Private tour (8) through Alla...cost for lunches? Credit Cards?

There are 8 of us doing one of Alla's private 2-day tours of St. Petersburg. On their website, Alla says you might need $50-75/pp for lunches, etc. True? They say that some of the small restaurants will not take credit cards, so we need rubles...yes?

Thanks.

There are 8 of us doing one of Alla's private 2-day tours of St. Petersburg. On their website, Alla says you might need $50-75/pp for lunches, etc. True? They say that some of the small restaurants will not take credit cards, so we need rubles...yes?

Thanks.

I've been to Saint Petersburg multiple times and it is true that some restaurants do not accept credit cards - especially smaller cafes not near the tourist areas. The larger, more expensive restaurants (especially the ones that cater to tourists) definitely accept credit cards. However, you are having lunch on just 2 days, right? $50-75pp for 2 lunches seems very excessive. I can easily eat very well in the city on about $15 per meal (lunch/dinner) if I'm not looking for a Michelin experience. Prices may have increased since my last visit (November, 2016) but I can't imagine that the prices have increased to that level in just 6 months.

In restaurants that do not accept credit cards, payment will be in rubles.

In SPB we did the two day Comfort Tour with Alla. We had our lunches included and the restaurant gave us water and I think, coffee. We never had any Rubles as we didn't need them. I would double check with Alla.

Thanks, LondonTowner...we're on an independent tour that doesn't include our lunch, and Alla said to budget for our lunches/etc. They indicated that the place they'd take our private group of 8 might not take cc. Just checking to see what other's experiences have been.

Alla 2 day grand tour includes lunches

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Sorry, I'm interested in the PRIVATE TOUR lunch cost...it's not the same as the regular tours. This is for 8 people, so it says on their website that it does not include lunches. Alla suggest figuring $50-75 pp for lunches, etc. but that seemed very high...only wanted to hear from folks who have had experience with this.

It's been about 8 years ago, but there were 4 of us on a 2 day private tour with Alla that did not include lunch. Alla later contacted us by email concerning our lunch and we agreed to one of her suggestions for the first day. Upon arrival at the restaurant, we found ourselves bundled in with a group tour of hers. No big deal...we had our own table and paid by credit card. The next day, the 4 of us (plus our guide) just grabbed a sandwich at the Hermitage's onsite cafe. They accepted credit cards and as I recall the food was very reasonable, although finding seating was a challenge.

You can check some of the restaurants for prices - some have their menus online. As I said before, I have visited St. Pete multiple times and sometimes I stay for a few weeks at a time. I love Georgian cuisine and there are some great Georgian restaurants in the city. I know that this sounds strange, but when in St. Peterburg, I almost always have at least one meal at Moma Roma's (a decent Italian chain restaurant - somewhat similar to Olive Garden in the states).

I have included a link to Moma Roma's simply to give you an idea of the prices found in many mid range restaurants in the city. You will note that the price of the Veal with mushrooms is 495 - approximately $9; the rack of lamb with vegetables is 595 - approximately $11 at today's exchange rate. http://www.mamaroma.ru/web/ru/menu/milanomenu/

As I said before, unless you are really looking for a 5 star meal at lunchtime (which would take about 2 hours to serve, BTW, and impinge on your sightseeing), $75pp for 2 lunches is, IMHO, excessive.

Of course, if you want to include cocktails. deserts, appetizers, etc., with any meal, the price will increase but still don't see how I could spend approx. $37 on a lunch for just myself.

... I love Georgian cuisine and there are some great Georgian restaurants in the city...

Another fan of Georgian cuisine. We loved our meal at Aragvi. We ate there before visiting the Russian Museum, but it's well located for many of the other must-sees. (You could walk to Nevsky Prospekt, and the Church on the Spilled Blood, and a take very short car ride to the Hermitage.)

The following link to an English-language site for the restaurant provides a price range for a meal there: 1000 rubles ($17.51) to 1500 rubles ($26.26)

http://spb.gurmanization.ru/restaurant/restaurant-aragvi-r1238

I just checked our credit card statement for our 2015 meal and our expenses were right in line with the estimate. We paid $50.60 for three people -- my husband, our guide, and me. Not $50-$75 per person! We ordered a ridiculous amount of food because we wanted to taste as many things as possible. We didn't even come close to finishing the food, but we don't regret our approach. Lovely experience! (Obviously, Aragvi accepts US credit cards.)

We ate our other meal at Sadko, a delicious option for Russian not Georgian food. Our guide asked if we wanted stroganov, but I make excellent stroganov at home. (We said "no" so fast, I didn't even know the price. Looking at the English language menu just now, the current price is 850 rubles/$15) Again, we made a lunch of soup, starters, and pirozhki (pies/dumplings). Our guide did not stay with us through the meal so we didn't pay for her. My credit card statement says we paid $34.63 for my husband and me.

Perhaps the company see lots of tourists ordering expensive-but-familiar things like beef stroganov. Also, if tourists are ordering main dishes at lunch, the meal prices are going to be higher than what we paid. We were never hungry ordering two starters per person. Here's a link to the dual language menu from Sadko:

http://www.sadko-rst.ru/pdf_files/general.pdf

We were told to expect to spend about $20 pp for lunch. There is a miscommunication somewhere.