Baikal

I am not Russian, but lived there for 2 years. I have had good Russian food, and some not so good Russian food (of the latter, I recall eating in the university cafeteria in dead of winter, 1973). Baikal offers better-than-home-cooking, absolutely traditional Russian food: borscht, pirozhki, pelme...nny, bliny, along with Russian beer and vodka. And that's a small part of their extensive menu. For those who are not so familiar with the names of Russian food, every dish is shown as a picture in the menu, which is written in Russian, Japanese and English. The service is very friendly, and very likely the waitresses and chef are family members. It's as if you have been invited to their home in St. Petersburg for some home cooking! Be aware that the restaurant isn't huge - about 40 seats. And it is possible to spend $40-50 per person without trying hard. But...you will cherish the memory of dining on excellent, traditional Russian cuisine, before Baikal got famous!

Visited September 2015