Lakomka

«Lakomka» at 50/8 Karla Marksa Street is a café with history, one that seems to have preserved the atmosphere of Soviet-era konditerei. They still make «Lakomka» pastries following recipes with half a century of history, and the crowd shifts throughout the day: in the morning, students stop in for coffee; in the afternoon, grandmothers with grandchildren from the nearby music schools come for compote and “kartoshka” pastries; in the evening, Kazan's creative crowd takes seats at the tables with cognac or vodka, alongside sandwiches with cheese or caviar. The kitchen here is mixed, and the menu isn't limited to sweets: they serve crepes with meat, buckwheat with goulash, and simple fish dishes. But the main reason to come is the desserts. The nut pastry, the “rafaello,” and the shortbread with fruit filling and cream are what people order first — leaving without them is almost a breach of local tradition. The average check at «Lakomka» stays within 1000 rubles — people come here not for the service, but for a taste familiar since childhood, and a particular spirit of the place that hasn't changed in decades.