".original" on Zemlyanoy Val.

A new spot has appeared on the city map — ".original," a culinary project by Alexey Olkhovoy, known for Yauza, Blanc, Radio, and DK "Kristall." The restaurant opened in the building of a former railway depot on Zemlyanoy Val. This isn't just another venue but a space with history, design, and a distinct philosophy, combining a restaurant with a club space. The Italian-cuisine restaurant, from brand chef Andrey Lapin and brand pastry chef Darya Serebryakova, opened first. The second part of the project will launch later.

The idea for ".original" came to Olkhovoy a long time ago. In 2013, he worked as a photographer and shot photos in this very building. Years later, fate brought him back to this spot, and work on the project began in spring 2024. The name itself isn't random either — Olkhovoy remembered a metal sign reading "Original" next to Blanc, and decided that one day he'd give it a new life.

The Apart 76 team handled the space's architecture, while bureau Loft Design was responsible for the distinctive decor. The interior brings together bare cast concrete, a gabled roof, and a large window that creates the sense of an open space. The rhythmic clatter of wheels drifts in from the railway tracks outside the windows, and the walls carry paintings in a contemporary-Renaissance style, created by artists using neural-network tools.

".original's" kitchen draws on the chefs' trip to Italy. In spring 2024, they visited Venice, Milan, Florence, and Rome, and then adapted Italian classics to their own tastes. The menu centers on pasta, risotto, and starters. Andrey Lapin makes the pasta by hand, and the variations include gnocchi with pumpkin and truffle, agnolotti with porcini, pappardelle, and caramelle. The risotto comes with scallops, truffle, or braised veal cheek.

The starters are fresh flavor combinations. The menu has three kinds of tartare — scallop, shrimp, and tuna — cauliflower carpaccio with parmesan, and the classics: prosciutto crudo and cotto. Among the signature dishes: a salad with Amalfi lemons, farm burrata with persimmon and pesto, flounder baked in the wood-fired oven, and braised veal cheek with truffle polenta.

The desserts carry an Italian accent too, but read in an unexpected way. Darya Serebryakova created a lemon tart with meringue and salted lemon, a baba au rhum with brioche and a timut-pepper-lemon ganache, and a tiramisu with porcini and truffle.

".original" is conceived as a place where people don't just have dinner, but also socialize, meet friends, and forge new connections. Alexey Olkhovoy says he wants his projects to become part of his guests' lives. In the future, a separate space for cultural events and gatherings will open here.