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Stolle Cafe

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sararevell
sararevell
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
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Stolle’s Café: Pies a-plenty

  • August 6, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by sararevell from London, United Kingdom
Stolle’s Café: Pies a-plenty

We made a point of seeking out a Stolle café as it had been recommended to us by a St. Petersburg native, and because we enjoy eating pie! With only five shops in the city we were lucky to accidentally stumble upon one of their cafes opposite the Mariinsky Theatre. From the outside it didn’t look like much but inside we found a warm, peaceful environment that had more the appearance of an aristocratic wine bar than it did a pie shop.

Founded in 2002, Stolle’s chairman Alexander Bordug professes to wanting to recreate the flavour and atmosphere of early 20th century St. Petersburg. Not that I have a reference for comparison but the stately interior with its long bar laden with tray after tray of puffy golden pies certainly transported me to another era.

The Stolle Café at Dekabristov is accessible from nearby metro stations Sadovaya and Sennaya and certainly didn’t fail to impress in terms of Bordug’s vision. The long room was fairly quiet when we arrived. Long leaved plants on each windowsill filtered the early afternoon sunlight adding a rich glow to the red walls. The furniture was reminiscent of an old English pub with dark wooden low back chairs in the middle of the room and long banquette benches along the walls at either end of the café. Black and white photographs of bygone times were hung sparingly on the walls but the real centerpiece was of course the pie counter. Thick, picture-perfect pies of different sizes and fillings lined the counter, most topped with elaborate pastry motifs.

We ordered one green onion and egg pie, and one mushroom pie. The pastry at Stolle’s had the texture of a soft brioche-type bread as opposed to the drier, crusty pastry that I’m more accustomed to for savoury pies. Despite its moderate size, the pie was extremely filling and as much as I wanted to, I was unable to convince my stomach to try one of their dessert pies. Their menu extends to other food and drink items, including alcohol. If pies aren’t your thing I could equally recommend Stolle’s for an afternoon beer or relaxing morning coffee.

The staff at Stolle’s were extremely friendly and courteous, even pulling off the napkins that covered the pie counter so we could videotape the pies in all their glory! They must have thought we were a bit eccentric but we were so impressed by the overall presentation at Stolle’s that it seemed a shame not to capture the stars of the show whilst filming the café’s interior.

For two pies, two fruit juices, a tea and a coffee, our bill came to $14.78, which seemed reasonable given the tourist location of this particular café. At lunchtime it was fairly quiet but I’d imagine that it livens up in the evening as a convenient pre or post-show stop for anyone with tickets to the Mariinsky Theatre across the road.

www.stolle.ru

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