Salty

Authentic Greece with a surfer vibe, featuring classic Greek and Mediterranean dishes on the menu.

The second project from restaurateur Natalia Semenyuk (22BISTRO) takes its name from international surfer slang: the phrase "be salty" or "stay salty" translates to "stay salty, cool, and true to the sea." The Greek restaurant Salty, located at Mirgorodskaya 20, on the first floor of the Grand House residential complex, lives up to its maritime theme. Chef Olesya Drobot ("EM"), who is known for her respect for the quality of ingredients and her desire to surprise guests with both flavor and intellectual stimulation, was brought in to develop the culinary concept and bring it to life.

"Of course, when you're in a familiar culinary environment, the dishes taste natural. When you move them to a new geographical context, when you transplant them to different soil, they sound different, and I will take the St. Petersburg context into account," says Olesya Drobot. "The St. Petersburg audience is sophisticated, in a good way, spoiled. They love mysteries, unconventional approaches, and 'unique' elements."

The menu features classic Greek and Mediterranean dishes: Avgolemono chicken soup (690 rubles) with chickpeas and lemon, an octopus hot dog (1490 rubles) with a secret signature sauce, Saganaki shrimp (1190 rubles) baked with feta cheese, lamb kleftiko (slow-cooked lamb) with potatoes, olives, charred lemon, feta cheese, and yogurt, as well as a variety of meze (small appetizers). A signature touch to the Greek specialties will be a variety of homemade salts, mixed with herbs, spices, and oils. The lemon tart with baklava (650 rubles), featuring a lemon-cream filling, a crispy phyllo crust, and plenty of honey, is poised to become a bestseller on the dessert menu.

The baking is overseen by renowned St. Petersburg baker Maxim Babich. At Salty, you can try several types of bread, Provençal fougasse (a flatbread), a variety of pitas, and small bread starters for appetizers, all made by Maxim and his team. There will also be classic pastries like croissants and pain au chocolat.

"There will be many unsweetened items, because for us, Greek cuisine is primarily about savory food," says Maxim Babich about the collaboration. "We promise to play with visuals and taste buds: we will use non-traditional types of salt, olives, tapenades, and various Mediterranean spreads in the baking – for example, tomatoes, anchovies. There will also be open pastries like Danish pastries with different flavors. And of course, we will not overlook traditional Greek pastries: we will have boureki, tiropita, kapunina, and padzaropita."

The restaurant, which seats 48 people, is designed with inspiration from ancient Greek culture, its famous architectural masterpieces, the ruins of ancient temples, and the warm, genuine hospitality of seaside taverns.

Salty will have several lighting schemes: a cozy and subdued atmosphere in the evenings, and maximum use of natural light during the day, thanks to the architecture of the space and the large windows that fill the restaurant with sunlight.

The arched vaults, rough uneven walls, terracotta tiles, and a column in the center of the room are an elegant tribute to Greek culture. The philosophy of Salty is to be inspired by and interpret, rather than imitate, in everything from the cuisine to the design.

A key visual element of the dining room is a custom-made communal glass table. The unusual glass tabletop, hand-painted and baked in multiple layers, creates a mesmerizing effect of caustics on the floor and walls of the restaurant when illuminated. The soothing illusion of gentle waves of the Aegean Sea in the heart of a northern seaside metropolis – a sincere Greek greeting to St. Petersburg.