"We
visited on a Saturday evening. This is an interesting place,
with good food and probably more suitable
for a fun experience or evening with friends than a romantic dinner
for 2. The restaurant was spotlessly clean
which is always a good sign. We liked the staff who were pleasant
and attentive. We also very much enjoyed the food which was tasty
and well cooked. To start I had the Crab Blini which was delicious
and my husband had the Smoked Salmon which he pronounced excellent.
For main course my husband had the Slow Cooked Lamb. As a lamb conoisseur
he was impressed - very tender (falling to pieces).
I had the St Peter the Great steak which was good
too. I loved the fried potatoes - definitely a winner!
There isn't a dessert menu so it's pancakes or icecream. With hindsight
we wouldn't bother again with either. We were a little disappointed
with the wine menu which was somewhat overpriced. Rather
mediocre international listings with nothing less than £17 a
bottle. We tried the Russian red wine from Georgia. Whilst it was
fine and perfectly quaffable we didn't think it was worth the £20
price tag. They have an extensive and reasonably priced vodka
list. We tried 2 - rose and honey - both of which were good.
So to the place itself. It's the sort of place that would lend itself
well to being changed to a cabaret supper club but isn't quite there
yet. We didn't like the TV screen on the wall or the fact that the
music was too loud throughout. We did like the entertainment
(you need a sense of humour!) - Russian acrobat, gypsy dancer and
singer. However, it was difficult to see the acts due to the tables
in front of us blocking our view. Our advice to the restaurant would
be to think about it as a supper club and upgrade the decor (perfectly
OK but not 'luxurious', the bathrooms in particular are very dated
- but they are spotlessly clean), lose the TV screen, rearrange
the tables so that everyone can see the entertainment and then market
more. The place was practically empty and we thought that a real shame.
Will we suggest it to friends - yes. Will we go back - definitely."
- melanie, wigan 13/4/08 (visited on a saturday evening) |
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"Fantastic
restaurant. I had mushroom in a pancake for starter, which
was just amazing. The maincourse was also very, very
nice. The Peter The Great steak is as good as you describe and the
chips (or fried potatos - as they are labelled on the menu) were the
best I've ever tasted!!. Prices were also good with
a 2 course offer for £19.95 per person (I think even cheaper
during the week). The waitress was really friendly, but when we had
been served the main course and the plates taken off us they seemed
to disappear. This was annoying, because I wanted to try the desserts,
but by the time we managed to get her attention (by waving our hands)
we decided just to get the bill and go. One other down side
was the loud music and the singer. It was far too loud and
we almost had to shout across the table to each other - felt a bit
like sitting having tea in a Russian nightclub. Fortunately the loud
music started at the end of our meal, so it wasnt such a big deal.
I will definitely be returning for this amazing Russian food."
- nancy, manchester 30/1/08 (visited on a saturday evening) |
"'What was St Petersburg
called before it became St Petersburg?', I quizzed my fellow diners.
'Ikan Cafe' was the unexpected reply I received. Very true but not
the geographical answer I had in mind.
St Petersburg is Manchester's
twin city and if the cuisine is as good as this brand new Russian
restaurant on Sackville Street, we can't wait to taste the delights
of Bilwi, Chemnitz, Codoba, Rehovot and Wuhan - Manchester's other
twins.
Apart from being the
first Russian restaurant in Manchester, St Petersburg must also
be the only place in town where you can order caviar - from £4.50
for 2.5g of Red Caviar upto £55.95 for 20g of the more exclusive
Black Caviar. The
Chicken Blini's, pancakes stuffed with strips of chicken breast
(£5.95), were extremely tasty and washed down wonderfully
with a large bottle of Russian Baltika beer (£4), whilst the
Peter The Grate, a supreme and tender fillet steak cooked to perfection
and topped with cheese (£17.95), was absolutely incredible
- well worth the journey alone! The Tsiplionok Tabaka, a grilled
whole chicken marinated with garlic and herbs (£16.95) wasn't
as tasty however and could have done with being a bit meater, as
I soon got bored of trying to seperate meat from bone. Having been
reluctantly offered a bite of my partner's amazing steak I agreed
that I'd certainly made the wrong choice but at least had a very
good reason to return.
Like many of the Mediterranean
restaurants around town, diners are entertained with live music
at weekends. The evening we visited a talented Russian lady sang
what we can only presume were Russian love songs from the star lit
stage above the bar. Whilst she was very good, especially I presume
if you can speak the language, the loud speakers above our table
made an intimate meal a little bit too noisy to enjoy. For a quieter
meal though, go midweek and you might just bump into us - we'll
be back there many times!
Oh, and St Petersburg
(the city) was previously called Leningrad if you were wondering."
- Manchester Restaurants 27/1/08 (visited on a saturday evening)
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