[New Eats] Asia's First Moscow-Style Russian Fine Dining in Shanghai

Not one, but two new Russian-backed dining concepts have opened recently in the refurbished historic Bund City Hall Plaza near Shanghai's Bund, by Russian Michelin-starred chef Evgeny Vikentev. In short, get ready for a masterclass in Russian gastronomic heritage.

Kirillitsa

The first concept is Kirillitsa, a new wave Russian fine dining restaurant (around 2,000 yuan/US$293.9 per person) with both a traditional Russian cuisine a la carte menu and a soon-to-launch innovative set menu (called 10,000 Kilometers of Tastes, featuring local ingredients from different regions of Russia).

Named after the alphabet used by many Slavic nations (Cyrillic), Kirillitsa represents a bridge between past, present and future, mirrored by the region's evolving cuisine. It represents food as a language of expression, "where each dish becomes a statement shaped by memory, meaning and intention." With seating for 45 in a space outfitted with (purchasable) Russian pop art, against an ethereal trance beats backdrop, this is set to be one of the best openings of the year.

The Menu

The current menu is all about historic Russian recipes that form the backbone of the region's culinary heritage. Think ferments, smoked seafood, savory pies and Siberian dumplings with nods to some ingredients, techniques and recipes dating as far back as the 10th century! The a la carte selection draws from the ceremonial depth of imperial-era cuisine, preserving its sense of occasion and generosity.

The menu unfolds as a coherent contemporary narrative, where modern technique reinterprets Russian culinary heritage with precision and restraint. Through a dialogue between tradition and a new culinary vision, Kirillitsa opens new gastronomic horizons for the Asian fine dining scene, presenting Russian cuisine beyond stereotypes: as a refined cultural narrative rooted in craftsmanship, storytelling and shared culinary memory.

Each meal begins with a serving of Russian-style Breads. There's hearty borodinsky (a Russian sourdough rye black bread made with malt and laced with cumin), traditional sourdough, brioche, and sunflower and flax seed chips. But the real star is the butter, particularly the quenelle of "leftover bread" miso butter that is funky, nutty and velvety – a true flavor bomb.

Next, the menu leans into Fermentations, like the Fermented Cabbage (48 yuan) with soaked cowberries (a traditional Russian berry with nuances of cranberry tartness and lingonberry juiciness). Using green apple juice and a 2 percent salt ratio, the cabbage is lacto-fermented and finished with a hit of sunflower oil.

As caviar holds an integral position in the Russian diet (beyond just a luxury aesthetic, it provides salinity, notes of umami, and serves as a historic symbol of prosperity), it also plays an important role on Kirillitsa's menu. From 20-year aged Imperial Sturgeon Caviar to 10-year aged Pressed Black Caviar to Pink Salmon Roe and beyond, Kirillitsa offers an extensive caviar selection (available in 25, 50, 100 and 500 gram portions) ranging in price from 180 yuan to upwards of 26,700 yuan, served with Russian blinis and oladi (fluffy fried mini pancake discs).

Onto the appetizers, plates, like the Smoked Beluga (192 yuan) reference historically-rooted recipes that grew out of necessity. During the 13th century, Russian emperors didn't have refrigerators, so they resorted to other methods, like smoking, as a means of preservation to make it through Russia's brutal winters. As a tip of the hat to that technique, Vikentev marinates the behemoth beluga sturgeon, a fish native to the Caspian and Black Sea basins, in milk then a broth for a total of 36 hours. The fish is then sous vide, sliced, imbued by applewood smoke for a firm yet supple mouthfeel, and perimetered with alternating dots of earthy beetroot miso sauce and herbaceously bright wild sorrel jelly.

Ryazhenka – a sour, baked milk product of Russian, Ukraine and Belarus made with lactic aid fermentation – is the star of the Salted Salmon (188 yuan), a 16th-century dish boasting an overtly funky, umami-forward flavor. Dill-salted salmon is cured with gin, doused in said ryazhenka and finished with fresh raspberries, horseradish gel and salmon roe.

An oxtail "lasagna" of sorts, the Oxtail Kholodets (128 yuan) sees beef slowly simmered over wood so that the collagen releases and forms a gelatin layer. The two layers are combined as one, plated alongside a trip of green herb pesto, horseradish cream and black garlic mustard.

Onto the soup, the Borscht (145 yuan) is not to be missed, a signature of the restaurant, and for good reason. At once rich and indulgent yet light, the borscht base is enhanced by slow-cooked duck, the poultry's fat melting into the stock alongside potato, beetroot, carrot, onion and cabbage for the utmost concentrated flavor. The duck leg meat is cold-smoked and added back as a luscious addition that results in pure comfort your inner babushka longs for. Homemade whipped sour cream and brown butter are served on the side, so diners can choose their preferred level of creaminess.

Equally satisfying, the Siberian Beef Dumplings (185 yuan) feature koji- and buckwheat-aged beef shortrib slow-cooked for 24 hours before being cubed and marinated in beef jus with caramelized onions. That beef and onion umami explosion is then folded into perfectly pleated dumplings swimming in a full-bodied consommé, a tart pop of fresh raspberries cutting through its richness.

The posterchild for meticulous precision, the Pozharsky Cutlet (305 yuan) is Vikentev's take on the famous 19th-century Russian dish consisting of breaded, pan-fried chicken patties, renowned for their extreme juiciness and tender texture. The preparation involves cutting white bread into exact squares, drying them, and then painstakingly placing them (using tweezers) in a checkerboard pattern on all surfaces of said chicken. The cutlet is then fried in clarified butter for a golden brown, crunchy exterior with succulent meat below. Flanked by whipped mashed potatoes and chicken mousse and hazelnut stuffed morels, the plate is finally dribbled in chicken jus.

For dessert, Honey Varieties is a sneak peek at what's to come as part of the set menu that will launch in mid-May. Showcasing honey in a myriad of manners, there's white chocolate honey candy that pops with an explosion of liquid fermented honey and Sichuan peppercorn, it's lip-tingling effect mirroring that of a bee's sting. Then, there's rose jelly-topped honey cake made of buckwheat honey biscuits and mountain honey-laced cream stratum. Finally, a scoop of chamomile ice cream sits below a cloud of citrus espuma dusted in bee pollen and sprayed with Elderflower mist.

Fathom

Opposite Kirillitsa (and connected via an expansive 40-person terrace overlooking the Bund's skyline) is 50-seater Fathom, a seafood-forward concept that pulls together the best seafood from across the globe. The name is a reference to the unit of length (1.8 meters) to measure depth of water. And each menu item indicates the number of fathoms down said sea creature was sourced from. Expect the highest-quality seafood, like Norwegian salmon, Spanish tuna, Chinese red devil shrimp, Russian Kamchatka crab, Antarctic tooth fish, Russian pike roe, and – get this – the largest selection of caviar and champagne in the entire country.

The Menu

The menu is structured by depth (fathoms) rather than traditional courses, whereby high-end seafood and rare caviar make a showing in every item, from bread to appetizers, from soups to vegetables and even to meat-forward mains. Expect to drop about 1,200 yuan per head.

Cold plates span Mackerel (280 yuan), inspired by this accessible fish's availability throughout St Petersburg, where it's a commonplace beerhall snack, when smoked and salted. Here, Vikentev shows its range, elevating it through a sous vide preparation with kombu before blowtorching the skin. Plated above a decadent pistachio sauce and studded with jalapeño gel, this oily fish is finished with micro cilantro and marinated cilantro stems.

Pro tip: The fresh-baked daily seaweed brioche acts as ideal dipping fodder for every last lick of that addicting pistachio sauce, the epitome of scarpetta.

Another cold starter, the Dry-Aged Yellowtail (85 yuan) is torched before being stacked atop a shmear of homemade scallop and fishbone garum (a fermented fish sauce, cleverly dubbed the "ketchup of antiquity" as it was commonly used by the Romans in ancient Greece). Fresh strawberries, briny capers and lemon balm leaves temper the garum's pungency while enhancing yellowtail's inherent sweetness.

Uniquely silken yet simultaneously clean and fresh, the Green Cold Soup (130 yuan) is an earthy emulsion of all that is nourishing, presented in a moat that encircles Russian Kamchatka crab meat and homemade sour cream. Fried arugula, avocado and cucumber form the verdant base, while shellfish oil, crab garum, chervil and oyster leaves lend layers to this rustic indulgence that keeps you lapping until the last drop.

The most prized crustacean, Kamchatka Crab, is the backbone of the Kamchatka Crab Pasta (175 yuan), thick ribbons of egg-yolk, thyme and rosemary pasta strands encircling fresh cherry tomatoes, generous chunks of tender crab meat brightened by flying fish roe. Each individual strand is generously coated in a concentrated shrimp stock finished with a lashing of shrimp oil.

The Asian Pavlova (80 yuan) is a monochromatic sweet finish that is anything but singular in taste. Like a deconstructed tropical colada, this layered dessert begins with kaffir lime zest mousse sheathed by coconut and koji jelly cubes, a pearl of lemongrass sorbet, and shards of merengue sprinkled with sesame seeds. Light, refreshing and tart, it's all one could want out of a paradise pudding.

If you go

Address: 5/F, 201 Hankou Rd (about a 440-meter walk from Exit 2 of East Nanjing Road Metro Station)

汉口路201号5楼(南京东路地铁站二号口步行约440米)