{"id":7213,"date":"2022-08-13T12:10:23","date_gmt":"2022-08-13T10:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/?p=7213"},"modified":"2022-08-14T14:42:20","modified_gmt":"2022-08-14T12:42:20","slug":"london-pub-kaliningrad-best-pub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/london-pub-kaliningrad-best-pub\/","title":{"rendered":"London Pub Kaliningrad Best Pub not in London"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Mick Hart reviews the London Pub (Pub London) Kaliningrad<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Published: 14 August 2022 ~ London Pub Kaliningrad Best Pub not in London<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My first encounter with the London Pub, or Pub London as it is known in Kaliningrad (note the crafty way the Russian language confuses us!), took place in the summer of 2015. Let me say from the outset that I was not attracted to it just because I used to live in London and it calls itself the London Pub.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, whenever I visit a foreign country the need to hotfoot-it to the nearest British themed bar to cry wistfully into my beer in demonstrative affection for the native land I have left behind ~ even though I may only have left it yesterday ~ is a failing I have yet to cultivate, and one I suspect may forever remain a singularly Irish phenomenon. For wherever you go in the world, you can always be sure to find, usually when you least expect or want to, shamrock, porter and diddley dee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, what appealed to me about the London Pub, forgoing for the moment the historic building in which it is housed, was the layout, interior d\u00e9cor and the atmosphere bestowed by both; a combination which was “a tad unfortunate” as this entry in my diary, dated 8 March 2020, shows: \u201cupon our arrival [at the London Pub] we found that it had undergone a complete and startling refit.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incidentally, on that day, which would be the last day I would drink at the London Pub until the \u2018all-clear sirens\u2019 sounded on the two-year coronavirus blitz, we got our first glimpse of the new-look world. For it was in the London Pub that we were introduced to what was destined to become that global, or rather globalist, absurd coronavirous fashion accessory, the never proven to be effective but still mandatory mask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The London Pub staff were wearing their new regulation uniforms ~ black waistcoats, bow ties and black bowler hats (and other things, I hasten to add) ~ which were excellent in themselves as they suited the London Pub ethos ~ but teamed with coronavirus muzzles?! Laugh, of course we did, little knowing at the time that this sinister remake of Clockwork Orange<\/em> was a prelude to our future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"London<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Right>>: London pub staff kindly poses for our camera. This photo taken in
May 2022, post-coronavirus mask era<\/span> ><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I say our <\/em>future, I mean to imply the world in general, as Olga and I only ever wore masks in situations where we had no choice, such as when travelling on public transport or shopping in the supermarket. As soon as choice resumed, off the silly masks came.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We returned to the London Pub in May this year (2022), which is when the photographs used in this post were taken. The observations, however, have been borrowed from my diary, written on the day when we discovered that the London Pub had been dramatically refurbished, which was 8 March 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mick<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Above: Mick Hart enjoying a ‘hair of the dog’ at the London Pub, circa summer 2015<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The London Pub that is not in London<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The ground floor of Kaliningrad\u2019s London Pub, accessed as it is by a flight of steps, is effectively an elevation above street level. It consists of a large room divided in two by a crook-shaped bar, which is a copy, albeit an inaccurate one, of the ubiquitous horseshoe bar with which many a London Victorian pub is typified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To the right of the bar, at the point where the loop curves, the narrower portion of the room no longer imitates the British convention of pubs divided into two social halves, the \u2018public\u2019 and the \u2018lounge\u2019, where the public bar was often more basic in fixtures, fittings and furnishings and the lounge, as the name implies, more comfortable and upmarket, attracting, in terms of class taxonomy, a better clientele. The old London pub was never exactly this, but I think it is fair to say that one side of the room, the narrow side, was less cushion-filled, textile based and given to reclining in than its more spacious counterpart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the refit, the bar area was furnished with an assortment of tables, each seating between four to six people, some of which were separated if only to a symbolic degree by the inclusion of chest-high snob screens. The dominant colour, not just of the bar area but the entire pub, had been mid-blue; in keeping I suppose with the contemporary trend in British pubs for light and pastel painted interiors<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lond<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Above: London Pub bar-side, circa summer 2015
Below: London Pub as it is today (photos: May 2022)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bar<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"London<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To justify the London Pub’s eponymous connection with England, stenciled references to traditional English idioms, well-known sayings such as \u2018My cup of tea\u2019 and the \u2018Apple of my eye\u2019, guested on the beams and walls together with quotes from British literary figures, men of letters and arcane wit, such as the famous and equally infamous Oscar Wilde with his \u2018Moderation in all things, including moderation\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

London Pub Kaliningrad <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From the looks of things, it appeared that whoever masterminded the pub refurbishment had borrowed from Oscar’s irony, since no moderation was apparent neither in the extent nor dramatic character of the changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gone are the high stools in the alcoves, the circular tables and padded bench seats. The minimalist wall d\u00e9cor and the traditional British slogans have also been axed, substituted by an enormous profusion of curios, collectables, memorabilia, vintage and retro items of an exceedingly English nature. They proliferate on walls where no expense or imagination has been spared in the interest of procuring that tatty-torn, disheveled look which aspiring interior designers and Sunday-magazine supplement editors like to call ‘distressed’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wrote about distressed d\u00e9cor in my piece on the Georgian bar Kavkaz<\/a> but the effect therein is far more restrained than it is in the London Pub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The London Pub employs the same ageing technique of peeling wallpaper and fading paint. Like Kavkaz it seeks to create the impression, and succeeds, that fragments of old wallpaper and patches of former paint schemes are seeping through more recent layers, but the mat green and dull orange hues favoured by the London Pub are hauntingly subtle and a few extra trowels worth of rough-surfaced rendering spattered with differing tones conveys an authenticity that enticingly raises the question why if neglect is so deucedly comfortable should we ever go out of our way to improve on its virtue?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"British<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Above: How to make a wall distressed and then scatter it with memorabilia<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The alcove to the customers\u2019 right of the bar has been taken a step further into the world of designer neglect by plastering various parts of it with three or four scraps of newspaper, all belonging to bygone eras and which, by their torn, wanting and dog-eared state, pass as having been stuck to the wall for years rather than the few weeks it has taken to present them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of this imaginative scheme of fading colours and random pages torn from British newspapers (By the way, The Three Kings pub in London\u2019s Clerkenwell Green also favours newsprint walls.) no restraint has been exercised in turning back the clock to earlier times in Britain: framed prints of 18th<\/sup> century classic architecture, silk cigarette cards, film advertisements, decorative wall plates, pictures of celebrities, brassware, hunting horns and you name it and you\u2019ll probably find it have found a home on the London Pub\u2019s walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the pier between the windows behind me hung a vintage English naval jacket with corresponding visor hat next to a British army officer\u2019s cap and dress jacket. Other uniform combinations of a British military nature adorn the walls on the opposite side of the room; all familiar items to us, as many\u00a0passed through our hands whilst running our vintage and antique shop in England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Vintage<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Vintage<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Above: Vintage British military uniforms adorning the ‘aged’ walls of the London Pub<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of the London Pub\u2019s window piers have been fitted with a shelf enabling all manner of collectable items shipped to Russia from England to accumulate \u2018naturally\u2019 in a perfectly haphazard way. Neither my memory nor my imagination struggled with this concept, as the clutter and its variegation closely resembled a place I once called home, where junk and I co-existed in harmonic correlation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the London Pub\u2019s shelves have become resting places for old books, diverse in topic but indefatigably English by origin, their covers turned to face the room for all the world to see. For example, behind me there was a book on the Royal Navy and at the other end of the same shelf one about Queen Elizabeth II (Gawd bless ‘er!). On other shelves nearby there was a book on England\u2019s Home Guard (WWII) and a second on the Royal Navy but harking back to a different era. Above these books hang two ancient tennis rackets both constructed of good honest wood ~ none of your carbon-fibre nonsense here! ~ obsolete in themselves but appearing even more archaic slotted inside their square wooden braces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Vintage<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Above: Clutter against its natural backdrop<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back from the bar towards the entrance of the London Pub it struck me that something rather exciting, even magical, had happened since I last drank here. The door surround had turned into a Tudor-Bethan fantasy. Thick, curved oak pilasters ~ or so we are led to believe ~ stepped cornices profusely carved and scrolled, rise above an elaborate entablature to an impressive second tier containing a grand, baroque, armorial crest, which speaks to us in medieval tones of the dynastic power of barons and earls, whilst a couple of coal buckets either side of the uprights speak in brass of a giant fireplace. Whatever you want it to be, it is only disappointing when exiting under its lordly lintel, the fantasy dissolves and you are back on the streets of the 21st<\/sup> century. And yet it could be worse, much worse, for at least the 21st-century streets on the other side of the door are not the ones that the Pub, if it was in London, would put you out on ~ streets that you walk in fear and at your peril! But you should have stayed for another pint, so it jolly well serves you right! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"London<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Above: The coal buckets on either side imply exiting into the real world via the fireplace<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Repro<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the old London, the London Pub before the refit, we would have been sitting on plain, high-backed bar stools. Now, we were sitting on not-so-plain new-old bar stools, in other words stools antique in appearance but not so antique in age. At first glance, every other glance and a prolonged unfaltering stare, these \u2018prop you up at the bar\u2019 devices have more about them than just a touch of Louis. They have near heart-shaped backs and deep blue silver-trimmed frames. They incorporate a classical shell motif. Their front legs are sweeping sabres; their back legs pad-feet cabrioles. They are, of course, like the fireplace door, strictly fantasy pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bar top, which was rather plain before the refit, is now a satin polished light wood with a feature-distinctive grain. The choice of seats, either open armchairs or rectangular tubs, has been rescinded, replaced with the accent on uniformity. The new kids on the block are back-to-back button-down leather-look seats capable of accommodating six people comfortably around rectangular tables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

London Pub Kaliningrad refurbishment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The opposite side of the pub has also undergone a startling transformation. Gone is the design concept of no two seats or tables the same, and out with the low (far too low for comfort) chairs, which either put your knees around your ears or rested your chin on the table ~ an anomaly in restaurant seating that may by its regular recurrence be construed as peculiarly Russian. Gone also are the open-backed sofas sprinkled with various cushions that started off as comfy but at some point during the evening slid quietly and unreasonably away, off out through the latticework backs. In their place the same pitch-black, button-backed vinyl seats lining the walls and sitting at right angles to the windows in the \u2018bar\u2019 march along the room like two brigades of German stormtroopers. Whilst these seats might work in the smaller area as space-saving maximisers, they do not work for me in the larger portion of the room. They are much too regimented and just too much. It is hard to imagine any true London pub trying to get away with this, although put such seats in an American diner and Bob\u2019s your uncle and Earl\u2019s your aunt, no question!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Regimented<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Above: Seats very plush but also very regimented. However, also very comfortable<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I mentioned in my piece on the Kavkaz Restaurant<\/em><\/a> and in my article Kaliningrad Art Exhibition<\/em><\/a>, lighting is everything. The old London Pub could not be faulted in this respect and neither can its newer namesake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lighting in the London Pub Kaliningrad <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

About an hour after we had taken our seats at the bar, because every other seat was reserved (more about that at the end of this article), the lights went down a notch causing everything around us to turn seductively atmospheric. I had already noted that in the bar area a series of ceiling-recessed spotlights shone down on the mosaic floor, forming round circles of slowly changing colours. These had worked well when the lighting was up, but seen in the muted half-light are really quite spectacular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wall lighting bar side is augmented by long-reach Anglepoise lamps bolted in series along the wall. As my photos taken in 2015 reveal, similar lamps existed in the London Pub’s previous life, but they have multiplied since then and the poles on which they are mounted allow in addition to the angling of the shade a retraction or extension option. Smaller lamps of a similar type have the practical advantage of directing the light on the walls to illuminate the wornout theme and the eclectic items that live there. Taken together in sequence, the lamps add a touch of steampunk to the London Pub\u2019s unique aesthetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staying with lighting, in the old London, there had been a hanging structure, a sort of raft framework suspended from the ceiling on which lights were attached and sundry knick-knacks supported. This feature has been retained but cased inside a decorative unit, its segments of coloured glass echoing the stained-glass mosaics popularised in Victorian pubs. The glass work is predominantly green, profusely decorated with stylised floral motifs and geometrical patterns in pink and blue. The dimmed light shining through the casework receives a second tonal effect, a lightly suffusive overlay. The mood-conditioning aura that this creates is repeated in the curved translucent border that runs around the wall\u2019s perimeter at the point where wall and ceiling meet. It is a continual convex band of Tiffany-patterned, luminous coving, which is subtle and highly effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pub<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Above: Uniforms, angled lamps and an illuminated coving screen of exotic abstracts<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The London Pub\u2019s lighting mix is such a fabulous orchestration that it is difficult, virtually inexcusable, to single out a centrepiece, but should I ever be pushed to do so I would probably opt for the pendant lights that float around the bar and dangle from the ceiling like so many gossamer Chinese lanterns. Large, floaty, bell-shaped silken balloons that would not be out of place in Alice’s Wonderland, these extraordinary, extravagant lamp shades are infinitely more fascinating than the screen of your mobile phone and make excellent, in every sense, dreamy light diffusers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Funky<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Above: Forget about the telly! Look at those delicious lanterns!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I liked the old London Pub, but I did not like it any better or any  worse than the new one. Admittedly, before embarking on what must have constituted a not inexpensive design programme, the proprietor of the London Pub could have consulted the idiom \u2018If it \u2018aint broke don\u2019t fix it\u2019, but had this been the case we would have been deprived of the current iteration and forgone the concept of culture-linked vintage as a versatile, and if I may be so bold as to say not entirely conventional, idiomatic design approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no doubt in my mind that refraining from fixing unbroken things should have been the lesson taught to those corporate young men in suits employed by Britain\u2019s breweries, who shoulder much of the blame for vanadalising and continuing to vandalise British pub interiors, showing scant regard for history and even less appreciation for atmosphere and taste. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you booked?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If I have one criticism of the London Pub ~ and to be fair, this is something that you come across in various Kaliningrad drinking establishments ~ it is the \u2018all the tables are reserved\u2019 trick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our visit to the London Pub in 2019, the day when I wrote the notes for this post, had been the third time we had stopped for a drink there in as many weeks, and each time we had been turned away as we had not reserved a table. On that occasion we were allowed to drink at the bar, although had we not explicitly asked to do so, we would have been asked to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Stags<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Above: It’s the only way they’d let me stay. I hadn’t booked a table.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We sat and drank in the London pub for over an hour, during which time five tables in the bar area became vacant and three of the reserved tables remained unoccupied. Being told to leave when you have not reserved a table, seems to me bad business sense. Surely, if a table is reserved for, let\u2019s say 9pm, and someone without a reservation comes into the pub at 8pm, would it not make sense to permit paying customers to use that table for the duration that it is empty?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The psychology behind repeatedly turning people away who have not booked in advance might be that they will book in future and, if they have taken the trouble to book, will prolong their patronage throughout the evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If so, then this is a fallacy. Turning customers away results in resentment not patronage, and I can think of no pub in London that would entertain the notion. I am not suggesting that the London Pub or any other drinking\/eating establishment in Kaliningrad try to emulate the \u2018stack \u2018em high treat them cheap\u2019 model adopted in UK city pubs, pampering the customer never hurt anyone, but it is advisable to remember that modern-day Kaliningrad hosts an awful lot of competition, which is growing all the time, and that customer loyalty is predicated not only on atmosphere and commendable service but also reliability. Not everyone wants to plan ahead, and regular casual trade, ignored, deterred, is money lost to somebody else\u2019s bar till and customer loyalty possibly lost forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here endeth the lesson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having got that off my chest, I can say without fear of contradicting myself that the London Pub continues to be one of the most atmospheric, ingeniously designed, relaxing drinking and eating establishments that anyone could wish for. In fact, I am prepared to go so far as to say that any guide to Kaliningrad\u2019s bars that does not include the London Pub in its \u2018best of\u2019 top-10 line-up either does not know his quality from his dross, is mathematically challenged or both. It really is that simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2714<\/span> The London Pub, probably the best London pub not to be found in London!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mick<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Copyright \u00a9 2018-2022 Mick Hart. All rights reserved.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

‘Gis a job’<\/span><\/strong>

The London Pub in Kaliningrad, Russia<\/span>, is a unique and charismatic venue vying for top place in Kaliningrad\u2019s bar, restaurant and entertainment scene. It bills itself as a \u2018real English pub\u2019, and I have to admit it comes very close. Boasting a choice of 35 draft beers, if you can\u2019t find something to suit your palate at the London Pub then you should urgently switch to drinking something else. As with the interior d\u00e9cor, ambience and beer selection, the menu is varied, surprising and reputedly tasty. Something that I have not touched upon in my review is that lurking below the London Pub there are two extremely atmospheric late-night\/early morning music clubs called, respectively, the \u2018City Jazz\u2019 and \u2018Piano Bar\u2019. I can reveal that I have frequented both, but since they are endowed with their own distinctive ambience, they deserve to be treated separately from the assessment of the public bar and restaurant. Hopefully, we will get together soon and chat about them at our leisure.   

The London Pub website:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.londonpub.ru\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mick Hart reviews the London Pub (Pub London) Kaliningrad Published: 14 August 2022 ~ London Pub Kaliningrad Best Pub not in London My first encounter with the London Pub, or Pub London as it is known in Kaliningrad (note the crafty way the Russian language confuses us!), took place in the summer of 2015. Let […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[116,40],"tags":[480,1972,1971,1970,1973,1974,1975],"class_list":["post-7213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kaliningrad-bars-restaurants-cafes","category-visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad","tag-beer-drinking-kaliningrad","tag-interior-design-bar-kaliningrad","tag-london-pub-in-kaliningrad","tag-london-pub-kaliningrad","tag-mick-hart-at-london-pub","tag-mick-hart-lonfdon-pub-kaliningrad","tag-review-lonon-pub-kaliningrad"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Mick-Hart-in-London-pub-May-2022-rz.jpg?fit=1260%2C582&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8797,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/sir-francis-drake-english-pub-kaliningrad\/","url_meta":{"origin":7213,"position":0},"title":"Sir Francis Drake an English Pub in Kaliningrad","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"23 \u043e\u043a\u0442\u044f\u0431\u0440\u044f, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Why Sir Francis Drake decided to move to Russia Updated 23 October 2023 | published 6 April 2023 ~ Sir Francis Drake an English Pub in Kaliningrad \u201cWould you like to go to an English pub?\u201d Asked in England, this would be a completely pointless question should it be directed\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Kaliningrad bars, restaurants, cafes"","block_context":{"text":"Kaliningrad bars, restaurants, cafes","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad\/kaliningrad-bars-restaurants-cafes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mick Hart Sir Francis Drake Kaliningrad","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Mick-Hart-outside-Sir-Francis-Drake-Kaliningrad-min.jpg?fit=896%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Mick-Hart-outside-Sir-Francis-Drake-Kaliningrad-min.jpg?fit=896%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Mick-Hart-outside-Sir-Francis-Drake-Kaliningrad-min.jpg?fit=896%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Mick-Hart-outside-Sir-Francis-Drake-Kaliningrad-min.jpg?fit=896%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1574,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/bottled-beer-in-kaliningrad\/","url_meta":{"origin":7213,"position":1},"title":"Bottled Beer in Kaliningrad","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"21 \u0438\u044e\u043d\u044f, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Mick Hart's totally biased review of bottled beers in Kaliningrad (or how to live without British real ale!) Preface Published: 21 June 2020 ~ Bottled Beer in Kaliningrad Prompted by no other motivation than a love of beer drinking, I have decided to review some of the bottled beers I\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "VISITOR'S GUIDE to KALININGRAD"","block_context":{"text":"VISITOR'S GUIDE to KALININGRAD","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mick Hart at The Wellington Arms Bedford","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Mick-at-The-Wellington.jpg?fit=868%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Mick-at-The-Wellington.jpg?fit=868%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Mick-at-The-Wellington.jpg?fit=868%2C960&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Mick-at-The-Wellington.jpg?fit=868%2C960&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14640,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/art-depot-kaliningrad\/","url_meta":{"origin":7213,"position":2},"title":"Art Depot Kaliningrad \u2013 beer for a one-track mind","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"10 \u0430\u043f\u0440\u0435\u043b\u044f, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A little of what you fancy does you good - and so does a little more of it. With an essay prefacing the status of ales versus victuals and what a restaurant means to some when a bar can be seen by others. 10 April 2026: Art Depot Kaliningrad \u2013\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Kaliningrad bars, restaurants, cafes"","block_context":{"text":"Kaliningrad bars, restaurants, cafes","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad\/kaliningrad-bars-restaurants-cafes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mick Hart at the Art Depot Bar and Restaurant in Kaliningrad","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rz-Mick-Hart-at-door-of-Art-Depot-Restaurant-Kaliningrad.jpg?fit=900%2C1196&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rz-Mick-Hart-at-door-of-Art-Depot-Restaurant-Kaliningrad.jpg?fit=900%2C1196&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rz-Mick-Hart-at-door-of-Art-Depot-Restaurant-Kaliningrad.jpg?fit=900%2C1196&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rz-Mick-Hart-at-door-of-Art-Depot-Restaurant-Kaliningrad.jpg?fit=900%2C1196&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8161,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/4-great-kaliningrad-bars-mick-harts-pub-crawl\/","url_meta":{"origin":7213,"position":3},"title":"4 Great Kaliningrad Bars Mick Hart\u2019s Pub Crawl","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"30 \u0434\u0435\u043a\u0430\u0431\u0440\u044f, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A Boxing Day pub crawl around Kaliningrad Published: 30 December 2022 ~ 4 Great Kaliningrad Bars Mick Hart\u2019s Pub Crawl Tradition has it in the UK that after spending a long Christmas Day incarcerated at home, on the day after, the theatre of overindulgence is shifted to the pub. Boxing\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Kaliningrad bars, restaurants, cafes"","block_context":{"text":"Kaliningrad bars, restaurants, cafes","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad\/kaliningrad-bars-restaurants-cafes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Mick-Hart-Inara-Eagle-Morrison-Bar-min.jpg?fit=675%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Mick-Hart-Inara-Eagle-Morrison-Bar-min.jpg?fit=675%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Mick-Hart-Inara-Eagle-Morrison-Bar-min.jpg?fit=675%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9785,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/yeltsin-bar-kaliningrad\/","url_meta":{"origin":7213,"position":4},"title":"Yeltsin Bar: The Best Craft Beers in Kaliningrad","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"28 \u0434\u0435\u043a\u0430\u0431\u0440\u044f, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Basically one of the best beer bars in Kaliningrad 28 December 2023 ~ Yeltsin Bar: The Best Craft Beers in Kaliningrad There\u2019s an awful lot written about Kaliningrad\u2019s number one specialist craft ale bar, Yeltsin, named after Russia\u2019s first post-Cold War president. Most of it is good; and much of\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Kaliningrad bars, restaurants, cafes"","block_context":{"text":"Kaliningrad bars, restaurants, cafes","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad\/kaliningrad-bars-restaurants-cafes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Beer Blackboard at the Yeltsin Bar, Kaliningrad","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Beer-Board-at-Yeltsin-rz-min.jpg?fit=896%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Beer-Board-at-Yeltsin-rz-min.jpg?fit=896%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Beer-Board-at-Yeltsin-rz-min.jpg?fit=896%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Beer-Board-at-Yeltsin-rz-min.jpg?fit=896%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10036,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/craft-beers-on-form-at-forma-bar-kaliningrad\/","url_meta":{"origin":7213,"position":5},"title":"Craft Beers on Form at Forma Bar Kaliningrad","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"13 \u043c\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0430, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Good beer in a vintage-inspired bar 13 March 2024 ~ Craft Beers on Form at Forma Bar Kaliningrad Those of us in the UK who are firm believers in the importance of preserving traditions and the history of our country, and who do their bit in this regard by paying\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Kaliningrad bars, restaurants, cafes"","block_context":{"text":"Kaliningrad bars, restaurants, cafes","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad\/kaliningrad-bars-restaurants-cafes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Forma Bar Kaliningrad","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Props-in-Forma-bar-Kaliningrad-min-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Props-in-Forma-bar-Kaliningrad-min-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Props-in-Forma-bar-Kaliningrad-min-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Props-in-Forma-bar-Kaliningrad-min-scaled.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}