The 'Cabinet-Portrait' Restaurant is an intriguing and surprising place. It intrigues, primarily, with its unusual name – it used to be the name of photographic salons in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. The signboard is also unusual – huge golden letters look very pretentious among the faceless snack bars around the Kusnetskty Market. However, as you enter the restaurant you understand that both the borrowed photographic name and the luxury of the golden letters are quite justified.
The author interiors of the restaurant can entirely be defined as 'expensive simplicity'. There is not a single hint of pretentiousness; everything is in pleasant-looking beige-brown tones. Leather armchairs with high backs, tables from natural oak, antique cupboards and mirrors – everything is ideally harmonized and creates an atmosphere of a 19th-century aristocratic interior.
But the most interesting thing in the 'Cabinet-Portrait' is the private collection of ancient photographic equipment displayed there which is worthy a photographic museum: from one of the first cameras of the middle 19th century to the Soviet classics like 'Zenith' or 'Smena'. In a word, everyone here can travel back into the world of the art that can embody an instant, the art which changed the 20th century.
There are other curiosities in the 'Cabinet-Portrait', for example, photo-projectors with a candle instead of an electric bulb or gramophones which, by the way, are still working. Above the tables are lamps in the form of photographic enlargers; on the walls are comic clips from old newspapers and the archive photos made in the first 'cabinet-portraits' of the city.
Contributing to the contemplation of all those unique historical articles and a quiet conversation is quiet music, basically jazz and blues. By the way, only gramophone records are played at the 'Cabinet-Portrait' as there were no CDs in the 19th century. The atmosphere of the olden time is supplemented with the film repertoire: black-and-white cartoons in the mornings and classics silent films with Marlene Dietrich and Charlie Chaplin in the afternoon and in the evenings.
You should visit the 'Cabinet-Portrait' not only for the sake of the interiors. The author cuisine of the restaurant is no less amazing as the European refinement is combined with the Russian abundance with 250-400g serves. The menu satisfies both fans of Russian-European food and those who prefer eastern delicatessen. Besides, traditional salmon carpaccio, caesar, borscht, juliennes and steaks, you find here such delicacies as Norwegian cream soup with salmon and prawns, giant mussels in sauce under cheese crust with fresh basil, Japanese tuna coated in sweet paprika with vegetable tagliatelle and Cajun sauce. Whatever you order you get a tasty and beautiful dish – a real work of art on a plate.
The unique concept of the photo restaurant would be incomplete without one little stroke. Every evening, there is a photographer working in the 'Cabinet-Portrait' who gives guests photos in the interiors of the restaurant designed in the style of a 19th-century photographic studio – to remember the pleasant time you are having.
Banquet, Buffet table, Business Appointments, Business Lunch, Corporate Celebration, Family Dinner, Fun Party, Late Dinner, Nice Weekend, Overseas Friends, Reasonable Dinner, Romance Dates, Tourists, Wedding Party
Tourist Groups:
Up to 120 people
For children:
Childrens holidays, The childrens menu
Address:
No.9 Dostoevskaya Street, St. Petersburg
Underground Station:
Dostoevskaya
District:
Tsentralnyi
Telephone No:
428,426,421,419,415
Halls Number:
Two halls - 55 seats, banquet hall - 60 seats
Open:
11.30 to 23.30
Average Bill:
$ 20-30, $ 30-40, $ 50-60, $ 60-70, $ 80-90
Discount Cards:
Restaurant Discount Cards
Offer:
Beer on Tap, Business Lunch, Children Menu, Children Party, Fish menu, Grill, Grill, Holding Banquets, Lenten menu, Meat menu, Take Away Meals, Wine by Glass, Wine Cart
Features:
Hall for Non-Smokers, Tables for non-smokers
Entertainments:
DVD, Karaoke, Live music, Video
Music:
Background, Concert program, Jazz/Blues, Live
Clothes:
Except for sports
Parking:
Free, Non-Secured
Admission:
Free
Landmarks:
Vladimir Cathedral, Kuznetchny Market. F.M.Dostoevsky's Museum
Discounts:
Gift offer for newly-weds
Additional information:
A wide range of brazier dishes. A private collection of antique photo equipment in the unique interior of late 19th centuries. Exclusive design. Silent films accompanied by a gramophone. Internet Wi-Fi