Nightlife of St.Petersburg, Russia
My Comments: (follow links for further explanation)
:) = Face Control ME = I visited it
:D = Word of Mouth P= On Petrograd Side
Zzz = Evenings only V = On Vyborg Side
Newspaper Reviews of Clubs: St.Petersburg Pulse | The St.Petersburg Times
My Reviews
St.Petersburg Pulse Bar/Club Guide, 8.99
ANTRE P
(Ed Note: Listed in this version but now CLOSED and replaced w/ yuppie business-lunch restaurant. Grr!) Address: 2 Ulitsa Lva Tolstovo, Tel. 346-2273. Open daily, 11am to 6am.
Astoria
Atlantic
Club 69
Fish Fabrique
Griboyedov Club
Hali Gali
Harley Davidson
A homage to the cult of Harley D. First of its kind in Russia. Draft beer, live shows every weekend, populated with a lot of lookers.
Address: 1/39 Kurchatova Ulitsa, Tel. 247-6500. Open daily from noon 'till the last sad bastard leaves. Fridays and Saturdays from 1pm.
London
Luna
Polygon
Pyramid
Shanghai
Tinkoff
"A :A \ T Club Guide", as reprinted from "The St.Petersburg Times", 8.13.99
69 Club :) :D
The city's premier gay venue. Diverse music, male striptease, and drag shows. Bar, face control. Tues-Sun. 20R-120R. Women pay double. Shows start at 2am. Addy: 62-ya Krasnoarmeiskaya, METRO Tekhnologicheskiy Institut #259-51-63
Atlantis Zzz
A small rock cafe with medium-low prices. rock, blues, country. Open daily, 1pm. Live concerts start at 9 pm. entrance: 15R after 8 pm. Addy: 7 Ul. Korolyova, METRO Pionerskaya #301-78-74
Blues Billiard P
That skankily spacious suburban pool bar where you had your first beer as a kid? Well, this is the place to rehash those memories. Live concerts, parties, bar, and billiards. Daily, 12pm-6am. Free entrance. Addy: LDM, 48 Ul. Professora Popova, METRO Petrogradskaya #234-44-48
Candyman
Large nightclub that features up-front, up-to the minute dance music. Western dance acts and Russian artists. Wed-Sun, 10pm-7pm, 30-250R. Addy: 17 Kosygina Pr., METRO Ladozhskaya [then take bus #21 or trolleybus #22 or any tram two stops] #521-14-10
Chaplin Club Zzz
You're in for a laugh at this bastion of comedy of the absurd, inspired by the master of comedy himself. Daily, 12pm-11pm. 20-80R. Seating capacity is limited; reservations recommended. Addy: 59 Ul. Tchaikovskogo, METRO Chernyshevskaya #272-66-49
City Club ME :D Zzz
Live rock, blues, and jazz. Quality sound system, two bars, billiards, real fireplaces. But watch out for the thugs - they're everywhere. Mon-Tues 10am-11pm; free, Wed-Sun 10am-6am; free until 8pm, Wed-Thurs; 20R, Fri-Sun; 25R. Live shows Wed-Sun at 8pm. Located right above the Money Honey Saloon. Addy: 28-30 Sadovaya Ul., Apraskin Dvor, Korpus no. 13, METRO Gostiny Dvor. Entrance through Money Honey. #110-43-16.
Dostoevsky Art Bar ME Zzz
Small, basement haunt in the writer's old gambling grounds. Daily concerts at 8pm. 15R. Addy: 15 Vladimirsky Pr., METRO Vladimirskaya. #310-61-64
Fiesta Latina V
-----end transmission-------
I'm sleepy; all for tonight!
FACE CONTROL
Some Russian people, very particularly men, don't always keep up the best "appeearances", if you will, when going out to clubs. This is not to be confused with their behaviour at concerts or ballets or the suchlike.
Face Control is primarily directed at people who show up at the club *very* badly/messily/inappropriately dressed, drunk, very drugged, lewd, or rowdy. This is the equivalent of "We may refuse service to customers" in America, except in Russia only the more respected or largely-attended clubs do this.
If you are a foreigner, there is little chance that you will get "Face Control"ed out, but do remember that going overboard should be reserved for when inside the club!
Some clubs that participate in this include:
69 Club
Griboyedov
Jazz Philharmonic Hall [presumably]
Metro Club
Monroe Club
WORD OF MOUTH
Having interacted with many "natives", I received varied insider information about some of the clubs listed here.
Here are some Insider Reviews:
69Club
CityClub
Fish Fabrique
Hali Gali
Hollywood Nights
London Club
Monroe Club
Rio
Tribunal
EVENING ONLY
Although most Russian clubs stay open until the next morning due to the ever-present St.Petersburg Raised Bridges Dillema, there are some which cater to an older and possibly more refined audience that close anywhere from 10PM to 12PM. Yes, these are still called "Evening Clubs". Otherwise, closing hours may range from 5AM to 10AM. On a side note, most of these clubs feature jazz-oriented music.
Some of these clubs include:
Atlantis
Chaplin Club
City Club
Dostoyesvsky Art Bar
Jam Jazz Cafe
Jazz Philharmonic Hall
JFC Jazz Club
Kvadrat Jazz Club
Laiza
Moloko
MY REVIEWS
I did my share of clubbing while in town, and therefore am presenting some reviews from my perpective. Remember, that my situation, and other extraneous factors, mean that my experiences could be just that; only mine.
Reviews:
City Club/Money Honey
Dostoyevsky Art Bar
JFC Jazz Club
Jimi Hiendrix Blues Club
Manhattan/Kotyol
Troika
CLUBS ON THE PETROGRAD SIDE
Due to the Raised Bridges Dillema, I have listed clubs that are on the Petrograd side, which is a series of islands and peninsulas. If you are staying on this side, some of the clubs may be much more easy to get to/from.
Some of these include:
Blues Billiard
Hali Gali
Jungle
Laiza
London Club
Mama
Rio
Zoopark
One club on the Vasileostrovsky Side is:
VMC
--MAP COMING SOON--
CLUBS ON THE VYBORG SIDE
Due to the Raised Bridges Dillema, there are simply some clubs on this peninsula that one will end up visiting more often if they find lodgings there, primarily because of possible time concerns.
See also: Clubs on Petrograd Side
Some of these clubs include:
Fiesta Latina
Poligon
Spartak
--MAP COMING SOON--