Basic food of the likes of borsch, cold meats, cabbage and turnips was the fare available to ordinary folk in Russia during the days of hard communism - and even then it wasn’t easy to get in a restaurant outside of one of the few hotels (and I can vouch for it as I was there in 1975!). Now, however, there is a much wider and more palatable choice of foods available, including a range of restaurants offering foreign cuisines including Indian- at least in St Petersburg, and no doubt in Moscow also.

I can only report on St Petersburg, which offers two Indian restaurants. The best known, most central and reputedly the best is Tandoor which is very centrally situated at No 2, Voznesensky prospect. It is on the corner of the street near St Isaac’s Cathedral and offers a good range of Indian food, including a range of vegetarian dishes which, as vegetarians are generally not catered for very well in Russia, makes it a good choice for those who wish to avoid meat.

It seats 52 in a plush and very comfortably furnished restaurant with chandeliers and plenty of ornate filigree work inside. I spoke to Mr Sethumadhavan, the General Director, who told me that it opened in 1994 when over 80% of customers were non-Russian. Now, he tells me, it is about 50-50. He proudly told me that President Putin has eaten there and there is a photo on the wall of the reception area to prove it. Although more expensive that standard Russian restaurants, it is cheaper than a restaurant of similar standard, type and style at home. They offer a decent looking business lunch at $10 (prices are in dollars but roubles and credit cards are perfectly OK). The ownership and chef is Indian (rather than Bagladeshi) and Mr Sethumadhavan told me that each dish is prepared individually after being ordered. It certainly looks a quality restaurant (interestingly I see from Mr Sethumadhavan’s card that the same company also own a Chinese restaurant called Chopsticks, the city’s top class Chinese restaurant situated in the plush Grand Hotel Europe, so they operate at the top of the range). Unfortunately I was unable to eat at the Tandoor to find out whether the food was also top class, but it has all the trappings of quality. 

The other Indian restaurant is called Swagat and situated at 91 Bolshoi Pr. on Vasilievsky Island. I didn’t visit this so cannot comment on appearance, but it is also said to be good. It offers Indian dancing on some nights, accepts credit cards but it is closed on Monday.

Malcolm Wilkins - April 2003