In 1812–14, the mid-18th-century building at 18 Nevsky Avenue in Saint Petersburg, the capital city of Russia at that time, was renovated by K. B. Kotomin as an apartment for merchants (Kotomin House).[1] In this building S. Wolff & T. Beranget opened their confectionery, which was considered the best in St. Petersburg. In 1834, a Chinese café (Café chinois) was added. The confectionery soon became a place where writers of Russian literature, such as Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, Taras Shevchenko, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky, gathered.[2]
In 1837, Pushkin, on the way to his fatal duel with George D'Antès, met his second, Konstantin Danzas, there. In 1840, Dostoyevsky was introduced to Mikhail Petrashevsky, the Utopian socialist, there.[2]
In 1877, after the closure of the confectionery, a high-class restaurant was opened, which musicians such as Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Feodor Chaliapin frequently visited. Tchaikovsky is said to have ordered there a cup of water that turned out to be tainted with cholera, from which he died.[3]
In 1858–2001, the basement of the building was converted into a used bookshop, which became relatively well known. In 1978–81, the
building was entirely renovated, and, in 1983, the restaurant reopened under the name of the Literaturnoye Kafe, or Literary Cafe.[2]