Taste of Volgograd: kick-off summer on the Volga River with these local eateries and bars

Voronka coffee house

This is one of the few places in Volgograd where real coffee addicts will feel at home: the words Chemex, Hario and Aeropress won’t be lost on the baristas. Grab a sandwich or dessert to go with your coffee.

10 Komsomolskaya Street

Beefy Burger

Compact burger restaurant Beefy Burgers is indebted to Brutalism. The rough interior features bright red chairs, heavy wooden tables, and even chains hanging from the roof. There are 12 burgers on the menu, including the American Сlassic with beef burger and bacon, the Diablo with beef burger, jalapeno pepper, and fresh vegetables, and the aptly named Monstro, which is served with two beef burgers, feta cheese and an onion ring. The burgers are prepared in-house from marbled beef, and you can choose how rare you want them. Visit on an empty stomach.

9 Raboche-Krestyan​

Alyaska Bar

One of the city’s standouts bars. But some of the standard craft brews you may expect have been left off the menu because this is a place for followers of a new school of brewing. The bar’s owner, Stanislav, advises starting off with an IPA, but if you’re willing to take the risk you can try BrewDog’s AB:14, an oak aged imperial Weizenbock, or Birrificio del Ducato’s barley wine, which is matured in steel vats.

13 V.I. Lenin Street

Soyuz ryumochnaya

This small but authentic ryumochnaya (old-fashioned vodka bar) embodies the Soviet style: high ceilings worthy of Stalinist skyscrapers, walls plastered with agitprop posters and socialist realist artwork, and lampshades that wouldn’t look out of place in your grandma’s house. There is a wide selection of beer and vodka, and a snack menu that recalls the table spreads of a bygone era: black bread served with salo (cured and seasoned pig fat), mustard, sprats and pickled vegetables. It’s a no-frills offering that promises to bulldoze your tastebuds. Bring a large and boisterous crowd to soak up the atmosphere of Soviet apartment gatherings, and a good time will be had by all.

6 7th Gvardeyskoy Street

Ballet bar and kitchen

When Ballet opened it answered a burning question among Volgograd locals: “Where can I go to dance to techno?” This new and spacious place, cut down the middle by a long table, offers everything dance lovers could hope for: namely more than enough space to move and good acoustics. Electronic and techno DJs perform here regularly, and the bar staff are friendly.

4 Komsomolskaya Street

So So Coffee coffee house

The city’s first espresso bar, opened by four friends with a shared love of coffee. The loft space, complete with Edison bulbs and paintings by contemporary artists on the walls, is reminiscent of a gallery space. The cafe also has great special offers, including 100 ruble takeaway coffee for students and master classes in the art of serviette drawing and public lectures on urbanism. The strawberry latte and heavenly pear raf (a style of espresso whipped with milk and cream) are not to be missed. Stop by at So So Coffee on your way to the legendary Volgograd Planetarium, which is a two minute walk from the coffee shop.

26 Mira Street

Druzya bar

This bar has long been a favourite haunt of locals looking for somewhere to dance to their favourite group, craft beer in hand, or sit back with a glass of red wine and enjoy a jazz concert. Everything about the place is indebted to industrialism in one way or another — whether it’s the bare bulbs above the bar, the exposed brick, or the jet black walls and ceilings.

4 Komsomolskaya Street