1998.
Metro: Pushkinskaya.
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