Bloody Boyarsky shot

One of the things that is considered to be the St.Petersburg bar specialty is a Bloody Boyarsky shot: vodka, grenadine and tabasco. Sounds promising, right? A few years ago before all that hipster homemade infused vodkas came to be, Boyarsky was on the menu at most places. And even if it isn't now, you can still get it anywhere. And you should.

Legend has it, the shot was invented at Kazantip (trippy Russian take on Coachella) by some gifted party people. This legend also claims that the name - Boyarsky - is a reference to a Russian actor Michael Boyarsky, who is most famous for portraying D'Artagnan in a 1979 movie, a song from which was playing in the background as the shots were made for the first time.

This may be true, but also the boyars (Russian aristocracies) had a habit of drinking vodka with jams. Add a little bloody twist - and there you have it.

Regular price for Bloody Boyarsky shot in St.Petersburg varies. It can be as low as 100₽ and as high as 300₽ (think of it as a Boyasky coefficient). It can be a great theme for a pub crawl: walking from one bar to another looking for the best one.

If you want to try it at home, you'll need:

• 1 part vodka
• 1 part grenadine
• 3-5 drops of tobasco
• shot glass

Layer vodka and grenadine, drop tobasco, drink up, roar!

Dead Poets Bar

O Captain! My Captain! Should thou find thyself in this esteemed venue (and as a matter of fact you should), you might discover one of the best selections of Scotch, Irish, American and Canadian whiskeys in the city, as well as other kinds of spirits. The place is supposedly high on intellectualism: they even have distinguished speakers to read lectures every once in a while. On regular nights they don’t push it too hard so you find not only presumed intellectuals but typical bar crowd as well. More importantly you are most likely to enjoy the place just because it does have its vibe. If the place is packed order food and drinks at the bar: they don’t overdo it in the service department. A variety of patés is kind of a specialty but if you are super hungry they won’t save you. A burger is a safe bet. So is their IPA. Everybody loves salad with roast beef. The bartenders are not necessarily super friendly but who gives a crap when they can get you a double shot of Knob Creek to help you carpe diem.

Special features:

• Late opening - 2pm
• Free WiFi
• Occasional lecture events

Address: Zhukovskogo st., 12

(images from social networks)

Bar Bureau

Bar Bureau (Бар Бюро) is a nice and cozy burger place. They also serve a modest but delicious selection of salads and soups, and (as you can tell from the name) have a bar that gets busy at night. The burgers are very good, double cheeseburger (most expensive option - but totally worth it!) is made of two meat patties and a generous load of bacon. You get to choose a bun or have your burger wrapped in lettuce. Chase it down with homemade lemonade (cucumber and tangerine), cider or draft beer.

(image from the official Bar Bureau Blog)                       

As for the bar, it never actually became a favorite. Even though the creators obviously take good care of their spirits selection offering seasonal specials like bacon-infused whiskey, it is still more of a food place rather than a drink place.

Special features:

• Lunch offer - 20% off menu until 4 PM
• A place to get a burger after midnight: open until 1 AM
• Free WiFi
• Occasional movie nights
• Usually packed on a Friday night

Address: ul. Zhukovskogo, 29

(images from Foursquare)

Lunch menu

Many places in St. Petersburg offer either a 20% discount on their à la carte menu or a set lunch menu. If you find a 30% discount consider yourself lucky: nobody’s going to waste precious dinero at dinner time (Russians call it ‘dinner time’, not ‘lunch time’). A set lunch menu is almost always called ‘business-lunch’. For a good reason: the crowds flocking eateries in early afternoon predominantly consist of office superheroes, and that’s the only time of day when you see more human males than human females eating out. Lunch offers are available from 12 PM through 4 PM (rarely 5 PM) on weekdays. Food in a set menu tends to be less enticing than in a regular carte. Lunch menus always get a hard blow from cost-cutting and fall off the gastronomic cliff into the realm of Soviet cuisine, whatever that means. Usually that means a vegie salad, a soup, a main course garnished with rice or potatoes. Want to have a refreshment drink with your meal and coffee afterwards? Be so kind as to pay extra for at least one of these delights. That said, lunch menus are there for a greater good: 250-300 ₽ will buy you a decent meal that will get you through the day.

Tips and tricks

This will be a post about basic things you want to know about St.Petersburg before you go out for a drink or two.

1. Tips
Gratuity is almost never included, but is very well expected. Unfortunately you cannot put the tip on the card (you can in just a couple of places, we'll use a special #tiponthecard label for them). Tipping policy in Russia would be about 10%. You get the check, you pay and then you leave some cash. If you pay with a card it's best to leave a note(s), not coins, if you pay in cash you can leave the change.

2. Credit cards
They take credit cards almost everywhere in St.Petersburg, even in those shady 24-hour corner stores. Though sometimes they have some "connection" problems that can be solved by trying a few times more.

3. Can I pay with US Dollar in Russia?
No, you cannot, it is against the law. The only stores that take Dollar or Euro cash in St.Petersburg are Souvenir shops.

4. Smoking and buying cigarets

A recent law banned smoking in public areas. So you cannot smoke in restaurants and bars in St.Petersburg. You will have to step outside for a smoke or use an outdoor terrace/patio if available. By the rule of thumb, if you see ashtrays on the table - it's smoking area, if not - then it's smoke-free. We'll also mention a #smokingarea in our review.

Buying cigarets is tricky. You will not see packs on display in any of the stores. Even if they have them - you will have to ask for a specific brand and type. You can also take a look at the list of items available - plain text in Russian. The shop assistant is not allowed to just name or show them for you, you can only ask yes/no questions with them. One pack of cigarets costs around 80 ₽ / 2$.

Electronic cigarets are a gray area. You can go ahead and smoke them to see if anyone comes over to ask you to put them away. You will definitely get glances, thought.

5. Bridges

In summer the bridges go up at night in St.Petersburg. It is a stunning view and a major tourist attraction. Please make sure you are where you wanna be when it happens. Most of the places we will be talking about are located downtown (kind of mainland), so if you are staying on one of the islands you might wanna head home before 1 am or you will have to stay up until 5 am. We are hoping the city will come up with a way to solve this situation soon (like maybe using underground at night? I'm just saying).

6. Gypsy cabs

Someone may suggest you get a gypsy cab - you should decline. They are overpriced and plain dangerous. Uber and GetT (GetTaxi) services are available in St.Petersburg - much safer and ultimately convenient.

Who runs the blog?

This blog is run by two St. Petersburg locals - Alex and Vera. We love eating out and bar hopping. In the course of time we developed a strong skill of showing people around St. Petersburg - and now we would like to share out knowledge with those who are coming to visit our home city but whom, unfortunately, we can not take out in person. We would also be happy to answer any questions about St.P, should you have them - just get in touch!

Here we will provide relevant information on restaurants, bars, cafés, pubs, nightclubs, etc. in St.Petersburg, Russia. We may also get into some cultural stuff, so stay tuned.

Cheers!
(We actually never say that "Na zdorovje" thing, btw)