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More than two decades have passed since the fall of the Soviet Union and with it the days when dining choices in St. Petersburg, or any Russian city for that matter, were limited to traditional, often uninspired, but always inexpensive Russian-style eateries. In fact, dining is among the great pleasures in the city of Peter the Great these days. Yes, you can dine like a tsar, and in just about any other fashion and on any kind of cuisine you prefer. Top chefs have taken over the dining rooms of some of the best hotels—including the Grand Hotel Europe, the Kempinski, and the W—where they serve top-notch food in beautiful settings. You'll also find a growing number of ethnic choices, and even vegetarians, often at a loss to find a meat-free meal in Russian, have some options, too.
Traditionalists need not worry, however. Homey and jovial budget eateries serving quick, substantial, and good meals for less than 250 rubles have mushroomed around the city. Stands selling Russian blini, the hearty Russian cousin of the French crepe, are everywhere, and they make a great pit stop.
Here are a few things to keep in mind. Few restaurants in St. Petersburg have no-smoking sections; in fact, some places have cigarettes listed on the menu. But attitudes are changing and you'll sometimes be offered a seat in a no-smoking section. The dining sections of St. Petersburg Times and St. Petersburg in Your Pocket are worth checking out, for both the restaurant reviews and the ads for tempting business lunch deals, which are typically priced between 300R and 600R.
It's not necessary to plan ahead if you want to land a table in a nice establishment on weekdays, but it's generally a good idea to reserve ahead for weekend dining. Ask your hotel or tour guide for help making a reservation. Most restaurants stop serving food around 11 pm or midnight, although more and more 24-hour cafés are opening.
Behind an unassuming facade down a quiet side street off Nevsky prospekt is this warm and comforting room that might transport you to Italy or the South of France, as will the cuisine. Updated versions of classic Mediterranean dishes include some inventive, simply prepared fish dishes, such as tuna with pesto and scallops with figs. The menu varies, as the chef selects from what's freshest at the market.
Feta cheese delivered directly from Greece transports you directly to sunnier climes, as does much else about this stone and terra-cotta dining room that seems like the banquet hall of an Italian villa. Assorted souvlaki provide a taste of the Greek isles, while spaghetti carbonara and juicy steaks coud emerge from a trattoria kitchen in Florence. The servers are also international, and multilingual, and live folk music from many countries plays on most nights.
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