THE DISH: Homey Desolation

ChouChou//5 Naberezhnaya Reki Karpovki//Tel. 8 (901) 329 1385.//Open daily from midday until midnight//Menu in Russian only//Lunch for two without alcohol: 1,490 rubles ($49.60)

By Galina Stolyarova

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: March 6, 2013 (Issue # 1749)

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.

Once inside ChouChou, it was striking how vast and desolate the dining space was. The establishment, which could easily accommodate a hundred guests, was empty. The only waiter was busy decorating one of its corners for an upcoming banquet, and paid no attention to us for a good couple of minutes while we stood hesitantly in the doorway, wondering whether the venue was actually closed on that day.

As no one had offered any sort of welcome at this point, the decision was made to head for the waiter as he emerged from the kitchen. When asked if it would be possible to have lunch, he nodded and handed us a copy of the menu. Free to choose a table, we settled on one of the sofas overlooking the Karpovka River.

The whole experience began to feel slightly surreal, echoing the Soviet era almost as strongly as the building itself.

The waiter never brought a second copy of the menu — an experience unknown to both diners since our distant Soviet childhood. On the drinks list, the tea option was limited to the word “tea” — a sad greeting from the era of food shortages. When a teapot to share was ordered, though, the waiter offered a choice of black or green tea.

By this point, things were already becoming comical. A hybrid of a Soviet-era canteen and an oversized Provençal cafe was an intriguing combination that encouraged exploration.

Nothing about the decoration serves as a reference to the restaurant’s name, which is used in French as a term of endearment, and translates roughly as “cream puff.” However, the effort that was invested into making this formerly soulless industrial space warm and homey was appreciated. White and grey linen tablecloths and napkins, cheerful wallpaper decorated with little birds, soft furnishings and rustic tableware, including round teapots graced with the image of Mother Goose, lend the interiors character.

The onion soup (220 rubles, $7.30), served in a generous pot, was ultra-rich, with the onion bits retaining their texture and far from overdone. The chef was generous with the cheese, which was appreciated on a cold day, and the dish compared favorably with renditions of the soup sampled in France. The broccoli cream soup with salmon (250 rubles, $8.30) was equally compelling; all tender textures, a sensible amount of cream and the perfect amount of finely cut bits of smoked salmon to warm the palette.

ChouChou advertizes itself as featuring Provençal cuisine, and the menu features a good range of options to justify the name, from the chicken pot-au-feu (230 rubles, $7.60) to a range of quiches (320 rubles, $10.60), snails stuffed with garlic (230 rubles, $7.60) and Provençal-style chicken with fresh vegetables (340 rubles, $11.30).

The more sophisticated treats include veal liver with truffle puree and fresh spinach (480 rubles, $16), a Normandy-style rack of lamb (720 rubles, $24) and duck fillets with cherry sauce and caramelized pear (540 rubles, $18).

The ratatouille (180 rubles, $6) was competently made with peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, onions and eggplant, although a greater presence of herbs would have given the dish a fuller flavor. The vegetarian quiche (320 rubles, $10.60) was double the size of the usual standard portion, but its pastry crust was strangely reminiscent of pizza dough. The best dish turned out to be the chef’s juicy and succulent chicken fillets stuffed with spinach and served with a pomegranate sauce (340 rubles, $11.30) — definitely one of ChouChou’s standouts, and one that should help turn the place into a busy neighborhood restaurant.

ChouChou clearly makes a point of each dish being substantial — though thankfully minus Soviet-era indulgence in oil, fat or overly heavy combinations — so the dessert section of the menu remained untried. The sweet temptations at ChouChou did sound attractive, however, with the enticing French éclairs and strawberry blancmange (200 rubles, $6.60) inviting another visit. As one of us lives in the neighborhood, we both felt inclined to return.