A good selection of wine by the glass, European cuisine, a communal table in the center of the hall, events for like-minded wine lovers - the current format has every chance of success. Especially when such aces as the ReCa holding and the wine trading company Simple get down to business.
ReCa may create pop projects, but, to their credit, they always keep up with the times: Belgian beer is in fashion - we buy Manneken Pis; the craft beer revolution is just around the corner - here's Craft Brew and Punk Brew; the city is switching to wine - keep Crazy Wine. With Simple, everything is also clear: one can only envy their access to winemakers. In addition to the Wine Followers wine list, Simple sommeliers are responsible for the Wine Followers evenings. In the new bar, they plan to gather wine lovers and celebrities at one table to discuss trends, fashion, art and reinforce what they have learned with wine specially selected to match the topic of the conversation.
Briefly about the most important thing: the Vinovniki list includes about a hundred wines, prices start from 2,300 rubles per bottle. For companies there are several magnums of 3200-9500. 33 varieties in the bar are poured into glasses for an adequate 270-450 rubles. For an aperitif, instead of the usual prosecco, you can indulge in a glass of crémant from Limoux or an elegant gavi. In hot weather, standard pinot gris may be inferior to Krasnodar Viognier, Chianti, or try replacing the proven Rioja with Krasnostop - there are few places where you can try a promising autochthonous variety by the glass, and they usually charge a lot for a bottle. In general, the wine list of “Culprits” cannot be called revolutionary, but it is also standard; it is worthy of study.
The “Culprits” will be fed by brand chef ReCa. The capacious menu included sections of pastas and bruschetta, grilled crabs and steaks, and a variety of tapas: from banal sun-dried tomatoes to stracciatella with pomegranate and lavender or langoustine sashimi with lemon cream.
Menu excerpts
Cheese set 650 rub. Stracciatella with pomegranate and lavender 450 rub. Bruschetta with duck rillette and tomato marmalade 320 rub. Soup with seafood, coconut milk and ptitim 560 rub. Duck leg confit with buckwheat and sun-dried tomato pesto 490 rub. Grilled langoustines with ginger and chili pepper 590 rub. Filet mignon with New York sauce 790 rub. Tagliatelle with morels, porcini mushrooms and Parmesan mousse 550 rub. Strawberry mochi with cream cheese 290 rub.An establishment with a decent selection of wines, a fun menu and parties has opened on Vosstaniya Street.
Although the weather is not kind, it’s summer in the city, and trendy hangouts are opening. from and wine trading company Simple have a good chance of success: city center, stylish interior, quality wines and parties. But first things first.
Vinovniki displaced the old English pub Bulldog on the corner of Kovensky Lane and Vosstaniya Street, replacing the traditional “beer” interior with an industrial aesthetic. Now there is a lot of geometry with its lines and graphics; the design combines wood and concrete, glass and marble, steel and brass. At the entrance, guests are greeted by shelves with wine bottles, as if hinting that the main thing here is wine.
Specialists from ReCa and wine trading company Simple compiled the wine offer jointly. The map opens with a white tsinandali from Georgia (270 rubles), then - a little bit of everything: the Austrian Grüner Veltliner (320 rubles), and the Italian sauvignon from Friuli (340 rubles), and, as Venechka Erofeev would say, the “red” Krasnodar (from 320 rub.). In the rosé section there are only two names by the glass (six by bottle). To be fair, it is worth noting that the prices for wines here are higher than, say, in another wine project from ReCa - however, in “Culprits” the assortment is qualitatively different. For the festive table, for example, they will offer to uncork French champagne for 21,000 rubles.
In addition to wines, the establishment offers a good selection of cider, liqueurs and whiskey, as well as a standard set of strong drinks and classic cocktails (Aperol will cost 410 rubles).
But let’s put aside the bar map, because the establishment has a rather interesting gastronomic component. The brand chef of the wine direction of the holding, Lev Polenov (,), is working on the kitchen at Vinovniki. He has put together an impressive selection of starters, among which, in addition to olives (250 rubles) and a set of cheeses (650 rubles), there are intriguing items like stracciatella with pomegranate and lavender (450 rubles) or langoustine sashimi with lemon cream (520 rubles). ). In general, the menu has a lot to choose from: there are items with Asian motifs (seafood soup, coconut milk and ptitim, 560 rubles), and Italian pasta and risotto, and grill, and traditional “European” with duck breast for main course. and mozzarella with tomatoes for a snack. The desserts are worth paying attention to, if only because of the strawberry mochi with cheese cream (290 rubles) and nectarine mousse with medlar (320 rubles).
Now about the parties. A series of Wine Followers meetings are set to take place at a long communal table in the main hall. As planned, during such evenings, wine gurus, stars, bloggers and mere mortals will talk about trends, fashion and art, not forgetting to taste in the process. The date of the next such meeting has not yet been determined, but the first party has already been scheduled: this weekend (June 16 and 17), “Vinovniki” plans to officially open with a Triangle Sun concert and a DJ set from Dasha Malygina. Until then, there is a 30% discount on the entire menu.
A joint project between the ReCa restaurant holding and the Simple wine trading company has started on Vosstaniya Street. At the official opening on June 16, Triangle Sun will perform, and on June 17, Dasha Malygina will perform.
Kitchen
The name was invented by the executive director of the ReCa holding, Alexey Kopyrin - it describes and unites people who love wine and are interested in it. The brand chef of the holding's wine projects, who runs the Twiggy restaurant and the Crazy Wine wine bar, Lev Polenov, has developed a menu in which you can choose a gastronomic pairing for any glass of red, white or sparkling. The Vinovniki cuisine is based on creative gastronomy - the search for interesting and unusual flavor combinations; all dishes are original interpretations of classic European and Pan-Asian hits. For example, tom yam here is complemented with ptitim and langoustines, sashimi with lemon cream, and ceviche with passion fruit sauce. As a main course, the chef offers beef tongue with potatoes, morels and porcini mushroom sauce or king crab phalanx, and for dessert - Japanese strawberry mochi with curd cream.
Wine
The wine list was compiled by the Simple team with the participation of sommelier Alexander Rassadkin, champion of the 2015 Russian Sommelier Competition and deputy director of the Enotria sommelier school. The card includes rare autochthonous varieties, classic producers, and brands that are poorly represented in St. Petersburg. In the “Wine Cabinet” section, much attention is paid to unusual and little-known names. Russian wines, bottles for the company and wines in small volumes of 375 ml are also highlighted in separate chapters. As for cocktails, the restaurant's bartenders will be able to prepare any classic mix, but the emphasis is still on wine and aperitifs.
Interior
On Vosstaniya Street, the Vinovniki wine bar has opened its doors in technical mode. Representatives of the establishment told The Village about this. Vinovniki is a joint project of the ReCa restaurant group and the wine trading company Simple.
Vinovniki
snacks
Stroganina from omul - 520 rubles
Salmon tartare - 550 rubles
Beef tartare - 490 rubles
Bruschetta with duck rillette - 320 rubles
Main dishes
Duck breast with apple - 450 rubles
Seafood risotto - 650 rubles
Ribeye with milk mushrooms - 1,950 rubles
Tagliatelli with morels - 550 rubles
salads
Duck breast with fennel - 350 rubles
Baked pear salad with chevre cheese - 370 rubles
Salad with smoked eel - 470 rubles
soups
Broth with chicken and ravioli - 340 rubles
Creamy broccoli soup with venison - 420 rubles
Seafood soup - 560 rubles
Idea: The wine list contains about a hundred wines. Both the products of small garage farms and well-known brands are presented. 33 varieties are poured into glasses (270–450 rubles). Despite the fact that the establishment is formally a bar, a full-fledged kitchen has been installed here. The menu includes universal appetizers such as tartars (490–570 rubles), bruschetta (320–530 rubles) and salads (350–650 rubles), as well as full-fledged hot dishes: for example, duck breast with apples (450 rubles), risotto with seafood (650 rubles) or grilled filet mignon (790 rubles).
Chef: The kitchen is headed by chef Lev Polenov.
Interior: The establishment is decorated in an eclectic style using a variety of materials - wood, concrete, glass, marble, steel and brass - and is furnished with designer furniture.
The official opening of the establishment is scheduled for June 16. Until this moment, visitors receive a 30% discount on the entire menu.
The Vinovniki restaurant opened in St. Petersburg. On the site of an English pub, the owners of the ReCa restaurant holding and the Simple company opened an establishment where you can not only have dinner, but also listen to a quality lecture on wine.
Gastrobar is a rare “beast” on the Russian restaurant market. Similar formats began to appear here relatively recently. There are restaurants, cafes, wine bars, Chef’s table restaurants, but there are still only a few gastro bars. The point is partly that this format is extremely demanding. It was very accurately described by the authors of the new St. Petersburg gastrobar Vinovniki - “a restaurant with creative gastronomy and an exclusive wine list.” The owners of the ReCa restaurant group and the Simple brand took it upon themselves to adequately present both components. The restaurant on Vosstaniya Street became the flagship for both companies. Here, along with the a la carte menu, there are wine dinners by appointment, master classes and fashionable evening parties.
Designer Anastasia Khalchitskaya, the author of already beloved and must-see and must-go St. Petersburg: Kroo cafe, Charlie and The Repa, was called to come up with the interior of the new establishment. In four weeks, Anastasia figured out how to transform the Bulldog English pub that existed on this site into a conceptual establishment with an industrial aesthetic. One of the iconic elements of the new interior was the ceiling of the first third of the 19th century. It was discovered during renovation work, cleaned and, of course, they did not cover it with anything. They used a lot of wood, glass and marble. Most of the interior items, including lamps, were created according to Anastasia’s sketches. Chairs and armchairs from the Metal Mobili factory are winners of the Red Dot Design Awards 2017. Tiles from the Russian manufacturer Cezzle (we wrote about this company in Objekt No. 32, winter 2016–2017), Tyger Tyger wallpaper from Osborne & Little. According to Anastasia Khalchitskaya, the most difficult thing was to make a bar counter from natural stone, the length of which is almost 6 meters. To produce it, a frame was welded from huge metal channels, which were subsequently lined with stone. The typology of the establishment was emphasized with the help of translucent racks with wine bottles. Although the menu at Vinovniki is not only wine. Along with Georgian Tsinandali, Austrian Grüner Veltliner, Italian Sauvignon and Krasnodar wines, the menu included cider, liqueurs, whiskey and a variety of cocktails.
The brand chef of the wine direction of the holding, Lev Polenov (Twiggi, Crazy Wine), worked on the gastronomic component of the gastrobar. He compiled an impressive array of starters, including stracciatella with pomegranate and lavender, langoustine sashimi with lemon cream, beef tartare with wheat chips, and mussel fillet with potato cream and truffle oil. I complemented them with bruschetta with duck and crab, and for the main course I offered four types of pasta, risotto, beef tongue and lamb stewed in herbs. It turned out intriguing in an Asian way and satisfying in an Italian way.
Now about the parties. At the gigantic bar counter, you can not only taste the wine list, but also organize themed Wine Followers gatherings. As planned, during such evenings, wine gurus, stars, bloggers and mere mortals will talk about trends, fashion and art, not forgetting to taste in the process.
