Ukrop Cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia is named after dill, a favorite herb of Russians and Scandinavians alike. If you're vegetarian, vegan, or simply want something tasty yet also on the healthier side, this is an excellent place to drop in.
Visiting the Venice of the North? See our 10 Travel Tips for St. Petersburg, Russia.
Ukrop Cafe Locations and Getting There
There are actually four Ukrop Cafe locations:
- 23 Marata Street (Metro: Mayakovskaya)
- 47 Vosstaniya (Metro: Chernyshevskaya)
- 14 Malaya Konyushennaya (Metro: Nevsky Prospekt)
- 30, 7 Liniya Vasilyevskovo Ostrova (Metro: Vasileostrovskaya)
This review is for the 23 Marata Street location, which is about a 5 minute walk down Marata Street from the Mayakovskaya Station.
Ukrop Cafe Menu and Food
I'm always a fan of anyplace that serves good breakfasts all day, since breakfast is my favorite meal. And Ukrop Cafe delivers, serving all day breakfast favorites from omelets to coconut-chia pancakes with mango sauce, and from smoothie bowls to that quintessentially Russian breakfast specialty, syrniki (farmers cheese pancakes) with strawberry sauce.
There are other savory options from lunchtime on, internationally inspired vegetarian fare:
I ordered a berry smoothie, smoothie bowl and savory breakfast toast. First to arrive was the berry smoothie, which was as good or better than the smoothies we make at home. I'm guessing that Ukrop is one of the few places in St. Petersburg to serve its smoothies with an environmentally conscious metal reusable straw.
The Smoothie Bowl arrived next, and was very artistically presented with a swirled design, green buckwheat granola, and garnish of fresh banana and dried strawberry. Between the smoothie bowl and the smoothie, I felt like I got my day's supply of antioxidants.
My toast arrived last, with a tricolor spread of pesto on the left, guacamole in the center, and sundried tomato tapenade on toasted whole wheat bread, topped with baked chickpeas. It was tasty, as well as heartier and more filling than I expected.
The Verdict
If you're wondering if there are Brooklyn-like or Berkeley-like vegan and hipster friendly haunts in Russia, the answer is yes–and Ukrop Cafe is one of these places. And no, it's not just for foreigners: the majority of the guests during my lunchtime visit were Russians.
While I'm not vegetarian and don't go out of my way to visit vegetarian places in the U.S., I was very happy with my breakfast-for-lunch meal of savory toast with pesto, guacamole and sundried tomatoes; berry smoothie; and smoothie bowl with granola. It was all very fresh, delicious and filling for a grand total of RUR 700, or ~$11. My server was friendly, if slightly harried given the busy lunchtime crowd, and my only complaint was that the credit card machine wasn't working, so I had to pay cash.
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