Birch Restaurant to Close in St. Petersburg, Move to Moscow
Given that the main visitors to gastronomic restaurants are tourists, the presence of a restaurant in St. Petersburg essentially lost its special significance.
Consensus
- The restaurant Birch will close in St. Petersburg after nine years of operation.
- Birch plans to reopen in Moscow.
- The last day of operation in St. Petersburg is reported as October 31.
- The restaurant has a reputation as one of the most prestigious and successful dining venues in St. Petersburg.
- Birch operates on a set-menu format with no traditional menu, requiring advance booking and prepayment.
- The restaurant was originally opened in December 2017 on Kirochnaya Street in St. Petersburg.
- The restaurant has received multiple awards, including being named Best Restaurant in Russia in 2021 and 2023.
- A second Birch restaurant opened in Dubai in February 2025.
Points of divergence
- The founder, Arslan Berdiev, stated that the closure is due to legal disputes, neighbor complaints, and negative sentiment toward Birch, rather than financial reasons. — fontanka
- The closure is due to the project no longer generating the expected profit, with increased competition and higher costs cited as key reasons. — tg_paperpaper_ru
- The restaurant was closed for 60 days in December 2024 by the Dzerzhinsky District Court due to violations of sanitary norms, as reported by Rospotrebnadzor. — tg_paperpaper_ru
- The restaurant's management is now handled by a new LLC, following the liquidation of the original company 'Sazak' at the end of 2025. — fontanka
- The Moscow opening is planned for November or early December at the 'Tverskoy. Dom Vkusа' gastronomic cluster. — tg_paperpaper_ru
Coverage (4 sources)
- Farewell Birch, or How the Culinary Capital Lost Its Main Brand — Фонтанка
- Restaurant Birch will close and move to Moscow Business St. Petersburg wrote about this citing sources, previously the establishment informed... — Бумага
- «All of this is very sad». Creator of Birch explained the closure of the restaurant in St. Petersburg and the move to Moscow — Фонтанка
- Restaurant Birch will close and move to Moscow — Бумага