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El Copitas

St Petersburg

If El Copitas refers to a small sipping container for agave spirits, the bar that bears the same name isn’t much different. Here, in a diminutive hidden basement in St Petersburg, is Mexican hospitality in a microcosm. It all starts with a welcome copita and, once settled into the large communal table, the latest cocktail and taco creations are conveyed via a chalk board. In St Petersburg, they don’t grow many avocados and limes, nor before El Copitas was there anywhere with such a treasure trove of agave spirits, so the sourcing of this bar’s fare has become something of a military operation. But for owners and apostles of agave Artem Peruk, Nikolay Kiselev and Igor Zernov, every bottle stowed in a suitcase was worth the effort. If you catch them at the bar, they may have a story or two to tell of their adventures. Since the pandemic, their attentions have been focused closer to home. In 2022, we will see the launch of El Copitas Apartments – a creative solution to noise complaints is to buy the flat upstairs. But however long your stay, if escapism is what you crave, this little slice of Mexican sunshine is the perfect remedy.

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