I asked a Russian friend of mine to join me for a romantic dinner at the Landskrona. Unfortunately for him, he could not allow himself to be taken out on the town by a woman, and so he missed one of the most elegant meals to be had in St Petersburg.
The Landskrona is located on the top floor of the Nevskij Palace hotel and has an open-air terrace with a gorgeous view of the city (when the weather is fine). The interior is dark without being oppressive, and everything -- tables, settings, decor --is indisputably classy.
My date-by-default and I arrived (be sure to make a reservation and -- if you're male -- wear a coat and tie) and were seated near the grand piano. As the pianist leafed through her repertoire, we pondered the Russian-English menu.
The Landskrona recently revamped its menu in an "a la carte" style. The menu is divided into cold appetizers, soups, salads, warm appetizers, meat and poultry, seafood, desserts, cheeses and "Marco Polo Health Cuisine."
After considering such options as the carpaccio of beef tenderloin with pesto vinaigrette and parmesan cheese ($17) and the stew of halibut and green-shell mussels with thyme stock and spinach ravioli ($15), my date decided on the cream of beetroot soup with deep-fried scampi ($8) while I chose the mixed green salad with French dressing ($8).
Before we got our appetizers, our waiter brought out a ragout of salmon, with the compliments of the chef. Never having had ragout of salmon before, I can't say how this compared, but it was tasty if slightly garlicky, and my friend said it would be great on a bagel.
It's hard to mess up or excel at a salad, although this was one of the finer of its kind. At least the lettuce was chopped up into bite-sized pieces, always a plus. The presentation, however, was remarkably elegant, if it's possible for a tossed salad to achieve elegance, and was topped with a jaunty cherry tomato with a bit of parsley garnish.
My friend was pleased with the creamy soup, which he said tasted a lot like borscht only more tomato-like. The scampi were "excellent."
Before the main course, our waiter brought out a palate-clearing strawberry sorbet, a nice touch.
Main course options include a pan-fried fillet of beef with green and black pepper, seasonal vegetables and stuffed baked potato ($34); a poached fillet of basil-marinated salmon on champagne sauce with lemon risotto and sauteed leek ($29); or the langouste tail "Landskrona," which is a ragout of langouste (a VERY expensive lobster, I am told, flown in once a week from Finland), mushrooms and perigord truffles, gratinated with Dutch butter sauce, and dill potatoes ($92).
My date chose the grilled medallion of venison with orange-almond sauce, buttered broccoli and beetroot noodles ($31) and I had the fillet of lamb and lobster tail on their own sauces with spinach lasagne ($34).
The lamb was tender and the lobster tail faultless. The spinach lasagne was also excellent, although it was a lot more spinach than lasagne. My friend was especially excited about his buttered broccoli, always a challenge to find here. The venison was cooked well and all sauces were delicious.
For dessert, we both ordered the homemade strudel leaves stuffed with chocolate mousse on maracuja sauce with cranberries ($9), which I would eat every day if I could. The cocoa-dusted strudel leaves were light and flaky and the mousse decadently rich. The sauce had a sort of sour fruity taste that offset the mousse.
All of the dishes were presented beautifully and our waiters were attentive without being overbearing.
The Landskrona is the perfect place for an intimate dinner for two or an elegant business supper. The prices might daunt some but judging from the number of people who showed up that evening, there's always a market for expensive, classy restaurants.