Friendly, Smiling Siberia

Next time you find yourself in Irkutsk, the former administrative capital of Siberia, one pit stop should be high on your list: Café Fiesta, tel: (7-3952) 20 30 33. For a start, customers enjoy free wi-fi access. Add to that friendly servers (by local standards), ease of ordering (just go to the counter and point at the dish you want) and comfortable banquettes for snuggling away from the cold, and you've found the sweetest spot in the town center—especially if you're a non-Russian speaker.

The café's menu consists of salads, pizzas and—unusually for a place in this neck...