Must-see nightlife in Eastern Siberia

  • Belaya Vorona

    Irkutsk

    Disciples of the bean should definitely head to the ‘White Crow’, a relaxing cellar-based coffee hang-out hiding from view in the cellar of a flower shop…

  • Сhaynaya Yurta

    Krasnoyarsk

    Literally a yurt occupying a prime riverside spot next to the city’s best museum, this place celebrates the tea culture of Siberian nomads. Try Orlan…

  • Bar 12

    Ulan-Ude

    Capping off the Mergen Bator hotel, this bar probably offers the best views of any in Russia: the entire Buryat capital and the surrounding mountainscape…

  • Brasserie BBB

    Irkutsk

    Belgian Benoit de With ended his career as beer plant manager and set up this great beer place. It has its own beer (cheap) and dozens of kinds of Belgian…

  • Castro Cafe

    Irkutsk

    This place is cleverly divided into two areas – the downstairs bar for those who want a quick cup of brew, and a brightly coloured upstairs lounge zone…

  • Library Bar

    Irkutsk

    Russian literary celebrities stare at you from every wall, so after a few pints of Smolensk craft beer or a selection of great cocktails, you might be…

  • Travel Coffee

    Eastern Siberia

    Surfboards that greet you at the entrance perhaps embody the ultimate travel dream one might conceive in a place that can’t be further removed from the…

  • Zalech na Dno v Gamburg

    Krasnoyarsk

    A vast vaulted cellar contains a German biergarten with a Siberian twist. There is a good dozen German, Czech and Belgian beers on tap, which you can top…

  • Kofeynya Kultura

    Krasnoyarsk

    As the name suggests, this is a den of coffee nerds who see the dark brew as an agent of cultural revolution and who perpetually experiment with brewing…

  • Macondo Coffee & Store

    Ulan-Ude

    A bric-a-brac shop attached to the city museum comes with a hobbit-sized coffee bar that provides a welcome respite from dust, railway slime and instant…

  • Engineria Coffee

    Irkutsk

    These guys are nerdishly serious about the brew and if you share their passion, you can spend half an hour talking about percolate, immersion and…

  • Bisquit

    Ulan-Ude

    A stylish coffee-shop-cum-bar with bare brick walls and leather couches serves as coffee ambassador to Asian tea lands. Food is also available. A giant…

  • Tovarishch

    Krasnoyarsk

    A few dozen brands of Russian and international beers, both draft and bottled, are on offer in this dim-lit bar with crypto-Maoist subtext ciphered in the…

  • Harat's Pub

    Eastern Siberia

    Savour the slightly surreal experience of sipping a pint of Newcastle Brown in an Irish pub in Chita, while pondering just where the owners got all those…

  • Kwak Inn

    Irkutsk

    There is a bit of an American-diner feel about this supposedly Belgian place that belongs to Estonians. But crucially, it has a very good vibe, with…

  • Churchill

    Ulan-Ude

    A bekilted Scottish piper (well, a bagpiping dummy at least) greets you at the door of this relatively upmarket British-themed pub. The Brit paraphernalia…

  • Bierhaus

    Irkutsk

    Upmarket Bavarian-style bierstube (beer hall with heavy wooden furniture) serving Newcastle Brown and Guinness as well as German beers and sausages. Enter…

  • Cheshskaya Pivovarnya

    Irkutsk

    You’ll smell this place before you see it as Irkutsk’s unpretentious microbrewery-pub creates its own Pilsner Urquell lager, pumping out a pungent hop…

  • Krem

    Krasnoyarsk

    One of Krasnoyarsk’s classiest coffee houses has black-and-white photography, dark-wood furniture, a belt-stretching dessert menu and reasonably priced…

  • Kotofey

    Eastern Siberia

    Unusually big-windowed corner cafe with frilly lace curtains, proper European-style cafe chairs, the odd leathery bench and decent brews.

  • Kofeynya Paris

    Eastern Siberia

    This surprisingly metropolitan cafe inside the train station serves good coffee and snacks till the last night train is gone.

  • Lenin Street Coffee

    Irkutsk

    Simple, no-nonsense coffee place with a Western feel and pricey drinks. Good central place to hang out and surf the web.

  • Shokoladnitsa

    Eastern Siberia

    This Europeanly stylish, peaceful oasis of a cafe is good for people-watching from the big windows while sipping coffee or tea and making full use of the…

  • Kofeynya Marco Polo

    Ulan-Ude

    This cosy coffee house has a touch of Central European character, great desserts, and wi-fi.