Sage

Sage is a joint project by two restaurateurs with very different backgrounds: Vladimir Perelman, who built one of Moscow's strongest restaurant empires, and Dmitry Blinov, whose debut restaurant in Saint Petersburg was a genuine culinary revolution. The name translates both as "wise man" and as "sage" the herb — a plant that sets the tone for everything, from the scent in the room to the philosophy of the kitchen.

Restaurant critic Alexey Polikarpov calls Sage one of his favorite restaurants in the city: a fitting stop for breakfast, a business lunch, a date, or dinner with friends.

The kitchen is led by chef Dmitry Golenin, known in the industry as one of the leading specialists in vegetables and root vegetables. His approach is deliberate simplicity: minimal components, maximum flavor. The menu is built on seasonal produce from the restaurant's own farm, and signature dishes — roasted cabbage with truffle, beef tartare with smoked parmesan, flounder with olive sauce — have become classics. The morning program deserves special mention: mille-feuille with cultured cream and nori, brioche with crab and poached egg, broccoli fritters with salmon — among the strongest breakfasts in the city.

The interior was designed by architect Alexey Penyuk in restrained Scandinavian style: natural materials, clean lines and a sense of space. The layout is designed to shift mood with the time of day — bright and light in the morning, intimate and warm in the evening. Large tables for eight are available for groups. At the entrance is bartender Mikhail Rozov's bar table, whose cocktail list is built around seasonality, rare spirits and food pairing — from "White Chocolate with Nori" to "Vanilla and Calamansi" with agricole rum.

Sage's wine list runs to more than three hundred labels and reflects Perelman's expertise in wine selection: from cult estates in Burgundy and Piedmont to young New World winemakers. Rounding out the picture is an in-house bakery with German MIWE ovens — bread is baked to original recipes, from a custard-based loaf with fig to a potato bread with parmesan. Pastry chef Stas Paul's dessert island and a coffee program on La Marzocco's modular Modbar system complete the impression of a restaurant with no accidental details.