3. April 2015: Restaurant AZIA

Given it belong to the best ranked restaurants in St. Petersburg according to TripAdvisor I thought we should give the restaurant AZIA a try – but frankly speaking, it was a bit of a disappointment. I mean, obviously it’s one’s own fault if you are trying to have Asian food while in Russia but still a disappointment. I went for “marinated chicken satays, cucumber & carrot achar, chunky peanut sauce” (550 RUB). The chicken was definitely too dry for my personal gusto.

As a main course, I went for the “Malaysian beef Rendang, fragrant rice” (1’150 RUB). The dish was a bit unpractical because it was difficult to mix the rice with the rest, respectively to pick a piece of rice from the rice bowl and mix that piece of rice with the rest of the dish. The sauce in which the beef was served was tasty but the beef was – again – a bit too dry.

I went for the “Baby Asian Greens” (400 RUB) as a side dish thinking I will get some steamed, grilled, or cooked vegetables – but I just got a salad. To be fair, I could have asked what exactly was meant by “Baby Asian Greens” but it definitely doesn’t sound like salad to me.

To kick the lunch off, I had a “Red Passion (Less is more. This cocktail turns something simple in a nice experience about flavour. A fruity concoction of vodka, passion fruit puree and Azia’s homemade hibiscus syrup)” (650 RUB) which sounded very promising but did not taste like much more than vodka with passion fruit flavour.

Funny enough, my favourite course was “bread basket” and the “spread” you get in the beginning. There was a huge variety of different breads which is offered to you, fresh, and really tasty! The spread – I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was exactely – was rich so the basked and the spread were empty after quite a short time.

The service is generally very attentive and friendly – the setup of the sofa tables is not entirely ideal to serve from the “right side” – but given the setup the service did a good job. Only when it came to getting the bill, it was like the whole service team (and there were quite a lot of people standing around) was busy ignoring me – only after 10 minutes someone realized I wanted to pay and finally made it to my table.

The place itself is very modern and appealing – a nice combination between how I imagine Asian to be and modern Western style. Definitely inviting which you would not expect from outside when you walk along the walls of the hotel.

Even the ceiling is very playfully created – and basically every wall has a different pattern which is very nice and interesting because when you look around you always discover something new.

The prices are relatively steep for what you get – I mean, the dishes are okay but for the quality a bit overprized. The prices for the beverages are fair but also not too low. A bottle of “Perrier” (0,75L) accounts for 620 RUB, a bottle of “San Pellegrino” (0,25L) for 380 RUB, and finally a “Double Espresso” for 500 RUB.

Overall, the restaurant AZIA is okay but it is not a place I would recommend you to go if you are visiting St. Petersburg as there are many more Russian restaurants where the food experience is more unique.

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Contact Details:

Restaurant AZIA

Belmond Grand Hotel Europe

Mikhailovskaya Ulitsa 1/7

191186 St. Petersburg (RU)

Tel.: +7 812 329 60 00

Fax: +7 812 329 60 01

E-Mail: restaurants.ghe@belmond.com

Homepage: http://www.belmond.com

About the Author: Sven

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.