Phone: 640-19-00
E-mail: tsar-manager@mail.ru
I ate at Tsar last night with a group of friends. Walking into the restaurant, it immeadiately became clear that the name was fitting. Though hard to tell from the street, inside was a step back in time to the age of the Tsars. All of the appointments had a royal opulence about them. It was my first foray into upscale dining in St. Petersburg, and I was not disappointed.
We opened our meal with caprese salad, salmon carpaccio and veal tongue with horseradish appetizers. The caprese was first among them, but the veal tongue is worth a try if you want to venture into Russian fare. From there (after some ice cold vodka), I sampled the borsch (beet soup). I don't normally choose beets, but I was pleasantly surprised by the borsch. The portion was huge and the flavor very pleasing. I capped my dinner off with the beef stroganoff. I was expecting an upscale hamburger helper, but what I recieved was miles from my expecations. The sirloin was tender, the sour cream based sauce was rich and delicious, and the noodles were absent. While the potatos that were served alongside my entree looked like hash browns, they were perfectly salted and well-seasonsed with garlic. Overall, the meal was amazing.
Reservations are definitely warranted. Though the restaurant never seemed to fill up, I did see some without reservations turned away. The price tag is steep, the service is lax by western standards, but if you find yourself in St. Petersburg it is definitely worth the stop.
