Hostel of the Week: Soul Kitchen, St Petersburg, Russia

With the 99% rating from nearly 1,000 reviews and a shelf heavy with Hoscar awards (#1 Hostel in Europe, #1 Hostel in Russia, #1 Best Small Hostel IN THE WORLD….we could go on) it’s obvious that Soul Kitchen has blown people’s minds. It’s all about personal touches. The food and drink is made with love and lots ‘o soul! The kitchen is the hostel’s cherished shrine, and the owners regularly bring in a Russian chef who cooks traditional 3 course dinners plus sides and wine for just 1000r (£10). The cleaner makes mornings worth it with her freshly baked “piroshky” aka Russian apple pie (make sure you are up early as it is VERY popular!!) and there’s fresh coffee every day to help yourself to.


The Soul Kitcheners go that extra mile to make a hostel a home with their lounge areas. You’ll find a record player with a pile of records to listen to, and a projector screen with a great film collection for a rainy day. Russians as well as international visitors flock to Soul Kitchen, and the relaxed atmosphere makes it easy to make friends and build a little community 🙂


The hostel is incredibly located right by a canal, near the hermitage and St Isaacs cathedral. On top of all the special treatment from the staff, they also love to show you around with trips to flea markets, and a bar crawl starting with a local shot of chill sauce, cherry syrup and vodka. Zazdarovje!
If you are already sold by the food, staff and location, just take a glimpse at the fancy rooms. You can choose from an 8 bed or 4 bed dorm, a twin private or a double bed private, which looks like this >>>


In short, we love Soul Kitchen Hostel! Sounds like our customers have fallen head over heels too….
“I have been travelling for the past 10 years around the world and I have never experienced a hostel like this!!! This is definitely the best place to call “home” while away from home. From friendly and helpful staff, amazing kitchen and secure and clean rooms…it’s actually worth staying in st petersburg, just for the hostel itself!”
“Fantastic hostel! The staff were very helpful. They organised a local chef to prepare xmas dinner while I was there and it created one of the best evenings of my life – travellers were telling amazing stories while sharing beautiful Russian food.”
“I have traveled to 30+ countries, mainly in Europe & East/Southeast Asia, and Soul Kitchen is definitely one of the best that I’ve stayed at. There’s a great vibe inside, crazy cool kitchen area and the staff is amazing. Leo in particular was extremely helpful– very responsive to emails before & during my stay. Soul Kitchen created/provides an EXCELLENT city map which includes restaurant and bar recommendations (which stays away from touristy spots). HIGHLY recommend!
“Staff very nice and friendly. They made me discover paloska… I will never forget them for that…”
What are you waiting for? Book here!
A quick visa tip…
If you are staying for a short time, there is a ferry which goes from Helsinki, Tallinn and Stockholm and by using this transport, this you can stay for 3 days in St Petersburg without a visa. More info here.
If you do get a ferry, buy a “tour” bus, which is actually just a shuttle bus that will pick you from the ferry and drop you off just 2 minutes away from the hostel 🙂