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Backstage
The Mariinsky's official restaurant is tucked away rather out of sight on one corner of Teatralnaya pl. The décor is downright stage-worthy, and the food is also excellent. Service sometimes comes with a sniff, but that somehow befits an institution so celebrated as the Mariinsky. Apparently, famous opera singers and ballet dancers are welcome to write all over the walls. Probably best to refrain unless you count yourself among the stars.
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Bliny Domik
There is more than just bliny on the menu at this long-running favourite. Besides sweet and savoury pancakes of every kind, there are also soups, salads and other snacks. The place is set up like a cosy and welcoming country home. It gets very busy at noon, so come for breakfast or a late lunch.
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Cat Café
With vines hanging from the ceiling to evoke the Caucasian countryside, this popular restaurant dishes up Georgian favourites: hearty khinkali (meat dumplings), decadent khachapuri (cheese bread), grilled eggplant and zucchini. At the time of research, Russia and Georgia were ironing out their trade differences, so hopefully you can also wash it down with a delicious Georgian red wine.
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Chaynaya Lozhka
Chaynaya Lozhka is an excellent bliny, soup and salad joint that has become a citywide phenomenon. It's serve yourself cafeteria-style, but the bliny are made to order and the soups and salads are fresh and delicious.
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Che
Few places are cooler to hang out than Che. Come by day for good lunch specials and wi-fi access or come by night for cold beer and live music. Either way, you will enjoy the loungy furniture, friendly service and laidback atmosphere. The mostly Russian menu features rotating 'specials' suggested by the chef, as well as standard soups, salads and other European fare.
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Crocodile
The original (and perhaps more interesting) restaurant by this name, this bar and restaurant is a top choice for lunch or dinner, as long as you are not in a rush. Enjoy a dimly lit but artsy interior and an interesting, eclectic menu.
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Crocodile
Service can be slow at this underground hideaway, but the unusual and highly edible food is worth the wait. Look for innovative combinations that produce a delicious effect: mostly European fare with some international flare. The menu offers rich homemade soups, hearty salads that double as main courses, traditional pasta dishes and some excellent, unusual vegetarian options.
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Fasol
A few of the modern dishes at this chic minimalist café feature the namesake beans (fasol), but that is not actually the reason to come here. (The name is actually supposed to be a play on the name of the street, which means 'Pea Street.') Whatever it's called, the updated Russian cuisine is creative and cost-effective. Try the herring salad with freshly fried potato pancakes.
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Fat Frier
The original branch of this citywide chain is a great place for late-night dining.
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Fat Frier
Now with branches around the city, this beer hall on the back streets of the Historic Heart provides a fun hideaway for some comfort food and a Baltika beer. The nostalgic communist paraphernalia recalls the days of Leonid Brezhnev, but thankfully the staff do not - there are smiles all round and good service.
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Imbir
Effortlessly cool, Imbir combines ornate tsarist décor with contemporary design to brilliant effect. With a great atmosphere, it's always full of a hip local crowd who come here for dark coffee and creative cooking, all of which is reasonably priced. The staff aims to please, which is a welcome change of pace from the typically cooler-than-thou attitude at trendy places.
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Kafe Tbilisi
This place is a St Petersburg institution. A Georgian restaurant coming to you charmingly from Soviet central planning, Kafe Tbilisi remains a beloved institution to many residents of the city, clunky 1970s style and dark decor notwithstanding. Don't miss their khachapuri (cheese bread).
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Kalinka Malinka
Kitsch but charming, this long-standing folkloric restaurant is in a basement on pl Iskusstv (Arts Sq). It specialises in country cooking, just as the peasants used to prepare, and the interior resembles a cosy country house. So try hot, homemade solyanka or rabbit à la Russe for a great introduction to unembellished Russian cuisine. Live folk music will accompany your evening meal.
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Kavkaz
Another long-standing favourite, Kavkaz means 'Caucasus' and features excellent Georgian fare. It's a casual affair: the basement digs are not so impressive to look at, but the portions are generous and the food - served on large wooden platters - is consistently delectable. This is the place to experience the legendary Georgian hospitality (and shashlyk and wine etc).
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Lechaim
Hidden away beneath the Grand Choral Synagogue, this classy kosher restaurant is the city's best place for traditional Jewish cooking. You'll probably have the place to yourself, which detracts a bit from the otherwise authentic atmosphere.
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Lya Rus
Another kitschy Russian country house, this is a sweet place to sample hearty peasant soups and sip vodka while you watch traditional Russian song and dance. Typical for this type of place, the décor is folksy and the food is filling.
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Matrosskaya Tishina
Generally accepted by all to be the city's finest seafood restaurant, this place is often completely full. The curious metallic maritime design complements the excellent menu of grilled, baked and fried fish. You can even pick which trout or perch you want to end up on your plate.
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Molokhovets' Dream
Inspired by the cookbook of Elena Molokhovets, the Russian Martha Stewart, the menu here covers all the classics from borscht to beef stroganoff, as well as some more exotic fare. Start with berry kissel, a delicious sweet soup of brambles and wine, and don't bypass the speciality, koulibiaca, a golden pastry pie of fish or rabbit.
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Na Zdorovye
Na Zdorovye means 'To your health', the generic Russian toast that is emitted before clinking glasses and throwing back a shot. Indeed, this playful restaurant is as good a place as any to indulge in that long-standing tradition. Drawing on both pre- and post-revolutionary folklore, Na Zdorovye promises that you can still eat like 'the tsars and the Soviet dictators'. But it is mostly old Russian recipes that have been recreated here, including veal stuffed with cherries and trout in almond sauce. It's definitely a place to try some more unusual Russian dishes in a very Russian setting.
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Nep
Unlike most communist-theme restaurants in the city, NEP celebrates the early 1920s, a period of entrepreneurial activity and relative liberalism under Lenin's New Economic Policy. The restaurant's hip 1920s style evokes a kind of vaudevillian luxury, as does the delicious Russian menu. Live music and cabaret plays from from Wednesday to Sunday.
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Noble Nest
This is the doyenne of the St Petersburg haute cuisine world, housed in the Trianon of the Yusupov Palace. It's exceptionally stuffy (men shouldn't even think of entering without a tie), but - as previous diners such as Bill Clinton will no doubt tell you - the Russian-French cuisine is exceptional. Reservations recommended.
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Old Countryside
This tiny, family-run hideaway is well off the beaten track, but its intimate atmosphere and delectable food are one-of-a-kind. Try old Russian recipes such as beef in plum and nut sauce or ham in oranges. The small size of the restaurant guarantees personal service, but reservations are a must. From the metro station, take any tram down ul Savushkina and get off at the third stop.
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Old Customs House
This restaurant is not actually set in the old customs house, although it is around the corner in the historic building that houses St Petersburg's first museum (Kunstkamera). Costume-clad doormen and mannequins posing as customs officials ensure that you don't mistake the theme of this otherwise classy restaurant. Famous for its wine list and excellent food, this restaurant is where you will see St Petersburg's uppermost classes partaking of filet mignon and caviar crepes.
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Onegin
You have to be in the know to know about Onegin, the hippest of places to see and be seen. Down a small staircase from Sadovaya ul - and barely marked at street level - the restaurant has an interior that is an incredibly over-the-top display of New Russia. Antique and plastic furniture sit side by side, swathed in purple velvet and overhung by crystal chandeliers. Even with all this excess, the menu really delivers.
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Orient Express
All aboard for a taste of the romance, mystery and history of the legendary train line. Decked out like a luxury locomotive, this fun restaurant features booths that resemble train cabins and all the railway paraphernalia you can imagine. It's an absolute must for train spotters and anybody who is about to board the Trans-Sib. Rest assured, you won't get food like this once on board the real thing, so enjoy the Eastern-influenced menu, especially the selection of meats grilled over hot coals.
