POOOL

POOOL occupies two levels in the building of the “Basseynoye Partnership” (literally, the “Pool Partnership”), on the corner of Fontannaya and Nekrasova streets. The building's history is more than a backdrop here: the idea of a pre-revolutionary “pool” of tenants echoes the venue's current scenario, where guests gather around wine, cocktails, and dinner. The interior by Vyacheslav Geduev's ABVG bureau is built on contrasts: European designer chairs, an antique chest of drawers with a marble top, a hand-painted vintage folding screen, custom lighting by young Saint Petersburg designers, and 18th-century putti-shaped sconces. In one of the rooms the table bases are made of solid stone weighing about 300 kilograms, and the lighting scenarios are set up via the DALI protocol — from neutral daylight to an intimate evening glow.

In the view of our restaurant guide's team, the appearance of Chistyakov's project specifically in Saint Petersburg came as a pleasant surprise for those who have long followed his work.

The kitchen is run by Vladimir Chistyakov together with Alexander Melnikov, his student and partner with experience in Israel, Georgia, and Qatar. The menu is built around a modern take on dacha-style cuisine: potatoes with black caviar, milk-cap mushrooms with sour cream, aromatic oil and Yalta onion, a goby spread in tomato sauce with cream cheese and capers, and crushed potatoes with braised chicken thighs. The dessert line is led by Alena Ofitserova of Fresa's Restaurant Group — the sweet side continues the same approach, without excess heaviness or showy complexity.

The bar program here is just as important as the kitchen. Pavel Danilchuk, creator of Arkhitektor, put together the cocktail list specifically for POOOL: it includes an Ancona Negroni with blackcurrant, a Seville Negroni with fernet and sherry, a truffle espresso martini, a peach spritz, and a pineapple paloma with tequila. The wine list is curated by Denis Kondratenko — a Simple Wine ambassador and the author of the boujee channel; the selection is built both for guests who know their way around a wine list and for those who just want a clear choice for dinner. Our mystery guests rated the dinner 8 out of 10 — for the expressive dacha-style food, the theatrical interior, the soft light, and drinks that match the kitchen's attention to detail.