KIRA RESTAURANT

A large-scale project with Mediterranean roots from the Jerome team or a gastronomic dolce vita.

In February 2025, the Jerome restaurant celebrated its ninth anniversary, and as a gift to itself and the city, the team prepared a new project—KIRA RESTAURANT. The location for KIRA was chosen with great care: 1000 square meters in the city center, on Kirochnaya Street, in a historic building that was once the first Russian album printing factory owned by Samuel Behl. Like Jerome, KIRA is a project of the Galerie 46 group of companies, which has been a guide to the world of good taste for St. Petersburg residents for almost 20 years. The company's main activity is premium interior design and the representation of leading international furniture brands on the Russian market. However, since 2016, the company has developed a new direction—gastronomy. The first restaurant project of Galerie 46 was Jerome, which has earned a reputation as one of the best restaurants in St. Petersburg in nine years. And in 2025, KIRA will continue this gastronomic journey. While Jerome has been and remains a purely Italian project throughout its history, KIRA, due to its scale, plans to encompass the entire Mediterranean region. In addition to Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, and Greece, the menu will feature dishes from Turkey, Lebanon, and Morocco, which will make the restaurant's flavor palette richer and more diverse. Globalization has done its part, and today this region is a large and colorful mosaic made up of many cultures and flavors, where the gastronomic traditions of the Middle East and the cuisine of Southern Europe have merged into a single whole. The kitchen at KIRA is headed by Pavel Tsiklinksy, who began his career at Jerome as a sous chef in the team of Antonio Frezza, then became the head chef, and now he heads both projects, but in the role of brand chef. Pavel spent his first years as a chef working alongside renowned Italian colleagues who were regularly invited to Jerome to develop the project. Under their guidance, he honed his skills and became an advocate for uncompromisingly high-quality products, pure flavors, and impeccably prepared classics, which, no matter what happens, will never go out of style. Despite the fact that the waves of the Mediterranean Sea wash the shores of 21 countries, the menu at KIRA promises to be concise and to take only the best from each of them: raw seafood, pasta, risotto, and flavorful dishes from the Middle East. Each section is overseen by outstanding chefs! The Italian section (risotto with Tuscan salami and ravioli with white fish!) was developed by the star chef Pasquale Palamaro, who visited Jerome at the end of 2024, inspired the team, and shared family recipes. The Greek section is curated by Aggelos and Olga Bakopoulos—a husband-and-wife chef team from Mykonos, who in February 2025 not only trained the staff but also brought an authentic Greek flavor to the menu—we are waiting for octopus stew and Greek-style chicken. The Eastern notes in the menu are the work of Jawad Rahali, a young Moroccan chef recognized as "Talent of the Year-2023." We are preparing to try lamb tagine with prunes and almonds and beef liver with Moroccan spices. The menu is planned to be updated regularly, taking into account the geography and seasons, as well as hosting themed evenings and weeks to introduce guests to the traditions of individual countries. In line with Jerome, KIRA will also have its own gastronomic shop with meat delicacies, rare cheeses, olives, pastries, desserts, and freshly baked bread. Here you can always find everything you need for home cooking experiments, assemble antipasti before dinner with friends, or buy ready-made dishes. The wine and cocktail lists at KIRA were created by Ekaterina Yatsenko, a well-known guest of Jerome, a multiple winner of the "What to Eat in St. Petersburg" award in the "Best Sommelier" category, and Pavel Bochenkov, the head bartender who previously headed the bar of the cult restaurant CoCoCo and the eco-trendy Bio My Bio. Continuing the concept of the main menu, the wine list features unique wines for our market alongside European winemaking leaders. From Lebanon and Syria, Chateau Musar and Domaine Bargylus will arrive, from Greece—various samples from the Assirtiko and Xinomavro grape varieties to Recina, an originally Greek and distinctive-style grape variety, as well as wines from the islands and volcanic soils. Classic wines from well-known European regions are paired with non-standard and unusual winemakers—Domaine des Ardoisières from Savoie, Frank Cornelissen from the slopes of Mount Etna, and Domaine Henri Naudin—Ferrand from Burgundy. Champagne and sparkling wines are selected to suit every taste: from small producers to the world-renowned Dom Perignon, Ruinart, and the cult, rare Frederic Savart and Jacques Selosse. A separate, extensive section will be dedicated to Russian wines: Vinodelnya Krinitsa, Pavel Shvets, Galitskiy and Galitskiy, Nikolaev and Sons, and many others. Special attention is paid to the wine-by-the-glass selection, which includes not only basic wines but also expensive and rare ones. In addition, a special section, Sommelier Selection, is planned to be updated regularly. The cocktail list is no exception, and its format can be compared to a journey along the Mediterranean coast, during which the character, style, and taste of the drinks change, similar to the countries seen. The Galerie 46 team entrusted the design project for KIRA to Ksenia Smirnova, whose portfolio includes many iconic restaurants in St. Petersburg and Moscow. The industrial architecture of the factory dictated a restrained style using natural textures of wood, concrete, and black metal, softened by matte plaster walls, velvet furniture, and live plants. Marble and works of art are combined with handcrafted clay decor and delicate handmade chandeliers, and the interior itself serves as a suitable and calm backdrop, allowing you to focus on food and conversation and not be distracted by anything else. At the entrance to the restaurant, guests are greeted by an impressive installation—an overturned and suspended fishing boat that serves as a large chandelier, and the cloakroom is decorated with an author's panel on the theme of the sea, created by a local textile designer, Natalia Nagibina. Collaboration with local artisans played a significant role in the design of the project. For example, the flower pots were hand-painted by talented students from the Stieglitz Academy, and the unique design of the tablecloths was developed in collaboration with friends of the project—the brand "Krestetskaya Strochka." Next to the branded plates on the tables are utensils from Broggi, a Milan-based supplier of tableware for the Italian king. Decanters and glassware were chosen from the Italian company Italesse and the young French brand Sydonios, whose glasses are blown by hand by Bohemian glassblowers and are known for their most accurate transmission of wine characteristics. Vintage items for the interior were carefully selected from antique shops in Europe and St. Petersburg. Most restaurants in the city center are compact, and sometimes even miniature, but KIRA has space not only for tables but also for the space between them. The restaurant has 4 rooms and 170 seats, to which 80 more seats will be added in the warm season on the summer terrace. Proper zoning allows you to transform individual rooms into separate spaces for private events, closed celebrations, and business conferences. There is also a convenient children's room, which will not let young guests get bored and will allow their parents to have a quiet dinner. A cigar room will be designed to the highest standards for those who enjoy tobacco. And guests with pets can be sure that KIRA, like Jerome, will always be dog-friendly. KIRA is an ambitious project carried out by an experienced team that sees it not just as a restaurant, but as a new center of attraction—with tastings, wine dinners, tours of famous chefs, master classes, and performances for young audiences, and in the summer—with barbecue parties and concerts on the terrace. The traditional Italian hospitality, impeccable service, and constant attention to the guest, which have become hallmarks of Jerome, will also be present here. After all, no matter how different these projects may seem, they grew up within one big and loving family.