We will be arriving in St. Petersburg in the early evening. After checking into the hotel on Moyka River Embankment we want to eat at a local Russian restaurant, any ideas or thoughts?
Our first evening we want to walk around the hermitage area just to get our bearings and want to eat nearby.
Ideas welcome, and various price ranges are fine.
We had two exceptionally nice meals, and here are the Tripadvisor reviews because I can't find their real website
Romeo's Bar & Kitchen: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g298507-d3656627-Reviews-Romeo_s_Bar_Kitchen-St_Petersburg_Northwestern_District.html#REVIEWS
Both were excellent.
Have to mention that my experience relates to a visit in 2012, so I cannot vouch whether the restaurant is still as good as it was then. but it's still #34 on TA, so that's saying something. I found this restaurant to have nice and creative food and the ambiance is very charming as well. I think I picked it cause it actually looked really cute ;) They have a nice selection of sweets too. If I remember correctly, there is a little cafe that sells sweets (as take away) on the 1st floor and the restaurant was on the 2nd. When I go to St. Peter next, I will definitely return. Hope this helps. http://gdegosti.ru/en/interior
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g298507-d2336088-Reviews-Gosti-St_Petersburg_Northwestern_District.html
Another restaurant / cafe that I liked was Stolle. It's a chain of pie shops. They have amazing pies! The one with poppy seeds was really delicious. I even carried a loaf to Japan as a gift! I remember having some borsch and pelemeni (Russian ravioli type of dish) there too, so I think you can have a light meal if you wanted to. There are a few shops on Nevskyi as well as closer to the Hermitage.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g298507-d5599406-Reviews-Stolle-St_Petersburg_Northwestern_District.html
We ate at Rustaveli restaurant our first night in St. Petersburg. It is a small Georgian restaurant along the river, an easy walk east of the Hermitage. We love Georgian food (similar to Turkish and Armenian food). Recommend you make reservations. TA has their website.
We ended up going to the Hermitage 4 times- it's so hugh and we love art. We snuck lunch food in via our small purse/daypack from Stolle. The food at the Hermitage cafe isn't great, but you can sit at the tables and eat whatever you bring. Also, have you checked out RS's section on St. Petersburg in his small book on Helsinki, St. Petersburg (and other northern ports).? We found his restaurant ideas and maps very helpful.
Enjoy St. Petersburg!
PS
I just looked at the map. The Rustaveli restaurant is on the street along the north side of the Moyka River. We stayed at the 3Mosta hotel, just around the corner from the Rustaveli. Loved them both!
