CULTURE

Pass it on

Secrets // 5 Ulitsa Rubenshteina, Tel: 740 1820 // Open daily from 1pm until the last customer leaves // Menu in Russian, English and Italian // Dinner for two with alcohol 3,050 rubles ($105)

By Sasha de Vogel

Special to The St. Petersburg Times

Everyone knows that the best part about having secrets is sharing them, and Secrets is an ideal restaurant for those who take their gossip seriously. Soft lighting and relaxing music create the perfect setting for a long, juicy conversation over dinner, while the partitioned main dining room and cozy banquettes offer a more intimate experience for diners seeking privacy. Puzzlingly, the otherwise mellow and sophisticated atmosphere is marred by several large paintings clearly inspired by pornography and space travel—perhaps meant to inspire fodder for future gossip sessions.

Believers of the adage, In vino veritas, will be pleased by the comprehensive wine list with bottles priced between 1,500 and 14,000 rubles ($51-$480) a bottle, with several options available by the glass that are priced more reasonably. As beer was priced rather steeply at 200 rubles ($6.90) for a Carlsberg, wine seemed overwhelmingly to be the libation of choice. Unfortunately, a glass of Cote du Rhone (350 rubles a glass, $12) was served so cold that it was almost impossible to taste.

Although the menu claims that Secrets offers a marriage between an “intimate understanding of Italian cuisine” and “the authenticity of [the] ancient Lebanese kitchen,” the majority of the offerings were classic Italian fare. The familiar favorites vacillated from traditional to boring, but consistently relied on the freshest ingredients. A dash of Lebanese influence would have been a welcome addition.

The selection of appetizers was the high point of the meal. Piping hot and oozing cheese, the eggplant Parmesan at 300 rubles ($10) is the perfect comfort food for a cold day, and the portion was easily large enough to satisfy as a main course. A mozzarella salad (350 rubles, $12) paired a generous portion of tender mozzarella with tomato and basil and would make a perfect starter for two or three people to share. The sound of pounding from the kitchen proved that the beef Carpaccio, 400 rubles ($14), was as freshly prepared as it tasted. Delicate yet rich, it made for an ideal carnal indulgence. The menu also includes several meat and cheese platters priced around 400 rubles ($14).

After such satisfying, well-executed appetizers, the entrees proved disappointing. The meat and mushroom cannelloni for 400 rubles ($14) that we chose from a wide selection of pastas and risottos, was presented atop of a drizzled puddle of sauces that resembled a curdled Italian flag. Bereft of cheese and tomato sauce, the slippery pasta tubes and cold, bland ground beef filling tasted as perplexingly slimy as they looked. Noting our displeasure, the waitress tactfully removed them.

In the interest of exploring the Lebanese side of Secrets, we opted for kebabs with hummus and vegetables at 550 rubles ($19) over the assortment of pizzas (around 400 rubles, $14), the veal cutlets (850 rubles, $30) or the sea bass (1,100 rubles, $38). Though the hummus was missing, the three grilled nuggets of ground beef were served with lavash and were juicy and well-seasoned, and ironically accompanied by a warm tomato sauce which may have benefited the inedible cannelloni.

Appropriately for an establishment devoted to bacchanalia, the dessert menu at Secrets is lengthy. Our attentive and helpful waitress informed us that all the desserts are prepared in-house and suggested the creme brulee at 150 rubles ($5), done Italian-style with a dash of Sambuca. The licorice twist was an enticing addition to a classic dessert and left a much-needed pleasant aftertaste in our mouths.

More stories by this section:

The sound of Britain | The word’s worth | Casting a shadow | A struggle that bore fruit

Or take part in the discussion below.