Stylization for Soviet times, good beer, a good assortment of snacks, affordable prices

Cozy only by the window, not everything is tasty

"There is something in him ... It remains only to understand what exactly."
On Sunday, my wife and I visited "Fraer" at Belinsky Street. We were there recently in the company of friends, we liked almost everything then, we were sitting at the window in a group, everything was cool for us, the beer was delicious, the snack was on the topic, the mood was wonderful.
Not to say that we came in a bad mood, it was by no means a very good mood. We were a little upset by the lack of unreserved seats at the window, but this is our flaw - at the last moment we decided to "drill" into a drinking establishment in the evening. As a result, we found a relatively cozy place near the stage, the waitress quickly served us, brought me a snack-set with a compliment from the bar for my beer, but it turned out to be "conditionally edible", only microfish was eaten from it, the rest was hard salty.
I liked the amber ale, but I am mainly a follower of the light filtered ale, so I continued with Zhigulevsky. I was disappointed - they brought a warm, exhausted mug, which I did not drink, but at my request it was quickly replaced with fresh beer. And all the same, throughout the evening, I had a feeling that something was wrong with the beer ... It didn't taste like it was fortified, it was even slightly darker than usual. My wife does not drink beer at all (vodka is in small quantities in her tessitura), therefore she could not help me in my thoughts about beer. 4 glasses of beer for me is a "no-frills" dose, from which nothing ever happens (as well as earlier when I visited Fraer on Dumskaya and Belinsky), but at night I felt terribly bad, my head was torn to pieces and relatively reassured by an unprecedented !!! a dose of pain reliever over a very long period of time. At the same time, everything seemed to be normal with the stomach, but just in case, I ate several activated tablets to relieve intoxication. I repeat, earlier in the companies in the same Fraer I drank 5-6 mugs, the taste was different and I felt great. This time, here's a story ... It's sad. Beer, in short, I was (with the exception of the first shot mug) unhappy.
Food: The bag with snacks was cute, moderately hot, everything was edible, potato balls and garlic loaves were normal, the wings were not bad, they made additional orders. The lamprey is medium fried, the pipes of the steamer (one small shawarma, cut in two) were rather unimpressed, once again we will not order these two dishes for sure. The pie, my wife said, nothing, except that there was a microdose of ice cream, which instantly melted next to not the hottest pie. "It would be better if I just took ice cream", - stated the wife.
Thus the gastronomic satisfaction was average, although it could have been much better.
At one time on Dumskaya I really liked the shank, but there was no one to keep me company now in eating it, and on Belinsky, lamb sausages with stewed cabbage turned out to be pleasant.
I didn’t like the pork ears with a cucumber on the last visit - nothing, I didn’t eat at all, and this time I dissuaded my wife from ordering them.
I don’t know if we’ll come here again ... Let's see, according to the mood. I hope this will not happen again with beer, and the quality and taste of beer for a beer bar, for obvious reasons, is perhaps the most important thing.

"Fat Fraer" is not a beer restaurant or a pub. This is exactly a pub - a democratic, inexpensive establishment with a touching "Soviet" atmosphere. We were lucky with the location of the pub: two steps from Liteiny Prospekt, not very far from Nevsky, there are many sights around. However, this is a distinctive feature of almost all establishments of the Tolstoy Fraer chain - four out of six pubs are located in the historical center. The name is taken from the famous song by Alexander Rosenbaum (who, by the way, is a co-owner of the network).

The interior, designed by designer Dmitry Lobanov, will delight those who are nostalgic for the Soviet era: there is a stand called Our Leaders, a real beer stall at the bar, cans of beer, and ropes with dried fish under the ceiling. In the corner is the same “fat fraer” playing the piano (in the other five beer chains “fraer” are also present, but in different roles. In general, each beer house has its own “trick”, although the interiors are similar in general). Soviet-era posters remind of the fight against parasitism and call for vigilance. The book of reviews is replaced by the bulletin board "Vasya was here", to which those who wish can attach notes with reviews. The atmosphere of Soviet retro is sustained even with musical accompaniment: L. Utesov, K. Shulzhenko, VIA of the seventies, and all this with the required volume level.

There are two halls in the beer hall - a smoker (to the right of the entrance) and a non-smoker (to the left), separated by a bar counter. A smoker has problems with the hood - with a large crowd of people, you can hang an ax there, but in a non-smoker there is no smoke at all. The tables and chairs are very simple, deliberately rude. By the windows there are tables on fenced podiums; these are perhaps the coziest places in the bar. There are plasma screens plus a large screen that shows football on days of significant matches.

The beer here is mostly of its own: it is brewed in a mini-brewery opened in 2006. Krasnoe, Zhigulevskoe, wheat unfiltered light, unfiltered porter, plus Czech "Chernovar" and "Baltika 7". Prices - from 50 rubles for 250 ml; a large company can immediately order beer in a three-liter can or can. The beer is accompanied by traditional Soviet snacks: sprat (60 rubles), dried roach (110 rubles), plus inexpensive fish, meat and cheese sets for the company (from 350 rubles).

You can, however, not only have a snack, but also have a hearty dinner: buckwheat with mushrooms (75 rubles), soup with cream (150 rubles), borscht or broth with dumplings (both - 120 rubles), trout steak (300 rubles ), pork knuckle (1100 for a dish for three), delicious homemade cutlets (180 rubles). There are even Soviet bachelor dishes that you cannot find in modern restaurants at all: potatoes with stew (400 rubles per serving for three, served in a pot), fried dumplings (160 rubles) and naval pasta (120 rubles). In addition, the restaurant prepares homemade sausages (from 180 rubles). On weekdays until 16.00, there is a 20% discount for all dishes - instead of a business lunch. The cuisine, frankly speaking, is not a restaurant one, but in terms of price-quality ratio it is not bad.

What pleases me is the numerous bonuses. These are all sorts of promotions with gifts, and the obligatory free plate with beer snacks for the first glass of beer (simple snacks - crackers, straws, a piece of smoked cheese, dried fish - but nice), and beer at the expense of the institution if Zenit wins. In general, you leave with the impression that guests are loved and appreciated here, and not just earned on them.

In St. Petersburg, two restaurants of celebrities are opening almost simultaneously: Stas Mikhailov and Matilda Shnurova, the wife of the leader of the Leningrad group. "Komsomolskaya Pravda in St. Petersburg" recalls what establishments of famous people there are in our city.

COCOCO (MATILDA SHNUROVA)

Address:

Voznesensky prospect, 6.

Working hours:

From the menu:

Rabbit in sour cream with crumbly spelled and pickled and crispy vegetables - 670 rubles.

Burnt cabbage with roach ice cream - 290 rubles.

The Kokoko restaurant has moved from Nekrasov Street to the W hotel on Voznesensky Prospekt. The opening took place last weekend. There were many stars, joy and food. In short, everything in this place is terribly expensive and extremely interesting.

By the way, this is one of the most famous dishes of the restaurant. It's called Tourist's Breakfast.

KOMMUNALKA (STAS MIKHAILOV)

Address:

ave Medikov, 4

Working hours:

From the menu:

Rooster soup with vodka and pie - 450 rubles.

Zucchini cutlets - 280 rubles.

It so happened that the restaurant of another star - Stas Mikhailov - is opening in St. Petersburg these days. The singer bought the Chisinau-based Kommunalka chain last year and is now actively developing a franchise throughout Russia. By the way, there is no restaurant in Moscow yet.

FAT FRAYER (ALEXANDER ROSENBAUM)

Address:

A chain of six restaurants in the city center and outskirts

Working hours:

10.00-01.00 (Friday, Saturday until 03.00)

From the menu:

Sailor-style pasta - 180 rubles.

Roasted Rooster salad - 220 rubles.

Alexander Rosenbaum became almost a pioneer in opening his own restaurant business. Since the beginning of the 2000s, the author of the hit “Gop-stop”, together with partners, has been developing the “Tolstoy Fraer” beer chain. The owners coped with the task of recreating the atmosphere of Soviet establishments in them brilliantly.

THE HAT (BILLY NOVIK)

Address:

st. Belinsky, 9.

Working hours:

From the menu:

Alcohol and snacks available.

Billy Novik is the owner of not just a restaurant or bar, but a real jazz cafe. This place is not even so much about food as about communication, music and creativity. No wonder visitors can take part in real jazz jams. By the way, the frontman of the Billy’s Band also owns another establishment: “Sauces”. And this is more about food than about music and creativity. Tables at The Hat are not reservable. The entrance is free, but a certain deposit is made.

MISHKA (KIRILL IVANOV)

Address:

emb. Fontanka river, 40.

Working hours:

12.00-02.00 (Friday, Saturday until 06.00)

From the menu:

Falafel in a wheat cake - 250 rubles.

Mishka Bar is another establishment that is more a club than a bar. Its co-owner, musician Kirill Ivanov, is a member of the Biggest Prime Number group. Main idea: cheerful mood and low prices. Ivanov and a friend opened another institution called the "Society of Clean Plates" on Gorokhovaya. They have less fun and eat more.

YAMM ... PIZZA (SERGEY SVETLAKOV)

Address:

8 establishments on the outskirts of the city.

Working hours:

11.00-23.00 (on weekends until 24.00)

From the menu:

Pizza "Margarita" - 285 rubles.

Sergey Svetlakov launched a federal franchise of pizza restaurants several years ago. Delivery works, there is a children's menu, in general, everything is familiar. There are now 8 restaurants in St. Petersburg. The main feature is that they are all located on the outskirts and are made in the style of American eateries.

HANDS UP (SERGEY ZHUKOV)

Address:

emb. Griboyedov Canal, 28.

Working hours:

From the menu:

Alyoshka cocktail - 450 rubles.

Sergey Zhukov, a member of the iconic boy band from the 90s, opened a club dedicated to this interesting decade. You can eat there too. But the most interesting thing here is karaoke. You can sing in it not only to the worn backing track, but also to the riffs of a real guitarist. The owner himself often goes down to the hall.