Located just a short walk from Trubnaya metro station, Shell Yes is tucked behind a monastery on the corner of Rozhdestvensky Bulvar and Maly Kiselny Pereulok. Established by Lera Golovanova, a graduate of Ragout culinary school, Shell Yes celebrates freshness and flavor with an emphasis on simple seafood fare.
With only a dozen or so tables, booking in advance is a must. Even if you find yourself sitting at the bar, all is not lost: you can inspect the fresh produce, all chilling on ice, before you order and observe the cooks at work in the open kitchen.
Despite being a relative newcomer to the scene, the Shell Yes is often packed out, which unfortunately means the service can be rather slow and perfunctory. Let’s hope that these teething pains improve over the coming months. The design is straightforward, with marble table tops and original plaster on the ceiling.
As you may have guessed, fish is the dish of the day here. Shell Yes have a policy of serving only the freshest offerings from the watery deep. As such, if you come at the wrong time of day or the wrong day of the week you may find your options rather limited. At our sitting both the dorado (750 rubles) and trout (650 rubles) were unavailable.
At the entrance to the restaurant, fish like the yellowfin dorado (350 rubles for 100 grams) and red snapper (350 rubles for 100 grams) are displayed on huge mounds of ice. There’s no garnish, but you can order tomato salad with soft cheese (600 rubles) as a side. The more adventurous can try something from the raw food menu, such as the tuna tartar (750 rubles) or the Argentinian-inspired scallop ceviche.
Feeling decadent? Many visitors opt for oysters, of which there are two varieties: the New Zealand oysters cost between 250 to 350 rubles, depending on their size, while their Mediterranean counterparts are 500 rubles each. The grilled octopus with baby new potatoes is excellent, if a little pricey at 1,000 rubles for a rather small portion. If you’re looking for something more filling, try the pasta vongole with mussels (600 rubles) or the seafood pasta (750 rubles).
The dessert menu includes the pie of the day, tiramisu and a creamy panna cotta, all for 350 rubles. While Shell Yes does not have an alcohol license, you can drink your own wine if you pay a corkage fee of 500 rubles.
+7 (495) 621 2735
10/7 Rozhdestvensky Bulvar
Metro Trubnaya
