Dinner in St. Petersburg?

Is it possible to go out to dinner on your own in St. Petersburg or must you go with a guide? Does anyone have any recommendations?

Is it possible to go out to dinner on your own in St. Petersburg or must you go with a guide? Does anyone have any recommendations?

In order to do anything on your own in St. Petersburg' date=' you must either have a valid Russian visa or you must book through a local tour company (who will provide you with the appropriate ticket which acts as your visa waiver). You can book with a local company (I used ALLA TOURS: email: [email']info@alla-tour.com[/email] or website: http://alla-tour.com/) to provide you with a driver and possibly an escort (not a guide).

There are many good restaurants in St. Petersburg. Some of my favorites are:

Georgian Food: Tarkhun (Russian –Тархун) – (great Georgian food – Karavannaya 14, right around the corner from the faberge museum - open till midnight)

Russian Food: Tsar - (good food, beautiful setting filled with antiques -12 Sadovaya (a block north of Nevsky near the Comedy Theater) http://en.ginza.ru/spb/restaurant/tsar

Caucasian/Uzbek Food: Baklazhan - (modern ambience - 30 Ligovsky, located on the 4th floor of the Galleria) http://en.ginza.ru/spb/restaurant/baklajan

If you are looking for something really upscale, I recommend Palkin (ПАЛКИНЪ). (Nevsky Prospekt, Mikhailovskaya Ulitsa 1/7 - corner of Nevsky and Vladimirsky Prospekts, right behind the Grand Hotel Europe - open noon - 11:00 pm - absolutely sumptuous!)

http://www.palkin.ru/

You might also want to pop into the Eliseyev (Yeliseyevsky) Emporium for a coffee and view the incredible goodies for sale. The building housing this famous food hall is an absolutely gorgeous example of art nouveau (56 Nevsky prospect - open from 10:00am to 11:00 pm)

Any reputable tour operator can easily arrange an evening excursion to a restaurant. There will, no doubt, be a surcharge, but if you prearrange the evening (including dinner reservations) you should not have an issue.

The Russian Federation visa is cumbersome, and expensive and certainly not worth one evening's foray.

While taxis are more readily available than they used to be, a tour driver is the most comfortable way to travel especially if you do not speak Russian.

We at at Teplo, a homecooking type of restaurant the was quite good (and packed - you have to get reservations ahead of time.) This was at the end of our long touring day with TJ. We had the choice of the guide staying with us, or just getting us seated and the driver waiting outside. We opted for the driver. He was right there when we left.