Vernissage Restaurant, Brookline

Vernissage Restaurant evokes the baroque splendor of 19th-century St. Petersburg with an elegant dining room and rich Eastern European cuisine. Tables can share appetizers of caviar and smoked fish before hearty entrees of beef stroganoff made with organic wheat noodles, herb-butter chicken Kiev, or grilled quail. Warm light from twinkling chandeliers filters through wine glasses and creates an air of class and sophistication, inviting diners to imagine themselves as Romanov rulers or people who read War and Peace all the way through. Though the décor and dishes showcase traditional Slavic influences, live jazz and salsa nights speak to a contemporary New-World flair.