I bid farewell to Moscow on a high - literally - note, and Saint Petersburg was no different.
Saint Petersburg is the historical, luxuriant counterpart to Moscow's gaudy new-money glamour, so Palkin was the perfect fit for my last meal in Imperial Russia's capital. There's nothing I love more than dining in high-end, historically-rich, slightly-chintzy, rose-hued ambience and enjoying dinner-table theatrics with exceptionally attentive service - in other words, dining like a Tsar. So when my parents told me to pick a restaurant for our last dinner in St P, my research told me that it had to be Palkin!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnodB4rW4Gvj8Q5Z42PN8sn-4Wvwfrs0Pdzpf9k1uuN_nReHMP2Ns2Ie9eoKt5Q6g_EXfmjZQEMGVQy7Lxs0cNqEn0_hJfyuBY8xGvaJJ0GX0f49qRCjM9K2PLcjedfCBPm7EfXdeDmrk/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_1.jpg)
220 Years of History - Palkin then and now
With over two centuries of history to its name, Palkin is one of the oldest dining establishments in the city - one of the few whose original name and location survived the upheaval of revolution. From the get-go, the Palkin family’s gastronomical endeavours enjoyed great popularity - they expanded from humble family taverns to a showcase restaurant on the fashionable Nevsky Prospect (St Petersburg’s answer to Bond Street). The restaurant attracted a star-studded patronage of the creative variety - poet Alexander Blok, writers Nikolai Gogol, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Anton Chekhov, painter Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, composer Petr Tchaikovsky to name a few - all who enjoyed distinguished, groundbreaking cuisine that was the first to adopt French elements into Russian food.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOEo1cKrMbauu4UWkK58kF2L1fqwoToz-JDZVuT9W2IBGdR-jvX42V-48cRlu9tcJUeHRjw-cv_5NUi6PBPgMrQW6h4KoXPK91_9xS5sWK6J_b0RSlN4Zsv2YFwAHv7VSywAWFIhFsH0/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_2.jpg)
In a country that has endured extreme reformation, Palkin Restaurant had to evolve not just to survive but also thrive. After the Bolshevik revolution, the restaurant was converted into a movie theatre frequented by Leningrad (St Petersburg’s name at the time)’s bohemians and international film festival circle. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, 47 Nevsky Prospect reinvented itself as a casino club - before finally coming full circle to its origins as a restaurant. And what a restaurant! Like Café Pushkin in Moscow, Palkin is one of the few restaurants in the world to savour the best in Russian aristocratic cuisine in a place of historical significance.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RWx03W7HJXMR1qOO3yluV1aqVaDnoQf4lq3cl_1Q8qIsiPJt9AMGWZuBm6BbSgHLzJf-BWnbAxtZbz4k8saesxolJGgtr1bxpjWOMoMYs10Nz_KGlMJCnvumTLQLSWz_Okh2khR5yHs/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_3.jpg)
The walk from the busy cobblestoned roads of bustling Nevsky Prospect to Palkin restaurant is quite an epic one - past throngs of pavement-pounders, through many flights of very slippery marble-and-glass stairs (no wonder Russians are so fit...), and through many a door leading to chess-rooms, bars, cigar lounges etc. but the payoff is worth it - a serene, rosy oasis of refinement and elegance to the soundtrack of a pianist gently tickling the ivories.
![220 Years of Tradition. Palkin Restaurant - Saint Petersburg, Russia. 220 Years of Tradition. Palkin Restaurant - Saint Petersburg, Russia.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YIidYbIfug4o12wkAMFf7QTLsOjimBB4cB45mlYQR3JbO8VaWpWREJajp6xSdXIZqHGseqJ-9T43d8qkvqjHhqnjRFpyMQNFGWz-tzp3nh_TEYBprz0NA2XaAY8PrsoIYMYGZEPIBAk/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_19.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOpV5N14hOEjEaRcvOZb2uCy7DYE3HnVXWwL_B8-hOeHy_4UmXsULWNiRA4al__BBtrOVOLh-0V99b4qp7Un5sQTS9gogBpka8D-RHQj4kh-K5GLlHKhRHyZYe9EtYVvPol_yc8ojBBWE/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_20.jpg)
![220 Years of Tradition. Palkin Restaurant - Saint Petersburg, Russia. 220 Years of Tradition. Palkin Restaurant - Saint Petersburg, Russia.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivcv0Mv1B6wczmEIA_77Lvy8yGoaXWFjgupf21EODYMtB6mEtE42PR4FuSLPn5L-LaOfI5qbAE-DtATuofBXjLJ7AtXaTjCaJUR9ym0ZnjSP4SENsdgWxQL5jLPFJzLM7iI0xasATqhno/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_23.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQN5Sbs26XsRkKK-NxuSHREFRaqjp_F_9bZy0ZzdZO-F3kpq1mgusZ-U1po4odE5djqxeN-vHXYbBIyEwg3PyBtXcq5D32lWpKkkajeV8jDJ5tdQQxjCY390jTzS-PTmt3bDubNS36E3g/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_4.jpg)
Beautifully embossed and bound leather menus proudly chronicles the restaurant's long and illustrious history.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcEJ4ba3wv1mSk3ZTCtN_NWgnsPcCtFiV1MV5s-zM02DtrG_VHeHDrjIpGn61oQUxtOHdlsxCZXRR50dR9NLrzAvcOrOtkTCYfIoDMCKAddzlkg-h7kwdjTEVGyUZca1G1aFUsCuExfQ/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_5.jpg)
A cup of berries to tickle the tastebuds - a perfectly sweet accompaniment to the fresh notes of my champagne.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3lgKV0u7ohYJCg2X5zu24GxGYNSr77D2NNsrVwEk_GCWAMOlQgG-R5MLWw_qYs52_F-svPqB3eyHm3iXMelJaZ3gYKfysfz8U1LtW8mNZf3LpIvnDVNR9jJ3L51b2_-1BRMZTFZuwgx4/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_6.jpg)
An amuse bouche of something creamy and delicious I can't quite recall (what? I've been travelling a lot lately...) with a subtle but oh-so-neccessary addition of pine nuts.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6bJXaHPj-7wO5NRIE7j-WKzbkv8QaMt_6L_3Ug26jvxib6mwHTon3DtX_qaIYgOHMrZU9vyJgjCF0FxU_smCY_IepainAga0ioG5cbTGm3yK2ULmuY8ja031AQxGE-bzNWF7D8UncwE/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_7.jpg)
![220 Years of Tradition. Palkin Restaurant - Saint Petersburg, Russia. 220 Years of Tradition. Palkin Restaurant - Saint Petersburg, Russia.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sEH4P-KR0sz1tyHG9etkVhHmukycAT3i-sz3SmBj1MWYovIdllp0lhR4lo8eWu23FbfBYygGU-dnvBHkKQfi_ZzoafPebBRq3XrRrMMOiyZzX63HoAih2D8OFP9IwCFKs7VYAUqMdIQ/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_14.jpg)
For your consideration - an Alaskan king crab, fresh from the restaurant's tank.
![220 Years of Tradition. Palkin Restaurant - Saint Petersburg, Russia. 220 Years of Tradition. Palkin Restaurant - Saint Petersburg, Russia.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhNIGARLW0bwu95URZmjzKVuxITY1WIXvKLp4pFnJMgSkyRWf5ozJ0F0i1FfqVbaP7fJek2el9lUH9xYvUxwheztragIxhUEx_0W0KTrIZ_ravGZudYoLfJREtoEHYZZkmWI0rpw3S3w/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_9.jpg)
Sad that my Russian holiday was coming to an end, I drowned my sorrows - in meat. In my favourite dish, steak tartare - two of them, to be exact. Beautifully marinated and simply presented, but artfully so, and accompanied with a sauce that was specially prepared in front of me. Bespoke, in a word - what did I say about the service? At Palkin restaurant, extra care is taken to make you feel like an aristocrat - from the attention to detail, to the charming ease of the staff...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfO77aFNCxSysP29IPIT_ver7MoUZE4Zd45bQfahR2QhkIyff9YlGdBzeHwO1xrZZw1l4fv9VE1C1mfzp5pnAlMD4Yf0CVp8xWQi4NnZ2XSoPbzghnpF-XjXZb4VGv3tRXOpkjPZ1UYk/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_8.jpg)
... to table-top theatrics, like this display of smoke and mirrors (sans mirrors).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33tEwGsfL_j53vlHmUP2e1OtWGLxcBu5Jwb8yY4Tp39IclsAH6GqMWq_uZ0P8VRk99xMW2ouOSWPgAew_kUghuex3DdIlnxWnjtXWAGh70wOOvcnrlArsYp5AHXy190vyqIn0xPvIivM/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_11.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixw67fjFgWXflSWSmlSOMgzgCqcpvSKBrIDXFyFBSzRvuB1nFz88NWLIQzQilpWAdl7Inoyhy7x2P-Ss0dg6fgISBdBfaItxzWjikNFss5P61uOmZ1iMaiWOaAl1-En_nzGzTrCRdSm70/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_12.jpg)
Less you dismiss this swirly show as prettily pointless, let me tell you that the dry ice-mist is to distract you while the waiters whisk your empty plates away. The mist eventually disappears to reveal a pristine table top...
...all the better to enjoy the tart simplicity of your palate cleanser, a refreshing sorbet.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5iiVRp9j-EqfCORZOrETnSYcJqK68weaop3eGCeIkJa198xRHnYw-Udu8fcOkf9zWqhL-Pfhh2OD_sSjfh6xmkk9ZZMPYQ6SOI1nQV0EecP4-wIoe-3cqordxwU_Y__kLJERB2jVS1fE/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_13.jpg)
Which did very well to reset my palate to 'default factory mode' for the star dish of the evening.
A beautiful 'chocolate bomb', the melt-away sort that the Russians have perfected (as enjoyed by Londoners in Mayfair's Bob Bob Ricard). Here at Palkin, this is where the original was born - enjoy the spectacle, you're witnessing culinary history.
![220 Years of Tradition. Palkin Restaurant - Saint Petersburg, Russia. 220 Years of Tradition. Palkin Restaurant - Saint Petersburg, Russia.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7t3_NTQu90_gUzjnbo0PKGU46M_Tfa41x4SLFCUntHbTiZ5NwVhie6lr63HBW_T5IZx715Jn_RG1yDH5hTNoueSktWq0-rkzB8L6kgRg9m8UynMsnwFjSM5uMtKKOJlgs_9Atr9Ce7sM/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_15.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacX-Mzq6GCW4mp6a78KEhi9RYZAsxSwcQCo3EJD01ik6x5OvU62xXfjO6GshexzuoCJ98iUHd6_pQlOolAVbS8DTpmVOMwOPLLOZdHMc5rVFiNSdCz7TE_MGWbJbhMi_HkZwLolRy19c/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_16.jpg)
Warm chocolate sauce, seductively poured from a silver goblet, slowly and hypnotising breaks down the chocolate shell of the pudding to reveal a centre of strawberries and marshmallows.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4X-TmqF17tZkDo_oKEcdMkKu_5teW61GsyW_VcMVY74Q0n5OmTKZOvwFrwkxeORY-BKSc5oMLDcRfCJhLaISIES6muzqkzcJRP8FQGTweNEbrCVyfs2RtvLPq-DxyJAcqj9OVLmMaYNI/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_17.jpg)
This, my friend, is what dreams are made of.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRIL0lGm_csqIfXtR1YtRo_wwma1mujZ0P0DUUVnjsLzFLIMv7N2BZr8H2Vc05UyBuVSjtzKumiTAGran0x559nmmT1Enk4MLbUPxNWG6p-Y5uoY5OKjmXYfESMAEO1x2M1rwuxTvFZso/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_21.jpg)
It was with the heaviest of hearts and the heaviest of butts that I peeled myself out of my chair to leave - but the charming lavatory doors, below, gave me a hand.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgnZdBaXfK88fpSYg447j-94oDrfH2QDQ_m9s7wrTJ1MDJwq-Es92s5lwgXzP8WV7yPVvykMSaVb7WS0d7444sKnp1hxo5m9p6bkkMMztLW2Kt5us7ZaEFlka4Ns4zfjcF17fR5HBGfw/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_18.jpg)
Again, I reiterate - attention to detail is everything.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJcDgqBjk6UFv2jbC9WKr_fqcAI8ILjMQgtLs8L8BF1JE3dYG0BcPalKfv5o4Xarb_1T50RPglTA2LMu1mw1Z4zTSN8OLyaovoPka2hwqOjKWnoV1uYHQ7sOutnLp9SGaMdoWg-I_bDXU/s1600/Palkin+restaurant+-+Saint+Petersburg%252C+Russia_22.jpg)
Photo sources: 2, 3, and 4.
I can't recommend Palkin Restaurant enough for its ambience, food, service, and of course history. In fact, that's why the restaurant gets its own blog post, although the other 4 Saint Petersburg Restaurants I've reviewed also deserve a read! Palkin Restaurant was a lovely ending to a beautiful, see-it-to-believe-it trip. A lot of people have an opinion on Russia - and often, a strong one too - but not many have actually been. The only way to have an actual educated opinion (the phrase about fools opening their mouths and removing all doubt comes to mind) about a nation is to visit the country yourself, so I spent ten days in Russia. You can read what I think about Moscow here and Saint Petersburg here, and the rest of my Russia blog posts here!
Next stop...Tallinn, Estonia! Ballin' round the Baltics, as one does...