When Royalty Comes A Calling -The Winter Palace

Sipping on tangy Kvass on a warm summer’s day at the Winter Palace, listening to Sergey Yaroshinsky’s take on life, Russia and his dream of bringing authentic Russian cuisine to the people of Chennai.

Winter Palace is Chennai’s first and undoubtedly finest, Russian restaurants. 

“We want to tell people that Russia is not just a land of Vodka and continental food is not all about bland flavours,” says Sergey as he sips from his glass of Kvass, a fermented bread drink. 

“Russian salad, Borscht and Blini are foods that Indians may have come across here and there. But we’d like to present it to them in the ‘right way’- the way it was meant to be, from home.” 

“It’s taken us 8 months to adapt, re-think and rebuild this menu. We haven’t Indian-ised a single thing. We have beautiful food and we want to bring that to the people of Chennai”  he adds.

He started us off with, of course, a Russian Salad. Creamy and fresh with little pieces of chicken- there’s definitely a reason why this one is so popular. 

For vegetarians, Royal Tomatoes are the way to go. They’re tomatoes sliced in half and stuffed with a cheesy sauce. Light and cheesy, all in one bite.

Another thing that’s veggie friendly on the menu is their Vegetable Tower. Slices of mildly spiced Zucchini, Eggplant and Tomato are interspersed with bubbly cheese in this tower. 

Treasure Abkhazian is a crowd-pleaser made of kidney beans and pomegranate- subtle and filling. 

Fish in Fur is a Russian specialty and is a must-try for the seafood buffs. Don’t miss the Instagram moment- this one’s a poser. 

Beef Stronganina is beef cuts served with dip and works fine as an ‘in between’ for the main course and starters. 

For the vegetarian main course, a ‘Blini’ which is like a crepe, stuffed generously with cheese and mushrooms, served with sour cream is a tummy filler.

For the non-vegetarians, rice is on the cards. Yes, a ‘biriyani’ of sorts, Lamb Plov is a winner. Flavourful and soft, that’s comfort food right there. 

For dessert, we hadn’t had enough of the Blini, and ordered some sweet Blini with fruits and honey. It may seem to you that this dish slides off the plate and into your mouth- just let it. 

Winter Palace, From Russia with So Much Love. 

What we had:

Kvass

Vegetable Tower 

Russian Salad 

Royal Tomatoes 

Fish in Fur 

Treasure Abkhazian 

Blini with Mushrooms and Cheese 

Lamb Plov 

Beef Stronganina 

Blini with Honey and Fruit