At midday, the Cafe Nik off Nevsky Prospect is crowded, and its small red tables are bubbles of rapid conversation.
"Crowded," though, does not necessarily mean "slow." The staff behind the counter, red berets bobbing, and looking for all the world like American GIs fresh from basic training, rush to fetch food and drinks. A waitress keeps a sharp watch for departing customers and clears and wipes tables in the blink of an eye. There is little waiting for a table.
New customers are drawn in by the rumor of the as-yet-mythical reasonably priced St Petersburg cappuccino, but the prosaic truth is that 4,000 roubles will get you a decent cup of non-instant coffee with milk.
The plain coffee is better, and the hot chocolate (3,000 roubles) is great.
Talking is the idea behind what's perhaps St Petersburg's first bistro for the working class. The high-ceiling cafe is spotless, the pinstripe-uniformed staff are friendly. It is a haven for power chatters.
Near the corner of Nevsky Prospect and Vladimirskaya Ulitsa, and open from 12- 9pm, Cafe Nik begs to be part of your routine, rather than an occasional treat.
Pastries are between 2,000 and 5,000 roubles and are less dry than most Russian sweets. The cakes which the cafe prides itself on, however, could turn the Amazon basin into a desert. The ice cream with which you might be tempted to wash it down costs 10,000 roubles for four ping-pong-ball-sized scoops.
The cafe, which opened recently, seems to be broadening its range into light lunch dishes. Its microwaved roast beef sandwich is about as good as a microwaved roast beef sandwich can be. Its salads, fruit and eggs are also good.