From St. Petersburg to Nice with Kvass in Wine Glasses
How a Russian chef brought the love of her motherland to the cuisine scene in Nice
Loreanna Medvedeva sat across from me in her high-class restaurant, Roi Alexandre. Between us lay the Salade Olivier, the Pelmeni au Saumon, a pot of beef pierogies, and two wine glasses filled with kvass. I remarked that I had never seen kvass served in a wine glass. How opulent.
The food was delectable, rich, and surprising with its strong flavors of pickled vegetables that mixed well with whipped yogurt. The presentation of the plates was masterful, and the general ambiance of the 15x20 two-floor restaurant was that of casual elegance as acoustic Jazz played in the background and dim lights illuminated hundreds of wine bottles on the walls.
After the lovely meal, Loreanna explained that this location on rue de France in Nice’s Carré D’Or neighborhood was not her first. She recalled her time as a manager of the first Restaurant Roi Alexandre in Lyon back in 2016. “Lyon was wonderful, the people were great, but having had a taste of better weather, I wanted to keep heading south!”
Nice was indeed far further south from her original home, and the birthplace for King Alexander the first of Russia, the namesake of her restaurant. Saint Petersburg, was the culinary heart of Russia but just too cold for our chef.
During her time in the Northern Palmyra, she refined her abilities and skills in the art of Russian cuisine. She mastered the delicate layering of the Pelmeni (the russian crepe), she experimented with various shapes and sizes of the frenchified russian pierogi, and she mastered the delicate degree of pickling a Herring at which stage more would render it mooshy, and less will threaten the strongest of marriages.
Now in Nice, she mentions that although her restaurant had not reached its one year anniversary yet, she’s sure of her decision to come here. She recalled with pride some of the Russian noble families that had come here before her and made an impact in the community. “The Romanovs loved the Côte d’Azur, they spent all their summers here in Nice!” she exclaimed and was delighted to hear that I had visited Saint-Nicholas Cathedral.
When I asked if the restaurant’s clientele had been affected at all by the recent Russian-Ukrainian war she waved her arm and declared with a scoff: “We don’t do politics here.” She was adamant that the restaurant was apolitical and that everyone has their views about the war therefore none shall be mentioned or addressed in the presence of her kvass.
“I have many Ukrainian friends, and I have many Russian friends. They all come here, and they often come together!” she stated. For her, the war was far away and it seemed that she liked it that way. Her restaurant had become a hermitage of sorts for young Russian men who were escaping the draft, and Ukrainian families that were escaping the war.
People came to Restaurant Roi Alexandre to hear their familiar mother tongue and get a taste of their home cuisine in an unfamiliar place.
“I love Nice, but I do miss the motherland from time to time” said Loreanna as she explained how she appreciates the occasional russian conversation with some of her patrons.
As I finished my drink and wrapped up, her team set up for a staff picture just ahead of my departure.
February 22nd, consider dining at the Roi Alexandre, you won’t regret venturing into russian culinary territory, and you’d get to celebrate the restaurant's 1-year anniversary with the lovely staff.