There's something a little schizophrenic about the concept of La Perla Fish House, a small and cozy restaurant on Ulitsa Marata with quaint maritime decorations, which takes its name (literally meaning "sailor's quiet") from a notorious prison in Moscow. Certainly, it does not immediately declare its hand as one of St. Petersburg's most highly rated (and highly expensive) eateries.
Open for well over a decade, La Perla Fish House is a fish and seafood restaurant supplied with fresh ingredients direct from France twice a week, making it arguably the best place in the city for lobster or oysters, of which there is a huge choice. The menu is mostly classic French cuisine, although local fish, reindeer steaks and northern berries give local colour to some dishes, and everything is prepared with a simplicity that relies on the quality of the ingredients.
Some may find the combination of the relaxed, rather informal atmosphere and high prices incongruous, but for others it's reassuring to believe that the money you're spending is indeed going on the food you eat and little else. Service is, nonetheless, exemplary.
