Places to eat in Saint Petersburg

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The food is utterly delicious and the setting is trés trendy!

This is the funky, chilled, hippy cafe set-up that would not go missing in the Christiana district of Copenhagen, Camden in London or Kreuzberg in Berlin.

Careful though - a glass of freshly squeezed apple juice could come tasting of celery and that freshly squeezed orange with mint that sounds refreshing and tasty may not quite hit the nail on the tastebud as anticipated!
I would say that this is adult cusine. A mere mention of 'the vegetarian restaurant in Saint Petersbg' is enough to make my youngest son's face fall into horror and disgust!!!

I, as a vegetarian LOVE IT and would have loved to have eaten here again and again!

Named after a Dostoevsky novel rather than a stupid person, this is my favourite restaurant in Petersburg and one of the few places in this city where you can guarantee a good meal. It has a great atmosphere of sophisticated cosiness and caters for a mixed crowd of mostly people in their 20s and tourists. When you arrive, you are greeted with a free shot of vodka - always a good way to start a night in Russia! The Idiot serves a vegetarian version of Russian food but does include fish on its menu. Last time I was there I had a baked potato with caviar which was delicious and then fillet of salmon, also very tasty indeed. The menu is extensive and includes a pancake section and a lot of different types of pelmeni (Russian dumplings). They also have a brunch and a lunch menu for 360 roubles and 540r respectively.

This is a Spanish restaurant just off Nevsky Prospekt (apparently even with a Spanish chef). While the atmosphere leaves something to be desired: it's not awful, just rather forgettable; the service is fast enough and the tapas were good. I would certainly say, if you were nearby and hungry, you could drop in, but I wouldn't go out of my way to go there.

This is a French bistro in a very convenient location for newly arrived or with a train to catch near Moskovsky Station. It has various different menu formulas offering a main course plus drink or an a la carte menu. We went here twice in January 2011, the first time I had breakfast - an omelette and coffee, and the second time, lunch, a sandwich. Both of which were very tasty and just what I needed at that time. One of the better places I ate in in Petersburg.

Mama Roma is a chain of small Italian restaurants in St. Petersburg that offer excellent value for the money, and work especially well with children not familiar with the Russian cousine.

We visited one of their restaurants on Vasilevsky Island, on delta of Neva, and were very happy with the food and the service. The waiters have really limited English skills, but there are English menus available. Knowing a few Russian basic words, like "voda" for water, helps you to get everything you need. The service in general is very helpful, albeit the language barrier can be problematic sometimes. A lot of pointing, waving, and drawing in the air helps.

The food itself is delicious and the portions are large enough to satisfy a bigger hunger. The menu is pretty long, and all typical Italian foods are available.

A friend of mine who had lived in St. Petersburg for many years recommended Stolle for any and all quick and tasty eats. The café chain that has several stores around the city is focusing on traditional Russian pies; heavy in filling (and fat), delicious in taste.

We didn't try the café part at all, just bought a piece of pie as a late snack in the hotel. The pies are not small ones -- we had half a portion and fed four people (two of them kids) with it and ate second time, too. The available pies depend on the season and your luck, we had excellent salmon and onion pie -- there were a couple of other choices available, too.

The clerks do not speak that much of English, but they are ready -- as Russians in general, it seems -- to go lengths to help you with the purchase.

Half the time, my girlfriend and I would just randomly walk into some place, crossing our fingers that it was a restaurant. When you have a map with English writing in Russian and Cyrillic writing on street signs, you never know what you're going to get. It was a hoot. Then when it is a restaurant, the menu comes and you just pick whatever. Good times. We'd laugh our asses off sometimes at what we ordered. My girlfriend would be pissed if she knew I posted the photo below but I had to. I can't even tell you what we ordered except it had caviar on it. It was hilarious.

One of the best moderate priced places to go for a tasty dish.
Nice decor, good service and gourmet without being overly spicy.
Nice and pleasant music

Favorite Dish: Business lunch 120 rubles or 160 rubles for with soy meat, plus coffee
Very tasty 4 dish lunch

Try the Kashmir coffee, it is a small cup with many kinds of spices including anise, cardamon, and small cloves, very tasty to sip!