RESTAURANTS

THE DISH: BIG BUDDHA

By Chris Gordon
The St. Petersburg Times

If you feel like getting away from it all — even for only a few hours — you can’t do much better than an afternoon or evening spent at Buddha Bar.

THE DISH: FARM-FRESH AND FASHIONABLE

By Allison Geller
The St. Petersburg Times

There are times when, as a foreigner, you realize that concepts that are familiar in your homeland have a distinctly translated touch when you find them in Russia. Such was the experience at CoCoCo, a recently-opened restaurant in the city center, owned by Leningrad singer Sergei Shnurov and his wife. With its emphasis on locally grown food — a familiar concept in the U.S. and elsewhere — here “eating local” means small portions of hearty, traditional dishes, liberal use of root vegetables and a lot of buckwheat.

THE DISH: THE REAL DEAL

By Allison Geller
The St. Petersburg Times

Freeman’s is one of the more recent additions to the long list of European restaurants scattered across the city. The particular combination of cuisine served in many of these restaurants is probably unknown anywhere else in the world, least of all in Europe, and tend to be a catchall for Russian crowd-pleasers from spaghetti carbonara to cream of mushroom soup.

THE DISH: LYUBIMY HABIB

Chris Gordon
The St. Petersburg Times

Unloveable and Unloved . If further evidence were needed that quantity rarely equals quality, Ulitsa Rubinshteina — which has become the city’s de facto restaurant row — would be proof positive. And while the appearance of yet another new restaurant isn’t necessarily exciting news, it does offer an opportunity to try to spot emerging trends.

THE DISH: HOMEY DESOLATION

By Galina Stolyarova
The St. Petersburg Times

On a recent Saturday afternoon the front of ChouChou, a restaurant housed within a whitewashed industrial building of concrete and glass like a postcard from the 1970s, resembled a beehive. However, it turned out that the gangs of youths huddling together by the entrance were queuing for an event at a club next door — never mind the bizarre time of day for clubbing.

THE DISH: 1780

Allison Geller
The St. Petersburg Times

Less than meets the eye . It’s a strange phenomenon witnessed at many St. Petersburg restaurants that the wait staff seems surprised and even miffed when customers come in looking for a meal. Perhaps these establishments cater more to those on a liquid diet. While the food at 1780 on a recent Sunday afternoon was no better or worse than the usual Russian and European fare found throughout the city, the restaurant seemed oddly unprepared for lunch guests.

THE DISH: ARKA

By Alastair Gill
The St. Petersburg Times

Archingly hip . Regulars on the Petersburg restaurant scene will be familiar with a new type of hip eatery that typically becomes popular with the local young professional and “creative” class. Nobody’s quite sure whether these places are bars, restaurants or music venues — it’s all part of a cover-all-bases approach. After all, why limit yourself to being a restaurant when you can be all things to all people?

THE DISH: UMAO

By Shura Collinson
The St. Petersburg Times

Micro dining . The latest gem on the city’s Pan-Asian dining scene is the tiny UMAO, hidden away on Konnogvardeisky Boulevard behind the Manezh Central Exhibition Hall, and opposite the row of expensive eateries such as Stroganoff Steak House that lines the other side of the boulevard.

• THE DISH: Farm-Fresh and Fashionable
• THE DISH: The Real Deal
• THE DISH: Lyubimy Habib
• THE DISH: Homey Desolation
• THE DISH: 1780
• THE DISH: Arka
• THE DISH: UMAO
• THE DISH: Ne Grusti!
• THE DISH: Bengel & Zaek and Mertens
• THE DISH: Ukrop
• THE DISH: Brera Bar
• THE DISH: Extremely Grato-fying
• THE DISH: Angle Vert
• THE DISH: Falafelnaya No. 1