Marketplace

 This self-service restaurant is too good to be called a Stolovaya, but it’s only a little pricier considering the quality of the food. Downstairs is a great selection of sandwiches, meat/fish (including quail!), garnishes, Asian dishes, soups and tapas. A tar-tar fish cutlet, vegetable-cooked rice and some pineapple juice with real chunks of fruit in it set me back just R205, while flavoursome Ratatouille-esque vegetables and rice are a snip at R127. Head up the staircase, eccentrically decorated with coloured-string and a crockery mobile, to sit in the café which offers a selection of pastries, cakes and good coffee, not to mention the adorable pots of tea (R99), to which you can add dried flowers (R20). The muffling acoustics and free Wi-fi make this an ideal place to do some work, chat with friends, or just admire the humorous, hand-decorated interior. The map of the world made of names of local dishes is definitely worth a gander – England just says ‘Porridge’.

Nevsky Prospect, opposite the Kazan Cathedral towards the Griboedova.