Novik Country Club

An introduction to Vladivostok would be incomplete without a trip to Russkiy Island. But there is another reason to come here: situated on the shore of Novik Bay is the Novik Country Club restaurant and hotel complex, where you can relax and enjoy authentic Far Eastern cuisine.

When you arrive you are met by the smell of wood and something delicious; on the spacious two-level veranda there are sunbeams and flowers, children hugging cats and looking at marine life — scallops, oysters, sea cucumbers — through the aquarium glass, which is right here in full view of the guests.

The main principle of Novik Country Club is sustainability in all things.

The cafe and restaurant menus change to follow seasonal specialties. Smelt, flounder, and Japanese salmon appear and disappear. Fish are not frozen and arrive in the kitchen right from the sea. The restaurant serves wild game specialties during hunting season. Fall is the season for ripe pumpkin, and from this the chef makes preserves, treating guests until the next harvest. In summer, herbs are grown in the greenhouse, beekeepers collect honey, and together everything transforms the menu.

Also, pay attention to the Organic Country Shop, which sells organic food: pumpkin jam, honey soufflé with nuts and fruit, eco-tea, and other seasonal products.

Novik Country Club is not only a restaurant (although the owners modestly asked us to call it a cafe) and hotel; it is quite a large area right near the sea. In winter there is free ice skating along the shore, and holes are cut for ice fishing enthusiasts. In summer you can rent a catamaran or a boat, play volleyball and take a walk with the kids on the playground to work up an appetite.

There is also a small cafe on the beach where you can enjoy the restaurant food at a more affordable price.

Summer hits in a café include fresh scallops, rice in the tandoor and ukha (clear salmon soup). And in the winter: warming drinks and hot filled pastries.