Matilde

Matilde's interior is built around the idea of slowing down: a calm, warm palette, European restraint in the details, and almost no decorative noise. Nobody rushes you here, and the space underscores that. A long coffee breakfast, an aperitivo before dinner, an unhurried evening with a glass of wine — all of it fits naturally into the venue's logic.

Our restaurant guide's team finds Matilde a rare case where a restaurant honestly commits to a single region, without trying to please everyone at once.

The group's chef, Alexei Ermakov, runs the culinary concept. His kitchen is focused on Piedmont, one of Italy's most distinctive regions and one rarely at the center of attention for Russian restaurants. Pasta here is shaped by hand, and the recipes lean on regional tradition rather than averaged Italian clichés. The wine and vermouth list follows the same logic: northern Italy, characteristic varieties, specific producers.

The Petrograd Side as a location supports the concept: a neighborhood with its own pace of life, without the center's tourist flow. The Karpovka embankment adds another layer — the restaurant looks out onto the water, which sets a certain mood on its own.

Matilde in St. Petersburg isn't an attempt to reproduce "all of Italy" in one menu. Bona People Group bet on specificity: one region, one chef, one clear idea. Piedmontese cuisine done this way demands attention, and it seems built precisely for those willing to give it.