Cynic is a legendary underground bar hangout popular among local students and certain parts of the expat community. It can be rowdy, but it's not unfriendly. Originally housed in a filthy single room near Moscow station, it moved in 2002/2003 to new, larger premises just off St. Isaac's Square.

The basic drill is to sit around large tables drinking cheap-ish beer and vodka (occasionally absinthe), talking to friends and random strangers. Don't forget to try the grenki (fried bread with garlic), which give Cynic its special, peculiarly persistent smell. The food is actually surprisingly good, but most people come for the booze.

If you're lucky, some of the younger female patrons might have enough to decide dancing topless on the tables is a good idea. In which case, you've seen a genuine St Petersburg institution.

4 Pereulok Antonenko; www.cynic.spb.ru/ (Russian only), nearest metro Sennaya Ploshchad/Sadovaya. They probably don't bother answering the phone, if they have one

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If you want the nearest thing in Petersburg to a genuine British pub, Dickens is the best bet. It opened up in 2005, and has a variety of British beers on tap (last time I went these included Bombadier and Spitfire), and also does really good food. Best "full English" in town by a long, long way; although the competition is hardly stiff, this is worth trying. Be warned - it's huge. The bar serves food from early morning, but there's also a restaurant that serves from noon to midnight.

There's another Dickens Pub in Riga, so you could do a mini-tour. Although why you'd come to the Baltic to go to a British pub may need some explaining.

118 Naberezhnaya Reki Fontanka (Fontanka River Embankment), open daily from 8 am; tel 380 7888; nearest metro: Sennaya Ploshchad/Sadovaya

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