Quisisana Restaurants

Categories / City Services/Restaurants, Cafes, Cafeterias
QUISISANA, the name of two restaurants located on Nevsky Prospect in the early 20th century. The first one was opened at 43 Nevsky Prospect in the early 1900s by entrepreneur Sartori on the first floor of the apartment building belonging to Grand Prince Sergey Alexandrovich (1900, architect A.V. Kaschenko), which was closed down in May 1914 for not paying the rent. Today, the building houses the Sea Gifts Store (some of the early 20th century interiors have been preserved). The second restaurant was opened in the 1900s at 46 Nevsky Prospect, in the St. Petersburg Department of Moscow Merchants’ Bank Building (1901-02, architect L.N. Benois). In the 1900s-1910s, F.Sologub, A.A. Blok, G.I. Chulkov and other literati made their appearances here. In the 1910s, the restaurant featured an automat buffet visited mainly by students and intellectuals who were not very rich. During the Siege of 1941-44, the restaurant functioned as a cafeteria. Since the late 1940s, the premises of the buffet housed the Teatralnoe (Theatre) Cafe. In 1961, the building of the former bank was totally reconstructed, and the first Leningrad shopping centre was built there, including the Neva Restaurant, the Nord Cafe (later Sever Cafe) and a confectioner's shop. Today, the building houses the Hollywood Club and Casino and a shopping centre.

Reference: Ангаров Ю. "Квисисана" // Новые петербургские трущобы: Очерки столич. жизни. СПб., [1909]. Вып. 1. С. 11-17.

I. A. Bogdanov. Benois Leonty Nikolaevich
Blok G.P.
Chulkov Georgy Ivanovich
Kashchenko Alexander Vasilievich
Sartori
Sergey Alexandrovich, Grand Prince
Sologub Fedor (real name Teternikov Fedor Kuzmich)
Nevsky prospect/Saint Petersburg, city, house 43
Nevsky prospect/Saint Petersburg, city, house 46
Sever Cafe