Wednesday 2nd October 2013
Bob Thompson
Although the name of this pub may seem a long way from English, it isn't. Just think of the word Redoubt in connection with defence. The dictionary description of the meaning is "a small, often hidden building in which soldiers can hide themselves while they are fighting".
The building that houses this pub was intended to serve that very purpose and is the only part left of a collection of structures that formed part of the city's defences.
Its origins go back to 30th August 1843 when the "second defensive ring" of the German city Königsberg, the capital of East Prussia, was finished. Königsberg is, of course, the present-day Russian city of Kaliningrad. The grand wall was constructed on the orders of Friedrich Wilhelm IV, the King of Prussia. Incidentally, there are a few pubs named after him in the UK. There were ten gates to the city, including two for railway lines, and these were constructed in Gothic Revival style. Only one survives, relatively intact, near the main (South) railway station.
The pub and restaurant was established in 1996 and is in an atmospheric building that seems almost perfectly suited to its present purpose. After the obligatory coat deposit we entered and found a spare table near the bar. This pub was nowhere as big as the others we had visited in Kaliningrad and was very close to what you'd expect to find in Germany or the Czech Republic. The facilities are downstairs and, whilst visiting, I took a look at another, smaller room that was being used for a private function.
The brewery is located behind the bar and is separated by a glass screen. The beers are made with imported German malts such as Pilsner and Karapils. There were three beers on offer as detailed below:
Filtered Light Lager/Светлое Филь
Unfiltered Light Lager/Светлое Нефиль
Unfiltered Dark Lager/Темное Нефиль
I was with the usual suspects of Patrick, Vaughan and Russell and we all had the two unfiltered beers and this is our opininion of them.
The Light Lager we thought was very good, having bitterness and the correct classic German Vollbier taste.
We also thought highly of the "Dark" Lager, it being not that different from the Light in both taste and colour; just a bit maltier in flavour. The colour of it was the strangest thing as it wasn't even amber, just slightly browner than the Light.
Patrick ordered some beer snacks and I was particularly impressed with the Baltic Sprats and Black Beer Bread. So, this pub comes highly recommended should you ever be around Kaliningrad way.
Important Information:
Reduit/Редюит, Litovskaya Val 27/Литовский Вал 27 (Lithuanian Wall 27)
Tel: (4012) 469401
Open: Monday-Sunday 12.00-01.00
I tried to get here using public transport and I'm not saying it isn't possible, yet I couldn't find out which bus routes pass. There is a main road close by, but I was unable to get a transport map, so we went by taxi, sorry!
