Teya
New restaurants don’t appear in St. Petersburg as frequently as in Moscow, but the city is certainly no less impressive in terms of the number of new and truly interesting establishments. A recent premiere is the signature bistro Teya, which we highly recommend checking out. Its co-owner, visionary, and highly creative chef, Valery Poryadin, a native of sunny Sochi and current St. Petersburg resident, trained at Michelin-starred restaurants in Norway and Denmark—and also has experience as a chef at one of the most vibrant restaurants on the Black Sea coast, Baran-Rapan. Thanks to this, he skillfully blends north and south, so that the compact and comfortable menu of Teyaparadoxically combines the elegant purity of Nordic cuisine with the cheerfulness of southern (Black Sea and Mediterranean) cuisine. Valery is passionate about gastrobotany and promises that menu updates will strictly follow the seasons. He actively uses high-quality seasonal produce, as well as ingredients not typically found in the Northern Capital, familiar to him from childhood: okra, mulberries, medlar, kale, meter-long beans, melothria, and, of course, rapana. Despite the very reasonable prices, the dishes at Teya impress with their gastronomy just by the names: pate with black chanterelle jam, salad with eel and sunflower sprouts, broccoli with chervil and pumpkin seed cream, cauliflower risotto with scallops and sage, chicken schnitzel with tomatoes and cacio e pepe sauce, fried ice cream with cardamom.
Lotus Bistro
Another new remarkable place of the bistro format has been opened by the group “Restaurants of Alexey Alexeev”, well known in St. Petersburg for Futurist, Inner and Itameshi. On Fontanka, the historic Olsufyev House building formerly housed a popular wine bar with an Asian twist—and Lotus Bistro continues in the same vein, expanding its pan-Asian offerings and presenting familiar dishes in unusual settings. For example, chef Andrey Skornyakov fries langoustines not in batter but in kataifi threads, accompanies beef tartare with marinated shiitake mushrooms sprinkled with sesame and nori, and offers crispy roti dipping in chickpea curry. In one meal, you can practically take a culinary journey from India (even though it’s not in Asia) to Japan (which is also a distinct country). The Japanese influence includes exceptionally high-quality sashimi and incredible, imaginative rolls for an establishment of this caliber—how about eel with orange tartare, almonds, and takuan? And pastry chef Ksenia Solovieva’s original dessert, “Matcha Mont Blanc,” with calamansi, yuzu mousse, and apricot jam, blended Japanese, Korean, and Thai traditions. The cocktails on the fan-shaped bar menu match this exoticism: each plate, with its descriptive names like “The Tiger Sleeps Until Noon,” “Kiss of Jung Suk,” “My Neighbor the Yakuza,” and “Velvet Emperor,” offers a hint as to what to choose. We particularly enjoyed the “Shogun” shochu shortbread with melon aperitif, jasmine/green tea cordial, and absinthe.
Sashimi from langoustine
Tondo
The restaurant cluster in the Bolshaya Zelenina Street area continues to expand. Not long ago, the distinguished chef and culinary innovator Anton Isakov launched the Tondo project with excellent pizza, pasta and other dishes, attracting those who love delicious Italian food. Anton joins the team that has already built the successful La Biga restaurant, including Daniil Sychev, a pizzaiolo with 20 years of experience; Alexey Skobelkin, brand chef of the La Biga team; and Sergey Lukinov, a multiple winner of Russian sommelier competitions. The focus here is undoubtedly on pizza (it’s no wonder the restaurant is called tondo—”round”). It’s prepared with a pre-fermenter, which improves the dough’s quality and color, and rolled out in two stages, first with a rolling pin and then by hand. The crust, baked to a perfectly crispy crust, is topped with gourmet fillings, such as mortadella with truffle pâté or baked pumpkin with oxtail and caramelized onions. Be sure to try the signature ravioli with homemade ricotta and lemon zest, which will impress even the most discerning gourmets. Thin dough, shaped like little lemons, envelops the cheese-lemon filling, and the aroma of the lemon zest in the thick, rich sauce transforms this savory hot appetizer into something approaching dessert—it has such a confectionary-like flavor. As an alcoholic accompaniment, in addition to the most intriguing wine samples, we recommend ordering a Negroni from head bartender Yulia Shilina’s signature collection.
“The Bear”
Russia’s first cocktail bar opened under this name in St. Petersburg 119 years later and existed until the 1917 Revolution. Here, in this establishment on Bolshaya Konyushennaya, a bar counter and alcoholic cocktails with ice, served in glasses and on which the entire bar culture is based today, first appeared. This establishment has seen a lot, remembers a lot, but no more notable establishments have been located there – but today, the gastronomic restaurant Goose Goose has been successfully operating here for quite some time. This year, on the first floor, where a casual bistro was located, the team of Goose Goose decided to restore the historic bar under its former name. Having carried out extensive archival research, studied historical photographs, and unearthed rarities from that era on the famous Udelka, the creators reconstructed “The Bear,” breathing new life into it.
This place isn’t just a bar, but a true portal to an era, says project ideologist Pavel Shitov, when guests first discovered the tastes of gimlets, punches, and gin and prosecco. We invite you to immerse yourself in the world of forgotten recipes, explore the stories behind drinks, and become part of St. Petersburg’s cultural and gastronomic heritage.
The Medved bar menu features references to drinks from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, with variations of the same cocktail available from three different eras. And chef Ilya Ten combines them with dishes that can literally bring back the taste of the past – from oxtail rasstegayki to fish pie in a sweet loaf.
“Yug 22”
With the restaurant brand Lou Lou, it seems it’s time to say goodbye: the Moscow restaurant has closed and is awaiting renovation under a new name. In its place in St. Petersburg, the Alba Group holding company has opened “Yug 22,” which is simultaneously similar and distinct to the Moscow restaurant of the same name. The decor, with its signature animal prints and masked faces on the walls, is instantly recognizable. Just like at the Moscow “Yug,” five Mediterranean countries engage in a vibrant food debate, with brand chef Enver Dzhemilov composing a unified culinary narrative. However, the atmosphere of the St. Petersburg location on the banks of the Malaya Nevka is much more relaxed, unlike Bolshaya Nikitskaya, which brims with business and party energy. Following a proven concept, the chef has presented the menu as a journey through flavors, reimagining iconic dishes from Italy, France, Spain, Greece, and Turkey. Since guests are traveling, the chef acts as a helpful guide, using as many expressive elements as possible to introduce them to the countries. Greek salad is served as it should be in Greece – with a whole piece of feta, which the waiter will beautifully break up in front of the guest and mix with crisp vegetables. The original seafood tabbouleh, with anchovies and pomegranate seeds added for a vibrant flavor, sounds very southern. From the raw bar, you definitely have to try the Mediterranean crudo – exquisitely prepared sea bass with sun-dried tomatoes and basil. “South 22” has taken the best from the Italian coast – various pasta variations: linguine with truffle and stracciatella, rigattoni with lamb, ravioli with oxtail and seasonal mushrooms, orzo with crab. The Moscow menu is echoed by gnocchi with black caviar and a huge, Viennese-style, chicken schnitzel with truffle and egg.
Ahi scallops with black caviar
Ramiro peppers with tarama
“Wandering Waves” is the translation of the name of a restaurant serving unconventional Asian cuisine, which recently changed its management and team, which made Its concept is more vibrant, clearer, cleaner, and more universal, without any ramblings. Chef Anton Isakov, who pioneered the modern restaurant scene in St. Petersburg, Alexey Skobelkin, brand chef of Isakov’s restaurants La Biga, Tondo, and Ro, and chef Mikhail Petukhov took on the task of refining it. The restaurant was originally famous for its raw bar (can you hear that booming “ro” here too?) and fermented tsukemono appetizers, which remain—while also adding many new, revised items. In particular, you should definitely try the open rolls, gunkan, tempura rolls, and aburi sushi: with scallop and pike caviar, with mango, salmon, and masago caviar, with eel, pickled apple, and tobiko, and with tuna, crab mix, and avocado. Our favorites on the menu include beef tartare with parsnip cream and fenugreek, bao burger with chicken katsu and smashed cucumbers, Buryat lamb poza, and udon and mochi with avocado and raspberries. All this “Asian” fare pairs perfectly with champagne and sparkling wine, many of which are available by the glass. In addition to traditional producers and Russia, head sommelier Sergey Lukinov will offer you rare sparkling wines from Hungary, Slovakia, and Japan. Not only brand new or renovated restaurants attract the attention of gourmets in St. Petersburg. Don’t miss Aleksey Alekseev’s first restaurant, which has earned prestigious professional awards in its three years of existence: 7th place in the regional ranking WhereToEat 2023, 20th place at the all-Russian award WhereToEat 2024, “Best Chef Concept” according to the chef.ru portal at the national award “Palm Branch of the Restaurant Business”, “Breakthrough of the Year” at the “Chef of the Year-2023” award, “Best Chef of the Northwest of Russia” in 2024. The menu at Futurist implements many of Alekseev’s innovative ideas, which are based not on turning culinary traditions upside down, but rather on a fresh interpretation of familiar combinations. He himself describes the restaurant’s concept as “future cuisine,” but we wouldn’t expect futuristic features in the northern shrimp with calamansi juice, chili, and passion fruit, the marbled beef tartare with marinated pike caviar and sun-dried tomatoes, or the battered crab legs: it’s simply quite tasty, original, and even gastronomic in places. The aesthetic yet laconic combinations of select ingredients, reminiscent of the inseparable link between the future and tradition, look especially good on the tableware specially created for the restaurant, the design of which echoes the latticework of the Mikhailovsky Garden. Perhaps this is exactly how our contemporaries would like to interpret the manifesto of Italian Futurism, the style of which can be traced here and there in the interiors. The second signature project by Alexey Alexeev was the thoughtful, soulful, and, we would say, intimate restaurant Inner, whose interior is composed of symbols and metaphors that hold great significance for the restaurateur himself. Much can be seen here borrowed from nature—and, at the same time, from a temple or monastery; Evgenia Uzhegova’s design is as much feminine, tremulous tenderness as it is stern, masculine asceticism. The cuisine differs significantly from Futurist, although the author’s signature style is clearly evident: a search for unexpected flavors in familiar, classic combinations. Thus, burrata is served here with Uzbek tomatoes and dried apricots, and tomato ceviche has notes of kimchi, thus acquiring an oriental accent, ramiro pepper marmalade is added to salmon tartlets, and rapana mushrooms are equally added to gnocchi with porcini mushrooms. It is obvious that the chef feels cramped within the framework of national cuisines, and in his “inner world” he strives in every possible way to expand these boundaries. Here Alexey Alexeev still follows, albeit a new-fangled, but The tradition is to blend Italian and Japanese cuisine (itameshi). The concept is evident in the interior design—Japanese minimalist and bright, Italian warm and artistic. The menu is a creative mess, yet everything has its optimal place. Piedmontese beef tartare battuta with eel and kimchi mousse, meat hand rolls, scallop gazpacho, ramen with Italian porchetta, octopus gyoza with creamy unagi, casarecce with tongue steak and shiitake mushrooms fried in soy sauce, pizza with tom yum sauce… Incidentally, the pizza deserves a special mention. The menu offers only six varieties, prepared in an almost classic Neapolitan style, but each of the fillings, even the traditional ones – “Margherita,” “Five Cheeses,” “Shrimp and Squid in Tom Yum Sauce,” “Mortadella, Mushroom Cream and Stracciatella,” “Spicy Tuna with Onion Marmalade” – sounds very unusual and makes you want to try more. The formal and gala restaurant Agahas the largest panoramic terrace in St. Petersburg and a breathtaking view from its very top level. Owner Alexander Shavliashvili, whose daughter Agniya gave the restaurant its name, is also involved in the trendy Vasileostrovsky and Moskovsky markets, so he personally knows the best suppliers of premium products. The kitchen is managed by chef Pavel Sukhoparov, invited from Moscow. With a keen eye for purity of taste, at Aga he uses the finest Russian meat and caviar, Mediterranean delicacies, seafood, and fish, which the restaurant itself imports from various countries. Foie gras from France, white truffles from Piedmont, five-year-old Iberico ham from Spain, oysters and shrimp from the Atlantic – every day becomes special at the restaurant thanks to this cult-like product. Here, Italian and Japanese classics coexist harmoniously, yet exist separately, not transformed, as at Itameshi, into a gastronomic fusion. They make homemade pasta and pizza in a wood-fired oven, and bake their own bread, so even a morning salmon sandwich is a work of culinary art. Incidentally, the exquisite breakfasts at Aga are especially popular with connoisseurs. Mediterranean cuisine dominates the morning menu, but of course, what Russian doesn’t love black caviar? Soft-boiled eggs with caviar, “Royal” eggs with optional caviar, green buckwheat with caviar, avocado, and Parmesan, and even just homemade bread with whipped butter and black caviar are a huge hit from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
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Stuffed squid
Ro
Assorted sashimi
Futurist
Inner
Itameshi
Hand rolls with meat
Pizza with prosciutto
Gyoza with octopus and creamy unagi
Aga
Soldiers with black caviar, fried Hokkaido bread
Aga signature breakfast with salmon and red caviar
Aga signature breakfast with prosciutto di Parma
Fried Halloumi with fig jam
Rice porridge with mango
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