Traditional Cuisine
In full accordance with the nature of St. Petersburg cuisine, during the 19th and beginning of the 20th century St. Petersburg menus were based on a combination of French and Russian dishes, this also applied to private houses, expensive restaurants, and the most ordinary canteens. Almost any soup was accompanied by Russian pies and kulebyaki (pies with cabbage filling), and the following dishes were always an alternation of French and Russian cuisine.
A distinctive feature of the old Petersburg cuisine was the "Russian serving", in contrast to the French and English, adopted in the 18th - early 19th centuries. It is believed that the Catherine's nobleman Prince Kurakin introduced it in Europe. In French cuisine, all dishes were served immediately and a full served table was considered a sign of wealth, which often led to the food being completely cold, despite the use of many spiritlamps, burners and hot water. Instead, Russian nobles with their huge number of serfs, served the food in a consecutive manner, which allowed to alternate between different flavors and also between cold and hot courses. The "Russian serving" became incredibly popular over time and by the 1870s it had become almost universally accepted in Europe, but in a simplified version: the dishes were served all together, and not in individual portions for each guest. Nowadays it is the most common way to serve, but it is not out of place to remind guests that this custom was born in the amazing city of St. Petersburg during the Catherine era.
Another feature of the Petersburg table was a buffet with vodka and alternating cold and hot snacks, which preceded the actual dinner. And this custom is now accepted in many countries. However, for honored guests of the city or tourists interested in local traditions, it may be worth reproducing it in its full version - standing, with fish and meat appetizers, cold and hot, pickled and salted. The most difficult item on the Petersburg menu is desserts. Moreover, it is known that ordinary baking (used most often in home cooking) was borrowed from the Poles (mazurkas, plyatseki, etc.) and Germans; more refined desserts for dinner parties and pastry shops were of French, Italian and Swiss origin.
Nowadays, walking along the Nevsky prospekt on a rainy autumn day, it is pleasant to pop into a cafe and keep warm by tasting the hot "Petersburg rassolnik" - a soup with pearl barley or the famous meat in Stroganov style. If you route lies through Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street, then the smell of hot donuts from the cafe near the DLT simply will not let you pass by without walking in.
Food experiences are some of the best souvenirs you can bring home from your trip. Many cities have their own culinary traditions and secrets. Petersburg is no exception in this regard. Five famous dishes that can be attributed to modern St. Petersburg cuisine are:
"Petersburg rassolnik"
Perhaps, because the weather rarely pleases Petersburgers with sunny days, and more often brings rain and a cold wind, such rich soups with brilliant tastes as pickle and hodgepodge are especially popular in the northern capital. Rassolniki - soups based on sour-salty cucumber base - could be found in the menu of any Russian tavern in the 19th century. To this day, they occupy an honorable place in the list of first courses. If beef kidneys are usually put in the "Moscow rassolnik", then in the St. Petersburg version pearl barley must be added.
"Petrograd Salad"
Whether this salad was cooked in Petrograd, noone knows for sure. In those difficult years, not many people could get poultry meat, mushrooms and cheese. Nevertheless, this hearty salad with chicken was given the name "Petrograd".
"Beef Stroganoff"
The invention of this dish is attributed to Count Alexander Grigorievich Stroganov, who was the managing director of the Ministry of the Interior, and in 1854 - the military governor of St. Petersburg. According to one version, the count had problems with his teeth in his old age, and so his chef cut thin slices of meat and fried them, pouring them with hot sour cream sauce to make them convenient to eat.
"Smelt in white sauce"
Smelt has become an unspoken culinary hallmark of St. Petersburg. In May, seasonal dishes with this fish, which has an unusual smell of cucumbers, necessarily appear in the menu of most restaurants.
"Leningrad pyshki (donuts)"
In other cities they are usually called donuts, but in St. Petersburg they are called "pyshki". Airy, tasty, high-calorie and inexpensive, "pyshki" can be called the real St. Petersburg fast food. One of the oldest "pyshechnaya" (donut shop) of the city (on Bolshaya Konyushennaya) has existed since 1958. You often need to wait in a long queue in which foreign tourists wait patiently ,to buy a few satisfying little rings sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Restaurant infrastructure of traditional cuisine
Project "Petersburg cuisine"
"Petersburg Cuisine" is a unique gastronomic phenomenon that arose as a result of the merger of two gastronomic cultures: traditional Russian cuisine and elegant French with some additions of other national culinary recipes. The "Petersburg Cuisine" project, launched in 2014, aims to revive the culinary traditions of St. Petersburg and promote the city not only as a cultural, but also gastronomic capital of Russia. Leading restaurants of Russian and European cuisine are invited to participate in the Project, which present items from the list of "Petersburg Cuisine Dishes" in their menus, recommended by experts in the historical and gastronomic area.
Gastronomic legends of St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, like any other cultural capital, in addition to masterpieces of architecture, sculpture and painting, has other attractions, including gastronomic ones. Some of them have lived such a long history in the city on the Neva that they can compete with the Hermitage or the Russian Museum – pilgrimages are carried out with the same mass and fanaticism.
"Pyshechnaya on Bolshaya Konyushennaya"
Even city officials paid their attention to this legendary cafe - the popularly beloved "pyshechnaya" (donut shop) was included in the "Red Book of St. Petersburg". The specialty - is "pyshki" (donuts) with icing sugar, they are cooked on the same Soviet machine that was used 50 years ago. Offered drinks is a classic coffee with milk. Prices can't be more liberal: one "pyshka" (donut) - 15 rubles, a drink - 20 rubles. Retro-style furnishings - wallpapers in white and green stripes, sleeping cats, tables, behind which there are numerous visitors.
St. Petersburg, st. Bolshaya Konyushennaya, 25
Literary Cafe
For those who planned to visit Pushkin places in St. Petersburg, visiting this cafe is included in the mandatory program. It is known for certain that it was here, before the duel, on January 27, 1837, that the genius of Russian poetry called in. Everything here is imbued with the spirit of literature and creativity. This place was a beloved refuge for many Russian writers. Dostoevsky, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Belinsky and Chernyshevsky loved to drink a cup of coffee here and eat a cake. The interior of the cafe is elegant, the hall is divided into four parts - according to the seasons. Candelabra in the shape of trees will tell you exactly what season it is. In addition to the hedonistic joys, there is more than enough spiritual food here: musical and poetry evenings take place almost every day.
https://litcafe.su/St. Petersburg, pr. Nevsky, 18
"Stray Dog" Cabaret
The first allnight literary and artistic cabaret in Russia opened in 1911. It has only lasted for three years, but during this time it gained great fame. The glorious “past” of Russian poetry sat in the artistic cafe: Anna Akhmatova, Osip Mandelstam, Nikolai Gumilev, Igor Severyanin and many others. Memoirs of contemporaries are full of memories of this amazing place. In the “Stray Dog” theater performances, lectures, poetry evenings were arranged, in a word, the Silver Age of Russian art was forged. It was reopened in 2001, the owners and visitors continue the traditions of the past - cultural events take place here, and a museum exhibition is open.
http://sobaka.su/St. Petersburg, st. Italianskaya, 4
Cafe "Saigon"
The real urban legend - the cafe "Saigon" lives not only in the memory of residents of Petersburg, but songs and poems have been written about it, the name of this cafe is mentioned in numerous memoirs of the figures of the Soviet underground culture. The nameless cafe opened on September 1, 1964 on the corner of Nevsky and Vladimirsky prospekt . At first it was called “Moscow Region”, since it was located directly under the restaurant “Moscow”. Then it became "Saigon". In this cafe, the persecuted creative intelligentsia waged their war against the Soviet format. The whole Petersburg underground culture lived here: poets, artists, rock musicians, hippies, punks. Among the regulars were “heroes of their time”: Dovlatov, Brodsky, Smoktunovsky, Tsoi, Shevchuk. Young Borya Grebenshchikov, living nearby, came here every morning for a cup of aromatic coffee. "Saigon" lasted until 1989. Now there is a respectable hotel, and only a memorial plaque on the wall of the hotel bar reminds of the unforgettable past.
https://barsaigon.ru/St. Petersburg, st. Rubinsteina, 1
Bakery "Sever"
The bakery "Sever" has existed for more than a century. The first mention of this paradise of all sweet tooth was marked in 1903. In the year-book “All Petersburg” at the beginning of the last century, a small article was published about a new bakery. Years passed, generations changed, the history of the country experienced incredible events, but the taste of cakes only improved with time. In the bakery on Nevsky prospekt, like a century ago, in the window you can see polar bears, cakes melt in your mouth, and the emotional atmosphere disposes to the simple joys and sweets of life.
https://sever-metropol.ru/St. Petersburg, Lovizsky per., 3
Best restaurants of St Petersburg
The Katyusha Restaurant
https://ginza.ru/spb/restaurant/katyushaSt Petersburg, Nevsky prospekt, 22/24
Koruyshka
https://ginza.ru/spb/restaurant/korushkaSt. Petersburg, Peter and Paul Fortress, 3 (Hare Island)
Restaurant "Moskva"
https://ginza.ru/spb/restaurant/moskvaSt. Petersburg, Nevsky Prospect, 114, "Nevsky Center" shopping center
Russian vodkaroom №1
http://en.stroganoffgroup.ru/restaurants/russkaya-ryumochnaya-1/St. Petersburg, Konnogvardeisky boulevard, 4
Percorso
https://www.fourseasons.com/en/stpetersburg/dining/restaurants/percorso/St. Petersburg, Voznesensky prospekt, 1
Stroganoff Steak House
http://en.stroganoffgroup.ru/restaurants/stroganoff-steak-house/St. Petersburg, Konnogvardeisky blv., 4
Tiger Lily
St. Petersburg, st. Italianskaya, 19
VolgaVolga
https://ginza.ru/spb/restaurant/volga-VolgaSt. Petersburg, Petrovskaya nab., descent No. 1
Baklajan
https://ginza.ru/spb/restaurant/baklajan_galereyaSt. Petersburg, Ligovsky pr., 30a, Shopping Center "Gallery", 4th floor
Egg and bun
https://ginza.ru/spb/restaurant/ya_i_bulochkaSaint-Petersburg, Chernyshevskogo prospekt, 17
Dvor Pomidor
https://ginza.ru/spb/restaurant/dvor_pomidorSt. Petersburg, prospekt Kosmonavtov, 14, Shopping Center "Peter Rainbow", 2nd floor
Cucumber
https://ginza.ru/spb/restaurant/cucumberrestSt. Petersburg, prospekt Kosmonavtov, 14, Shopping Center "Peter Rainbow", 2nd floor
Larisuvannuhochu
https://ginza.ru/spb/restaurant/larisuvannuhochuSt. Petersburg, prospekt Nauki, 14, bld. 1, letter A
Mamaliga
https://ginza.ru/spb/restaurant/mamaliga_na_leninskomSt. Petersburg, Leninsky Prospekt, 84/1
Plushkin
https://ginza.ru/spb/restaurant/plushkinSt. Petersburg, Komendantsky pr., 9, Shopping Center "Promenade", 2nd floor
Pryanosti i radosti
https://ginza.ru/spb/restaurant/pryanosti_i_radosti_vasiljevskySt. Petersburg, 6th line V.O., 13
Restaurant Syrovarnya
https://en.novikovgroup.ru/restaurants/syrovarnya/syrovarnya_253.htmlSt. Petersburg, Kovensky pereulok, 5