At PMI Sky Bar at Pulkovo Airport, it’s easy to forget about your plane - even the bar stools here are more like velvet armchairs and invite you to sit for a long time and in style. But there is no need to be afraid: this is a VIP zone, they will certainly come for you and escort you to board. The ideological inspirer of the establishment, Yuri Golovanov, admits that he did not expect such an effect, he just wanted to make it cozy, as if for himself.

GUIDE: How did PMI Bar settle in Pulkovo?

YURY GOLOVANOV : One of the airport managers visited our restaurant on the Moika embankment, tried the original cuisine from Ivan Berezutsky, recognized as the best young chef in St. Petersburg, appreciated the presentation of the dishes and the attitude towards the guests, after which we received an offer to participate in the competition to open a bar in VIP -zone. This is a logistically difficult place; due to the high requirements for the establishment, none of the major operators in the city were in a hurry to occupy it. We made up our minds, won and started settling in.

G: Did you start directly with the bar?

Y.G.: There were bare concrete walls, so the first thing we did was add a partition to isolate our small restaurant from the hustle and bustle. After all, some people have an overnight flight, others need to concentrate and work; in fact, the VIP zone involves getting rid of tedious procedures and getting quality rest before the flight. But they didn’t make any partitions inside, it turned out to be a single space. Back when my partner Evgeniy Finkelshtein and I were creating the PMI Bar restaurant on the Moika, we approached this process as if we were renovating our own apartment. It was the same here: we personally participated in the development of the concept, the interior was created by professional designers, but with our direct participation, in order to provide for all the little details. Evgeniy flies often, he has extensive experience waiting in VIP areas of different airports around the world, so he acted as the main consultant on comfort, because when you put something through yourself, you get something real and worthwhile. And I, although I am not an artist or a designer, can appreciate beautiful things and then combine them into a single picture. I chose what I like myself. Just like Evgeniy chooses wine for our establishments, the wine list always contains items from his personal collection. The calm combination of colors and textures is partly my idea. Also, for example, I saw pictures of turbine blades from my friends in the Yellow Korner photography gallery and realized that they would be ideal here both in theme and in spirit. All the furniture is made in the designer’s workshop according to the author’s sketches - this is actually a one-piece, non-standard work. The bar stools were made soft, a place was provided where you could put a bag, only natural fabrics were used, and for the tabletops, on the contrary, a modern durable wood-like material was used that does not leave scratches. By the way, the technical specifications for the bar - the best professional equipment, sufficient distance from the counter to the shelves, their individual heights, and so on - were given by the bartenders themselves, because only they know how it is more convenient for them to serve visitors. This approach is a consequence of experience. At first, in the first restaurant, the bar and I made a big deal: we made it too small, and then we had to enlarge it.

G: So the bar wall with bottles is not there by chance? Very reminiscent of your restaurant on the Moika.

Yu.G.: Yes, we wanted to emphasize that this is PMI Bar, both establishments have the same concept. It is important that all employees worked in our main restaurant, and some still work in shifts, a week there, a week there. Therefore, we can vouch for the high level of service and dishes - even the simplest ones are prepared by masters of haute cuisine.

G: The interior turned out to be laconic, restrained, will you complement it? Or is this the point: nothing extra for the trip?

Yu.G.: It’s like a living room at home: if you get tired of something, you’ll redo it, if it’s missing, you’ll add it, if it’s not working well, you’ll fix it. As for brevity... Since the main activity of the PMI corporation is organizing concerts, 90% of the artists who come to the city use the VIP terminal. Philip Kirkorov, Nikolai Baskov, Timati, Vera Brezhneva, the entire Turetsky choir and many other stars visited the bar. PMI establishments are, in principle, associated with the luxury segment, and this, unfortunately, scares off other visitors. And we would like to increase the audience. To understand: a hot meal in our restaurant costs from 500 rubles - this is the price of an average restaurant in the city! And it’s easy to get into the VIP zone: it doesn’t matter what class ticket you have, just leave a request on the website and pay extra. Moreover, the VIP zone is often used not only by those departing, but also by those who are expecting them, and flights are sometimes delayed or rescheduled. We wanted comfort to extend to everything from the seating to the prices on the menu.

G: Speaking of the menu, I see your famous brick-shaped chocolate cake, but what else delicious can you try here?

Yu. G.: Let me emphasize: tasty and healthy. VIP clients take care of themselves, their figure, and are focused on a healthy lifestyle. And before a flight, we all usually want something light and fresh, for example, a smoothie made from ginger and strawberries or pears and basil - unusual but interesting combinations. To make air travel easier, we recommend oxygen cocktails; We also have berry cocktails. The bar is integrated into the airport system; it is not possible to provide a full cycle here, and we do not see such a need: one of the main requirements for such establishments is the speed of preparation and serving of dishes. In addition to the classic breakfast 24 hours a day, the menu includes some hits of restaurant cuisine: rap with duck, rap with shrimp, chicken liver pate, salad with smoked eel, but, frankly, our guests are not such gourmets.

G: How so, VIP clients and not gourmets?

Yu.G.: Yes, often they want something familiar, homemade to be prepared for them. This desire is understandable: if a significant part of your life is taken up by touring or business trips, then it is difficult to eat exclusively smoked, grilled, exclusive foods. The most respectable male businessmen sometimes order not bruschetta, but a sandwich with sausage, asking if we have dumplings, for example, and if we can cook pasta and just add butter and cheese to it? We fulfill all such requests if there is enough time before their flight. And this is normal: in a restaurant of this level you should get what you want: both haute cuisine and something extremely simple.

Guests say we have some of the best airport coffee - in the world! We brew the same composition - three varieties of Arabica and a little Robusta - at the PMI Bar restaurant on Moika. Everyone knows how important delicious coffee is when traveling. Things often start with a cup of coffee.

G: And yet, your restaurant is, by definition, haute cuisine. Is placing it at an airport where everyone is in a hurry an unconventional solution?

Yu.G.: There is no need to rush in the VIP zone, there is a rhythm here, and every step is thought out. And the solution fits well with the trend - maximum expansion of the comfort zone. But, of course, our guests don’t think about it, they just feel it and, I hope, appreciate it. We tried to create a natural and pleasant extension of a spacious apartment, a cozy restaurant in the city center, a well-designed shopping center, a fashion salon, in a word, a place where everything is done for a person. Otherwise, our restaurant could not qualify for the VIP prefix.

G: You opened the season at PMI Bar on Moika with a new name, inviting a chef from Estonia. Will this somehow affect the menu at the airport restaurant?

Yu.G.: Yes, at the beginning of October we presented a new menu in the main restaurant created by Vlad Korpusov - in my opinion, one of the most promising young chefs in St. Petersburg today. Vlad is currently working on the concept of a new menu for guests of the VIP zone of Pulkovo, which will appear in the next month.

Svetlana Khamatova

Waiting for the flight