THE DISH: Arcobaleno

Arcobaleno\\Domina Prestige Hotel\\99 Naberezhnaya Reki Moiki\\Tel. 385 9900\\Open from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. for breakfast, then\\noon till 11 p.m.\\Lunch for two 1,300 rubles ($25.60)

By Shura Collinson

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: July 18, 2012 (Issue # 1718)

Taste the rainbow

The city’s numerous five-star hotels, despite their best efforts, do not really attract a keen following among local residents. They may offer great views, haute cuisine and excellent service, but they are never exactly buzzing with diners. There is one reason for this: Their formidable prices. While people might be prepared to splash out on a medieval banquet-like Sunday brunch or book a table for a special occasion one evening, hotel restaurants in St. Petersburg are just not the kind of places most people pop into for a bite to eat.

This is a niche that the new five-star Domina Prestige Hotel, which opened back in March, is making a whole-hearted attempt to occupy. The hotel’s Italian-focused fusion restaurant, Arcobaleno, offers three business lunches from noon to 3 p.m. at astoundingly reasonable prices: 400 rubles ($7.90) for two courses, 500 rubles ($9.85) for three courses and 700 rubles ($13.80) for four courses — including tea or coffee and a complimentary bread basket.

Like many hotel restaurants, it has its own entrance as well as being accessible from inside the hotel. However, neither the hotel’s narrow (yet wheelchair-friendly) main entrance on the Moika, nor the restaurant’s separate entrance from Bolshaya Morskaya Ulitsa are overtly visible from the street, which may partly explain why the restaurant was deserted during a recent visit.

The other most overt way in which Domina Prestige is setting itself apart from the plethora of other upscale hotels in the city is with its bold young vibe. It seems the hotel’s management wisely accepted that the five-star hotel scene here is dominated by palatial interiors and classical motifs (with the obvious exception of the year-old W hotel, with its internal lexicon of semi-intelligible names and slogans), and decided to venture into less well-trodden territory.

Domina’s interior is therefore resolutely fresh and modern, despite the classical façade of the hotel building, and its Arcobaleno restaurant is no exception. The name (Arcobaleno means “rainbow” in Italian) is not taken lightly: Orange curtains, red tables and chairs, turquoise, blue, purple and pink walls may not make the most harmonious interior, but they certainly make a statement and create an atmosphere that is funky, if slightly reminiscent of a Lego house.

For a five-star hotel restaurant, prices seemed suspiciously good value, and despite the assurances of our extremely pleasant waiter, disappointment seemed a distinct possibility. Arcobaleno’s chef has worked abroad, but the first starter left no doubts as to his background: Only a Russian (or possibly a Ukrainian) chef could have added so much dill to the goat cheese and beetroot salad that it was the second most plentiful ingredient, after the beetroot. This, presumably, is what is meant by fusion. Apart from the onslaught of dill, which was at least left in large enough sprigs to be easily removable, the dish was a success, with firm mushrooms and juicy beets making a winning contrast with the soft goat’s cheese.

The other starter, an assortment of various cured meats served with several kinds of lettuce as well as boiled new potatoes and drizzled with aromatic olive oil, was an impressive appetizer, and fortunately dill-free.

Shoulder of lamb was a highlight of the meal, with the meat cooked to perfection, and complemented by crunchy carrots, tangy roasted tomatoes and root vegetables rarely found on local menus, such as rutabaga.

The other entrée, gnocchi, was also served with rutabaga, and in a mercifully small portion, considering how heavy the dumplings were.

The chef was back on form with the desserts, however: Pear strudel was satisfyingly crunchy and served with a generous egg-shaped dollop of ice cream. The cheesecake had been peppered in almonds almost as much as the salad had been doused in dill, which again might not be to everyone’s taste, but the cheesecake itself was otherwise good.

It’s unclear how much longer Arcobaleno will continue to offer three-course lunches for just 500 rubles, so those wishing to take advantage of this offer would be well advised to head down there for a bit of Italian fusion pronto.