Rubinstein Street (ulitsa Rubinshteyna) is a short street between Nevsky Prospekt and Five Corners (Pyat uglov), where almost every building has a bar, restaurant or café on the ground floor. Locals call it the city's restaurant street: people come here for dinner, cocktails and nights that run until morning. In autumn, when it gets dark early and the embankments are too cold for a stroll, Rubinstein Street becomes the main evening route in the centre.
On 19 October 2026 we checked Yandex Maps and the venues' own websites for eight places of different kinds — from a pasty-and-vodka bar to a cocktail bar and a pub — with their addresses, opening hours and average bills, plus how to book for a Friday and what to see nearby. Hours and prices change, so check the map or website before you go. Payment by card means a Russian bank card: cards issued abroad generally do not work in Russia, so carry cash in roubles.
🌆 How the street works
The street starts at Nevsky Prospekt by the Fontanka and runs to Five Corners, where Zagorodny Prospekt, Razyezzhaya Street and Lomonosova Street meet. Both sides are lined with late-19th and early-20th-century apartment buildings, and practically every ground floor is a bar or restaurant.
Rubinstein Street by day: apartment buildings and venue signs along the pavements — Photo: Florstein, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The easiest plan is to walk from Nevsky towards Five Corners and finish near Dostoyevskaya or Vladimirskaya metro — 300–450 metres from the end of the street, according to Yandex Maps.
🍷 Where to have dinner: from a pastry shop to a gastropub
Schastye ("Happiness", 15-17 Rubinsteina) is a restaurant and pastry shop serving European and Russian food, open from the morning: Mon–Thu 9:00–23:00, Fri 9:00–01:00, Sat 10:00–01:00, Sun 10:00–23:00. The average bill on Yandex Maps is 1,000–1,500 roubles, and there is an English menu. Good for a calm dinner or dessert before a bar.
Waterloo (12 Rubinsteina) is a gastropub: its website promises more than a hundred beers, mussels, burgers and a tank of live seafood. Open daily 12:00–02:00, average bill 2,500–3,000 roubles — one of the priciest on this list.
No. 12 Rubinsteina with the terrace of the Waterloo pub — Photo: Anastasiya Lvova, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Geografiya ("Geography", 5 Rubinsteina) is a bar and restaurant, open Mon–Thu and Sun 14:00–02:00, Fri and Sat until 04:00. Average bill 1,500–2,000 roubles. As of 19 October online booking on its website is paused, so book by phone.
Mollie's (36 Rubinsteina) describes itself as St Petersburg's first Irish pub, open since 1 July 1994. It runs Mon–Thu and Sun 12:00–02:00, Fri and Sat until 03:00, average bill 1,700–2,500 roubles. Tables for the next couple of days are booked by phone only; for dates two or more days ahead, use the form on the website.
🍸 Where to drink: cocktails and bars
Tesla (30 Rubinsteina) is a cocktail bar with a steampunk interior, open Mon–Thu and Sun 14:00–02:00, Fri and Sat until 04:00. Average bill 1,500–2,000 roubles.
Bez Del ("Nothing to Do", 38 Rubinsteina) is a gastrobar with live music, billiards and board games. Open Mon–Thu and Sun 13:00–midnight, Fri and Sat until 02:00. Average bill 1,100–1,500 roubles, a glass of beer from 300, and there is a set lunch.
🥟 Cheap and open till morning
U Larisy ("At Larisa's", 29/28 Rubinsteina) is a chebureki (fried meat pasty) place and shot bar that locals nickname "Larisochnaya". Chebureki, plov, lagman noodles and house infusions; open daily 12:00–06:00. Average bill on Yandex Maps 320–500 roubles, the lowest on the street.
Bekitzer (40/11 Rubinsteina, almost at Five Corners) is a café with Jewish food and a bar counter. Open Mon–Thu 12:00–02:00, Fri until 06:00, Sat and Sun 11:00–06:00. Average bill about 700 roubles, and there is an English menu.
🎭 Nearby: a theatre, the Tolstoy House, Five Corners
The Maly Drama Theatre — Theatre of Europe (MDT) is at 18 Rubinsteina. According to Yandex Maps its box office is open daily 12:00–19:00 with a break from 15:00 to 15:30. Performances are in Russian. A natural evening plan: a play, then dinner on the same street. How to find cheap tickets is covered in our guide St Petersburg theatres: cheap tickets.
The corner building at 18 Rubinsteina, home of the MDT — Theatre of Europe — Photo: Ludvig14, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Tolstoy House (Tolstovsky dom, 54 Fontanka / 15-17 Rubinsteina) is a huge apartment building with a chain of courtyards and arches between the embankment and the street. People live here, it is not a museum: if the gates are open, walk through quietly and don't linger by the entrances.
The courtyard of the Tolstoy House with its arch — Photo: Ludvig14, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
No. 23 houses the Sergei Dovlatov Museum-Apartment; the writer lived on Rubinstein Street. According to Yandex Maps the museum is open daily 10:00–21:00, so you can drop in before dinner. At the end of the street is Five Corners, with the turreted Iofa House on the corner of Rubinsteina and Zagorodny — the neighbourhood's most recognisable view in the evening, when the street lamps come on.
Dovlatov's room in the museum-apartment at 23 Rubinsteina — Photo: Kommunalka1912, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
🧭 Good to know
- On Friday and Saturday after 19:00 popular places fill up — book ahead by phone or on the venue's website.
- Alcohol sales hours differ between bars and shops — see our guide Alcohol in St Petersburg: sales hours.
- Many bars on the street are 18+, and you may be asked for ID — carry your passport.
- After the metro closes, see our guide to St Petersburg's night transport.
- In November it gets dark around 16:30, and in cold or rainy weather outdoor terraces may be closed — expect to sit inside.
- Not for you if: you want quiet — on Fridays the street is loud until morning; you don't like booking — at weekends finding a free table can take a while; you use a wheelchair — many places have steps at the entrance (Yandex Maps marks the entrance as not accessible at Schastye and Bez Del).
📌 In short
✅ Rubinstein Street is the restaurant street from Nevsky Prospekt to Five Corners; the nearest metro stations are Dostoyevskaya and Vladimirskaya.
✅ The cheapest night out is U Larisy (320–500 roubles) or Bekitzer (about 700).
✅ A typical bar or restaurant costs 1,500–2,000 roubles per person; the Waterloo gastropub 2,500–3,000.
✅ Many places stay open until 02:00–06:00, later on Fridays and Saturdays.
✅ Book ahead for the weekend, and nearby look in on the MDT, the Tolstoy House and the Dovlatov museum.
Rubinstein Street makes an easy autumn evening: everything is within five minutes of everything else, indoors and close to the metro. Start at Nevsky, have dinner halfway along and finish at Five Corners. Checked on 19 October 2026 against Yandex Maps and the websites of Schastye, Waterloo, Geografiya, Mollie's, Tesla, U Larisy and Bekitzer.
❓ Questions and answers
How much does an evening on Rubinsteina Street cost?
According to Yandex Maps on 19 October 2026, the average bill on the street ranges from 300–500 roubles at the U Larisy cheburek café and about 700 at Bekitser to 1,500–2,000 at the Geografiya and Tesla bars and 2,500–3,000 at the Waterloo pub.
Do I need to book a table on Rubinsteina on a Friday?
Yes, popular places fill up on Friday and Saturday evenings, so it is best to book ahead by phone or on the venue's website. Mollie's takes bookings for the next few days only by phone, and Geografiya's online booking was suspended as of 19 October, so call them too.
Which metro station is closest to Rubinsteina Street?
The middle and the Five Corners end of the street are 300–450 metres from Dostoevskaya and Vladimirskaya stations (according to Yandex Maps). The start of the street opens onto Nevsky Prospekt by the Fontanka.
Cover photo: Oleg Tokarev, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
