Ginza Project

INTERBUSINESS. Tiffany’s Cafe.

Tiffany’s Café was opened on July 27, 2007 — one of the most fashionable and successful cafes in Saint-Petersburg. One of its owners, Vadim Lapin considers doing everything rightly, recognizing mistakes in time and getting an insight into the matter to be the key things to success in restaurant business.

Culinary specialist at his best Being a true restaurant keeper, Vadim Lapin eats heartily and looks very fit at the same time, as required.

Vadim Lapin and Dmitry Sergeyev have already acquired quite an experience in restaurant business before opening Tiffany’s Café. Ginza, Jelsomino, La Terrassa, Japoshka appeared some time ago and attracted public’s attention. To call the café Tiffany’s Café was Dmitry’s idea, which is sure to have been evoked by the film “Breakfast at Tiffany” with Odry Hepburn staring in it.

— At first, it stumbled me a little, — Vadim says, -I’m quite conservative by nature and was against: why to call our café this way? Moreover, a certain jewelry firm with nearly the same name has been in existence for some time has been in existence. But the name in this case would mean a style of that time and a hint to a luxury level that we wanted to bring in. Dmitry proved to be right: everyone has liked the name Tiffany’s Café. He has always been good at inventing — he can guess and as a rule hits the mark.

According to Vadim Lapin’s words, their very first restaurant project was thought as a sushi bar. It took a long time to open it and the restaurant didn’t inspire them at all.

- The whole thing wasn’t the way we wanted it to be, clients were scarce. We were not thinking of working in restaurant business. Than we thought it over and found what mistakes were, and started to build it up as a system. By the time Tiffany’s Café was due to be opened, the whole system had been adjusted and working. Our enterprise got known in just three month not only to its superb cuisine and posh interior. The principle of knowing the holders and being assured started to work: it’s going to be splendid, we’ve already visited some of their restaurants.

Te café justifies guests’ hopes — many come specially to have breakfast (not only dinner or supper. Wonderful porridges, cottage cheese, cheese pan-cakes, stuffed pan-cakes are offered here.

— A lot of guests, — Vadim says. — Everyone knows what excellent cooks work here! Our breakfasts, diners and suppers are known to taste truly home-made.

Deciding the interior of the café the holders bet on the luxury and beauty. There’s a lot of gold and red color of the most exquisite shade in the furnishing and decoration which easily picks up your mood in the mornings, it is pompous in the daylight and sets you on fire in the evening.

The red we’ve used is the color of wellbeing and luxury, — Vadim says. — We meant our interior to create an atmosphere. One of the most important things in a restaurant is its cuisine, servicing is as important, but what values most is its atmosphere, individuality, charisma. “Tiffany’s” individuality and excellent taste exceeds all expectations! The chandeliers from murrain red glass look museum and have been brought from Venice. The chairs with the rose-shaped back remind you of the palace furniture and have been bought at an exhibition in Florence. These hand–made chairs are carved according to our special order at the plant “Alchemists” which encounts many centuries of work. We pride ourselves on our tea-things being manufactured at LPP (ЛФЗ). The furniture is highly expensive — which is noticeable, — Vadim says. — I strongly believe, when such exclusive things become a little frayed at elbow-rests, it can only make them truly vintage ones.

The concept of vintage suits Tiffany’s Café best. Each detail in this Italian café reminds of Italy, even the guests’ behavior changes becoming more relaxed and cheerful.

Italy itself and traveling round it are Vadim Lapin’s hobbies. He started to work with Italians from the beginning of 90s and immediately liked their way of life. He takes his family to Italy each year; he enjoys cooking national specialties together with the host.

— They’ve got a good taste, they greatly appreciate beauty and we’re very similar — the same mentality. They value their families, children, friends, relations and acquaintances. A word “friend” equals to Russian understanding of such. You know, Italians built Saint-Petersburg. Those who were to build Saint-Pete were to be Italians inevitably.

Italian restaurant business has its own story. The majority of the restaurants have been kept by families for many years or even centuries. Italian people regard a restaurant as a venue for personal contacts that anyone visits not less than 3 -4 times a week (Fridays and Saturdays — definitely). A business is run by husband and wife or by brothers who pass on their recipes to their successors.

A menu may consist of 5 or 6 items — 3 hot dishes and 3 hors d’oeuvre — the level of cooking has been maintained through many years, so can’t just drop in, you have to boob in advance.

— I happened to be in one butcher’s restaurant on Adriatic, it’s existed for 150 years; the menu is still on the wooden plates as they used to have 2 centuries ago. People from all round the world prefer to go there not only to have something to eat. It is classics they go for, — Lapin says.

Vadim Lapin chooses to have breakfast with his family doing justice to his wife’s culinary efforts.

— Ukrainian women make best wives, — he complements his wife. — Beautiful, thrifty and cook tasty.

Vadim confesses that he has always been surrounded by women who cook amazingly — wife, mother and grandmother. He is also keen on cooking but after having tasted substantial amounts he pays much attention to gong in for sports.

— Restaurant business is a hard job. How can I say anything to the chef without tasting his cuisine?

Vadim Lapin and Dmitry Sergeev invited Antonio- the chef of Tiffany’s Café -from Italy. They asked their friends to recommend a good cook and brought him to the city during an enchanting period of white night into cold Russia.

— He doesn’t know jet what frost, snow and rain are in here! — Vadim laughs. — We had to dodge a little... We brought Antonio to Saint-Pete in the end of May, in the hottest tourist period.

The secret of a good restaurant according to Vadim Lapin consists of trifles but he doesn’t seem to be rushing to reveal them. There is another principle a kind of advice to beginners: you shouldn’t open a restaurant out of our whims. It needs to be done for people.