Yolki Palki

 ‘Fir trees and sticks!’ This kitschy, crazy restaurant chain serves up tasty, traditional dishes to both tourists and Russians. Shashliks (around R400) come with salad, onion salsa, a few wedges and toasted flatbread, while the salmon and red caviar fettucini (R360) will make your fellow diners envious. Their dedication to kitschy Russian folk décor is admirable – features include a giant oak, a boar’s head, oversized painted wooden spoons and an imitation hearth. The salad bar is also great value and it’s well worth taking the opportunity to sample some ‘mors’ and traditional Russian appetizers (homemade shots).

Nevsky prospect, opposite the Kazan cathedral.