Aster

The café-bakery by the Aster team is located close to St. Nicholas Cathedral and the Mariinsky Theatre. Breakfast is served until 2pm, with a generous selection, and part of the morning menu is available all day.

The concept focuses on pastries, bread and desserts, hence the interior's main feature: a display case of buns, croissants and sandwiches.

Designer Maria Kachalova (Rene, gills, Aster on Mayakovskogo) handled the space's visual identity. Inside are two spacious rooms with a light-toned, minimalist interior. Wooden tables and chairs, sofas along the walls, milky boucle armchairs, a gray dolomite bar counter. Behind a glass partition are two workshops where bread and pastries are made. In the inner courtyard is a cozy, spacious terrace for warm weather. The place is dog-friendly.

The menu offers straightforward everyday food, a generous breakfast selection, and, of course, pastries that draw a line of their own. The morning menu has three sections: classic breakfasts, like a truffle scramble with smoked suluguni, an English breakfast, and menemen-style eggs with a Danish bun; a "on bread" section with sandwiches and toasts; and sweet breakfasts. The main menu features starters and salads, plus hot dishes: saffron risotto with shrimp, chicken with chickpeas, a beef steak with broccoli. The drinks section offers coffee, both classic and alternative brews, tea, seasonal drinks, juices and lemonades.