Re: St. P'burgh in winter

Interesting, we will be staying at the hotel OKTIABRSKAYA, but dinners will be at the Astoria & Grand I take it.

Just a word of caution: Insist on an inside room! My husband and I stayed there this summer and we originally had an outside room. With earplugs and xanax it was mildly tollerable, but after 4 days of cling-clang goes the trolley, listening to a person on a loud speaker hawking tours all day long, and trying to ignore the din of people waiting for tours buses at all hours of the night, I went a little insane! Granted, you'll be there in the winter, not the summer, but try to get an inside room if you can. Oh yeah, they sell stamps on both the 2nd and 3rd floors. I can't remember which floor it was, but one sells the stamps at an outrageous mark-up and the other floor sells them near face value.

Also, there is a really cool pub close by in Ploshchad Vosstaniya (where the hotel is located) called Warsteiner. It's run by a husband and wife team. We spent many late night hours there and they were very, very nice people.  You'll also be real close to the Metro should you choose to venture underground.

Have fun!

Thanks ! I like the pub reccomendation !
I know we have a big welcome dinner on arrival night and departue afternnon, but I guess we are on our own for meals otherwise.  Actually I think I am on MY own, with a personal guide.  I understand he is to take my friend and I on a tour of St.P. nightlife ! Do not even do that here [SF] or in London any longer.
Should be interesting.
Cheers,
Robert

Thanks ! I like the pub reccomendation !
I know we have a big welcome dinner on arrival night and departue afternnon, but I guess we are on our own for meals otherwise.  Actually I think I am on MY own, with a personal guide.  I understand he is to take my friend and I on a tour of St.P. nightlife ! Do not even do that here [SF] or in London any longer.
Should be interesting.
Cheers,
Robert

Believe it or not, the food is very good over there and there are lots of very good and very reasonable places to eat. This is one thing that no one really expects in Russia- good food.
And bring lots of warm clothes!  

Helen

I agree with Helen whole heartedly. The food served in restaurants and cafes is usually excellent. You do not have to spend buckets of rubles to eat well.

Its fun wandering along the streets and just randomly selecting something really nice, not just along Nevski ... or in the large Hotels (although the Europa is supurb if you want to really spoil yourself).

The Literary Cafe on Nevsky is pleasant for historic reasons. It was the place where Pushkin dined before departing for that fatal duel. There is a silly wax figure of Pushkin sitting at a small table which allows a 'guest' to sit and enjoy a final glass of red wine.

The P.P. Fortress has a really nice restaurant which has a nautical theme.

There are many more ...

The Literary Cafe on Nevsky is pleasant for historic reasons. It was the place where Pushkin dined before departing for that fatal duel. There is a silly wax figure of Pushkin sitting at a small table which allows a 'guest' to sit and enjoy a final glass of red wine.

We actually ate at Literaturnoye Cafe. The food was ok, I had better in other places, but it was interesting to know that Pushkin, et al, used to hang out there. I didn't see the wax figure though   I was told that it is one of the most expensive places in St Pete, I think the bill came out to about $22-25 per person, which is reasonable by our standards, but a fortune for the locals... I also liked a place called "Chainaya lozhka" (I think that's what it was called), which means "The teaspoon". It is sort of like a fast food coffee shop but they make awesome blinis with all kinds of stuffings and also really good gourmet tea. It is located on Nevsky, right across the street from Gostiny Dvor. But don't leave your blinis unattended- I went to use the bathroom for literally a minute and when I came out, my bag-to-go with two stuffed blinis inside was gone! I talked to the manager about this though, and after some confusion and deliberations, they replaced my blinis!  

Helen how awful! I am glad you received replacement blini. You reminded me of Dom Blini which offers very nice blini as well.

If you have the opportunity wander inside Yeliseev's store located opposite Catherine the Great's statue on Nevski. To view the magnificent stained glass windows is a real treat, and simply imagine that you are experiencing Imperial Russian delicacies at their best. Selecting from the vast array of Russian chocolates like a small kid let loose in a candy store is wonderful!

I agree with everyone above- the food is awesome. I don't think I ever had a bad meal during our two week stay. As for where to eat, cafes are really reasonable. I think we typically spent $20 for dinner for two and that included a great of beer. (Mmmmm. Russia beer is the best.) I'm not sure if you like beer, but Baltica was my favorite. "Dvra piba bolshoi, pazalsta!" Or something like that!

As for language issues, every single resturant/cafe we went to had an English menu and someone on staff that spoke minimal English ("Menhu Angleski?" is a very useful phrase). Between our broken Russian, their broken English, hand gestures, and a large dose of politeness, we always managed to fill our bellies!  

My favorite Russian food is blini and also "vareniki" and "pirozhki" which are sort of dumplings, the former steamed and the latter fried. Theer are many fast food type places all over the city that sell these, dirt cheap but really good! They even sell pirozhkis in the subway, but I can't remember if this was only in Moscow or also in St Pete. But other food is good too, I don't particularly like borcht which is big over there, but that's only because I don't like boiled potatos, boiled cabbage and boiled beets. But most people love borcht so don't miss trying that, Robert . Oh-oh this thread has now turned into "Food in St Petersburg" topic instead of "St Petersburg in the winter" topic!  

I grew up eating Russian and Greek food, so am no stranger to the cuisine. I even cook some dishes myself, including make my own borscht & piroshki, but my blinis are a flop.
all with a fair amount of good vodka & Georgian wine !
Cheers !!!
Robert

But eating delicious hot Russian food while it is snowing outside is perfect!

Robert there is an attractive Bottle shop close to the Griboyedov kanal on Nevski, which sells quality products. You will be able to find the famous 10 year old, five star Ararat Armenian brandy which Churchill enjoyed in his day!   We safely brought back two bottles.

I grew up eating Russian and Greek food, so am no stranger to the cuisine. I even cook some dishes myself, including make my own borscht & piroshki, but my blinis are a flop.
all with a fair amount of good vodka & Georgian wine !
Cheers !!!
Robert

Me too, but it somehow tastes different over there! So try all that stuff when you are there...

• borshch
  
• pirozhki
  
• kasha
  
• boiled potatoes
  
• sour cream
  
• okroshka
  
• zrazi

Mmmmmm......getting hungry......

Yes, I suppose eating  in St.P snow would make a difference, wouldn't it? One thing I never liked at home was fish soup, but I am willing to give it a try there, just to see if it turns out any better. There was also some kind of game sausage that sort of dissapeared with one of the grandmothers. Can't remember much about it other than it was spicy and deliciousand even though we were just kids, we drank spirits with it.

We have dined in many countries around the world, but no where else can you dine so well and so cheaply (comparatively speaking), and remain completely satisfied.

While I too was brought up on Russian cuisine, it always tastes better in Russia!

Russian ice-cream is refuted to be the best - where you can find it. I am not refering to the mass produced stuff wrapped in foil and sold on the streets.

One thing I never liked at home was fish soup, but I am willing to give it a try there, just to see if it turns out any better.

Yep, I know the fish soup you mean, hated it too  ! I didn't see it around in St Pete, but I am sure it still exists   There is also this very strange dish, I think it is an aspic of some sort, made from jellied up meat products and served cold. It sounds and looks horrible, but tastes better than it looks... They may only have it in the summer though. And another thing that I liked but it may not be for everyone, is this dish called "shuba" or something like that, and it is kind of an appetizer, that has a bunch of different layers that you are supposed to eat together. It has a bottom layer of boiled potatoes, then a layer of boiled cut up eggs, a layer of boiled cut up beets and a layer of cut up herring with some mayo on top. It also sounds kind of weird, and I don't normally like most of the ingredients there but for some reason all together it's very tasty.