Where to Eat Pelmeni in St Petersburg

As you step inside Mari Vanna, you will feel like you’ve entered somebody’s apartment. Not just any apartment, but a home filled with relics from the Soviet era: books, pictures, and furniture. It is a true Russian experience, as is the food. There are two types of pelmeni on the menu here, as well as their sweet counterparts vareniki. Have them as a starter or for dessert, and don’t forget the sour cream on top.

The shared tables and ceramic walls give this eatery a Soviet canteen feel, and that is not at all a negative; in fact, it gives your plate of pelmeni an authentic flavour. Pelmeni here can also be served with some typical Russian salads or a warm bowl of soup – great in the winter weather. The pelmeni are homemade and can be taken home to freeze. All you’ll need to do later is throw them into boiling water.

Pirogi serves food all through the night, and they will happily whip up a full plate of pelmeni at very democratic prices. They come with a choice of fillings: pork and beef or mutton. There is also a choice of pumpkin for vegetarians. All pelmeni are made by hand, served with sour cream and garnished with herbs.

A bar and restaurant for lovers of traditional Russian food, the pelmeni here are served without any lavish garnishes or stylish plates. Yet, it will be a delicious and honest meal, with a large selection of fillings for your pelmeni. There are also salads and soups on the menu to make for a full meal.

A ryumochnaya is traditionally a place for you come to have a shot (a rumka) of vodka with some snacks on the side. This place may carry the same name, but it certainly presents a more sophisticated atmosphere. Here, you can try all sorts of Russian delicacies including pelmeni. Apart from the typical meat fillings, they also make pelmeniwith the meat of a crab from the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Pelmeniya is a restaurant of mono cuisine, meaning they have only one item on their menu, and that’s pelmeni in all shapes and sizes. Apart from the traditional Russian pelmeni, of which they have a large selection, you can try vareniki, Georgian hinkali, Chinese dumplings and Japanese gyoza, among other types of dumplings. Basically, if you love all things wrapped in dough, this is the place to be.

Tsar in Russian is a title given to a king, so when you come to the restaurant named after kings, you expect a royal meal. The interior here reflects the aesthetics of imperial Russia: bright chandeliers, lavish wooden furniture and tableware fit for royalty. Pelmeni here are reflective of the exquisite atmosphere, served with unusual fillings like guinea fowl, duck and deer meat, among other flavours.