Palkin Restaurants

Categories / City Services/Restaurants, Cafes, Cafeterias
PALKIN RESTAURANTS. Several Petersburg restaurants, owned by members of the Palkin merchant family. In 1785, A.S. Palkin, a native of Yaroslavl, opened a tavern under his name in St. Petersburg . On 1 February 1808, Palkin was opened at 5 Nevsky Prospect. In the 1830s, P.V. Palkin (1792-1855) ran a restaurant at the corner of Nevsky Prospect and Bolshaya Sadovaya Street, opposite the Gostiny Dvor; the restaurant's sign (Staropalkin) is captured in the Nevsky Prospect Panorama by V.S. Sadovnikov. In 1850, K.P. Palkin (1820-1886) opened a restaurant at 76 Nevsky Prospect (Novopalkin). Ground floor windows were adorned with stained-glass depicting scenes from Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris; inside was a fountain and pots with exotic plants; in the centre of the hall was a pool with live sterlet sturgeon; the Cavalry Guard Regiment Orchestra, as well as many famous actors, performed at the restaurant. Many important cultural figures dined there, including N.V. Gogol, N.A. Nekrasov, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (who wrote about it in Gospoda Tashkenttsy), and I.I. Panaev; poets L.A. Mey and N.F. Scherbina; and actors V.A. Karatygin and A.E. Martynov. On 8 September 1874, K.P. Palkin opened a restaurant in his own building at 47 Nevsky Prospect (rebuilt in 1873-74, architect A.K. Keiser). The new restaurant was set on two floors, featured 25 halls and dining rooms (the number of employees exceeded 100 people). Many important literary figures gathered in a private room specially reserved for them, including F. M. Dostoevsky, A.P. Chekhov, A.F. Koni, I.A. Bunin, and A.I. Kuprin. On 27 December 1885, the centenary of the Palkin firm was celebrated there. In 1890, the restaurant was leased for twenty years to V.I. Solovyev; in 1910, he became its owner. In 1904, some interiors were remodelled (architect B.I. Konetsky), and Italian opera singers gave performances in the reconstructed concert hall; in 1909, an orchestra of harp-players performed there. In 1917, the premises were taken over by the Riga Bank of Commerce. In 1922, the restaurant resumed its work. In 1924, the Titan Cinema Theatre was opened on the restaurant’s premises. In 1925, the establishment was closed down again. In 2002, Palkin was opened again on the same premises.

Reference: Алексеев И. Рестораны Палкина // Новый журн. 2002. № 4. С. 78-100.

I. A. Bogdanov. Bunin Ivan Alexeevich
Chekhov Anton Pavlovich
Dostoevsky Fedor Mikhailovich
Gogol Nikolay Vasilievich
Hugo Victor-Marie
Karatygin Vasily Andreevich
Keiser Andrey Karlovich
Konetsky Viktor Viktorovich
Koni Anatoly Fedorovich
Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich
Martynov Alexander Evstafievich
Mey Lev Alexandrovich
Nekrasov Nikolay Alexeevich
Palkin A.S.
Palkin Konstantin Pavlovich
Palkin Pavel V.
Panaev Ivan Ivanovich
Sadovnikov Vasily Semenovich
Saltykov-Shchedrin (real name Saltykov) Mikhail Evgrafovich
Shcherbin Nikolay Fedorovich
Solovyev V.I .
Nevsky prospect/Saint Petersburg, city, house 47
Nevsky prospect/Saint Petersburg, city, house 5
Nevsky prospect/Saint Petersburg, city, house 76
Sadovaya St./Saint Petersburg, city
Богданов И. А. Ресторан "Палкинъ". СПб., 2003 1808