Pyshechka on Griboyedov

The first Ginza Project donut shop is open on the Griboyedov Canal, near Sennaya Square.

While listening to cheerful songs from the loudspeaker, you can relax in three charming rooms filled with fresh flowers. The main dish is a St. Petersburg meme, the secret dream of a gray-haired intellectual and a bearded hipster, a first-grader and a serious man in a suit. Ruddy and hot as the sun, the donut oozes with joy. The appetizing heat of the donuts must be washed down with a drink: at Pyshechka, they pour sweet Crimean juices from three-liter jars, and Duchess and Barberry lemonades from cones. They also stir milkshakes and brew coffee with milk, just like before.

Plump donuts cost 19 rubles each; a donut is a life-affirming and quick meal. Three minutes later, your order is on your plate, generously dusted with powdered sugar. You lightly burn your fingers and freeze in delight. Look around: you're among your own kind. With a familiar gesture, you brush the snow-white powder from your clothes, a smile flitting across your face—the day hasn't been wasted. And you will definitely return here for the pleasure of childhood.