Davydov's Restaurant

Categories / City Services/Restaurants, Cafes, Cafeterias
DAVYDOV'S RESTAURANT (7 Vladimirsky Avenue), opened in the 1860s by entrepreneur I. B. Davydov. Among St. Petersburgers it was known as "Davydka", or "Capernaum" (according to one version of the story, the latter name was invented by its habitue, writer V.A. Sleptsov). The entrance to the first hall came right from the street. There, without taking off their overcoats, visitors could have a drink and snack at the counter (a small glass of vodka and a patty cost 3 kopeks). In the second hall, pressmen, literati, booksellers, and others gathered around a long table (among the visitors were N.S. Leskov, S.N. Terpigorev, A.N. Maykov, A.A. Plescheev, D.N. Mamin-Sibiryak and others). А.I. Kuprin depicted Davydov's Restaurant in his short story, Staff-Captain Rybnikov. After October 1917, the restaurant was closed down; now it houses the Green-Cross Cafe and Bistro.

Reference: Алянский Ю. Л. Увеселительные заведения старого Петербурга. СПб., 1996. С. 69-70.

I. A. Bogdanov. Davydov Ivan Borisovich
Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich
Leskov Nikolay Semenovich
Mamin-Sibiryak (real name Mamin) Dmitry Narkisovich
Maykov Apollon Nikolaevich
Pleshcheev Alexander Alexeevich
Pleshcheev Alexey Nikolaevich
Sleptsov Vasily Alexeevich
Terpigorev Sergey Nikolaevich
Vladimirsky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 7
Алянский Ю. Л. Увеселительные заведения старого Петербурга. СПб., 1996