Places to Eat in Kiev

Ukrainian Dishes

Ukrainian dishes show a sophisticated simplicity based on pleasing combinations of fresh, pickled, and smoked ingredients. While cooking techniques are not complicated, dishes may contain a great number of ingredients and unusual combinations, such as shuba salad which combines pickled herring and beets.

Food is neither highly spiced nor bland, but skillfully seasoned to perfection. Bread, is of course the mainstay of the Ukrainian diet. The country’s reputation as the Breadbasket of Europe is well deserved. The French writer Honore de Balzac, who lived in Ukraine for four years, counted 77 different ways of preparing bread. It is such a central part of the diet here that there is a custom to give honored guests and departing or arriving travelers the gift of a loaf of bread and salt. This tradition is still used in welcoming ceremonies for dignitaries and other important persons.

Borsch is certainly the national dish of Ukraine, even making its appearance on the menus of Chinese and Italian restaurants in Kiev. This uniquely Ukrainian soup has been adopted by other countries in the region, but as recently as 45 years ago it could not even be found in restaurants in other Soviet republics. The many versions of borsch served throughout the country reflect the individuality of Ukrainians as well as their ingenuity. The beet-based soup can contain as many as 20 different ingredients, depending on the season, region, and of course, personal preference of the cook. It can be meatless or prepared from a rich meat stock and contain either beef or smoked pork.

The availability of ingredients for traditional cooking are often dependent on the season, so most varieties of vegetables sometimes make their appearance in certain dishes in their pickled form. You also might find that certain dishes listed on a menu might not be available at certain times of year. Salads are very common, but rather than being lettuce-based, combinations of fresh, cooked, and preserved vegetables may be mixed with meat, cheese, or fish. With so many different recipes, the only constant of Ukrainian salads are the presence of vinegar or mayonnaise.

Varenyky are dumplings made from boiled or fried dough, resembling ravioli without red sauce. They can be filled with meat, potatoes, cabbage, and sometimes mushrooms for as an entree, or sour cherries or sweetened cottage cheese and raisins as a dessert. Any kind can be accompanied by butter or sour cream.

The word holubtsi can be translated into little pigeons, but really has nothing to do with fowl of any kind. They are cabbage rolls stuffed with meat and rice or buckwheat and often covered with a thin tomato sauce. There are many different kinds of pastries and cakes, usually less sweet than they are made outside of continental Europe.

A Kievsky Tort is a local specialty, made of layers of crumbly raised wafers, hazelnuts, and it even comes in its own special green box. For a uniquely Ukrainian drink, try kvas, a slightly sweet non-alcoholic beverage with a wheat-like taste sold from giant tanks on wheels in the summer throughout the city.

Places to Eat in Kiev

Listed below are almost all of the local resturants in Kiev. This list has been compiled from many sources and if an address/Telephone number was given, we have included it.

Since you are in Ukraine, try some of the local food. Several examples of traditional Ukrainian food are Varenyky (small dough pies stuffed with meat, potatoes, cabbage or fruit), Ukrainian Borshch (beet soup) with Pampushki (soft rolls soaked in fresh crushed garlic and oil), Deruny (potato pancakes), Holubtsi (cabbage roll stuffed with meat), and Mlyntsi (stuffed pancakes).

Restaurants and Cafes

Name	Address	Telephone
Andriyivsky/Zamkove	24 Andriyivsky Uzviz	416-2269
Apollo	15 Khreshchatyk Passazh.	229-0437
Arizona	25 Naberezhno-Khreschatytska St.	416-2438
Art Cafe	11 Andriyivsky Uzviz	416-4279
Asakhi	1 Saksahanskoho Street	244-2237
At Panikovsky's Restaurant	8 Proreznaya St.	536-1717
Boston Burger	114 Chervonoarmiyska	264-8489
Cafe Montania	Vul. Volodymyrska	221-7045
Cafe Slavuta	14 Horkoho	227-0391
Cantina Basa	112 Vul. Saksaganskoho	225-4097
Casino Budapest	3 Vul. Leontovicha	224-0347
Capuchin	81 Bolshaya Vasilkovskaya St.	531-1378
Chervona Ruta	39 Lisovyi Prospect	518-2464
Chico	27 Ivana Franko St.	246-5283
Concord	42/4 Pushkinska Street	229-5512
Corsair	14B Sagaydachnogo St	416-5578
Kyataiskiy Smak	55B Chkalova	221-0780
Chocolate Bar	129-A Saksaganskoho	224-6521
Da Mario's	52 Saksaganskoho	220-8062
Da Vinci Fish Club	12 Volodymyrska Street	490-3434
Dixieland	14/2 Kyrylo-Mefodyivska St.	236-8228
Dnipro Bar	Located on the fourth floor/Dnipro Hotel.	229-4429
Ecsquisite	2 Khreshchatyk 2 (Ukrainian House).	228-7192
Egoist	44 Moskovskaya St.	290-2222
Fruktopia Baboon Cafe	2 Taras Chevchenko Blvrd.	235-8347
Golden Dragon	25 Provitroflotsky Prospect	276-1002
Golden Gate Irish Pub	40/2 Volodymyrska Street	235-5188
Grand Plaza	1 Peremogi Sq.	236-6556
Hostynnyj Dvir	4 Kontractova Ploshcha	416-6876
Il Patio	5a Bessarabskaya Sq.	235-4446
Italia	8 Prorizna	224-2054
King-Do	7 Leipzig Cinema,Vul.50-Richchia Zhovtnia	474-0867
Kozak Mamai	4 Prorizna Street	228-4273
Kureni	19 Parkova Doroha	293-4062
Kyoto	2 R. Okypnoyi Street	552-5091
L'amour	17 Naberezhno-Khreschatytska St.	451-5080
Le Grand Cafe	4 Muzeyny Perevulok	228-7208
Long Phuong	1 Naberezhna Khreshchatytska	416-7325
Maxim's	21 Khmelnytskoho	224-7021
Mercator	2 Ploscha Peremohy	224-2125
Miami Blues Restaurant	114 Bolshaya Vasilkovskaya St.	252-8721
Mikado Restaurant	55 Bolshaya Vasilkovskaya St.	244-2237
Mimino	10A Spaska Street	417-3545
Mishkolts	89 Prospekt Sorokorich Zhovtnya	263-9113
Napoleon	16 Shota Rustaveli	221-5544
Nika Pizza	2 Tarasa Shevchenka	224-7981
Nobel Restaurant	65 Bolshaya Vasilkovskaya St.	238-6971
Nobu Restaurant	12 Shota Rustaveli St.	246-7734
O'Brien's Irish Pub	17-a Mykhailivska Street,	229-1584
Odessa	114 Chervonoarmiyska	269-3375
O'Panas (Formerly Taras)	Shevchenko Park	235-2132
Pantagruel Restaurant	1 Lysenko St.	279-7301
Poseidon Restaurant	Navodnitsky Park	254-2137
Primavera	6 Melnykova Street	239-9729
Runabar	2 Tarasa Shevchenka	224-7981
Sakura	43 Chervonoarmiyska	227-1046
Sam's Steak House	37 Zhylyanska Street	227-2000
Sankt-Peterburg	6 Tarasa Shevchenka	229-7606
Skhody	7 Borysa Hrinchenka	229-8629
Slavuta	14 Horkoho	227-0391
Slavyansky	125 Horkoho	296-7461
SSSR Restaurant	42/1 Sichnego Povsstaniya St.	573-9775
Studio	4 Muzeyniy Provulok	228-7208, 228-0050
Swing Restaurant	11 Vladimirskaya St.	229-2865
Tequila House	8a Spaska Street (Podol)	417-0358
T.G.I. Friday's	5a Bessarabska Square	235-4264
Trembita	44 Khmelnytskoho	225-5149
Tsarskoye Selo	42/1 Sichnego Povsstaniya St.	573-9775
Tsentral Restaurant	28 Mezhigorskaya St.	467-5495
Tziantsin Chinese	88 Gorkoho	268-6210
Walter's	21 Sagaydachnogo St.	416-0213
Zaporizhzhia	27 Sahaidachnoho	417-4283

Pizza Delivery

Name	Address	Telephone
Caravan	21/2 Pvitroflotsky Prosp.	248-0704
Celentano	37 Yaroslaviv Val St.	212-5460
Express Pizza	1 Fizkultury	227-5550
La Bella	7 Pushkinska St.	229-2701
Lucull Pizza	63 Chervonoarmiyska St.	227-5008
Maksmak	2 Bessarabska ST.	234-8484
Mamamia	6 Velyka Zhytomerska St	229-2812
Momento	2/4 Zlatoustivska St.	216-3506
Pan Pizza	5 Kominternu St.	234-5592
Papa	82 Artema St.	216-7072
Papa Karlo	26 Dehtyarivska St.	213-0832
Paperoni	15 Saksahanskoho St.	246-6918
Pizzaria Terrazza	22 Moskovska St.	254-2024
Portofino	5 Sofiyivska St.	229-8771
Primavera	6 Melnykova St.	239-9729
Rondo Pizza	52D Artema St.	246-9220
UNO Pizza	40/2 Volodymyrska St.	228-4362
Vesuvio Pizza	2 Tarasa Shevchenko Blvd.	228-3028

Fast Food

Name	Address	Telephone
Blin Clinton	4 Shota Rustavelli St.	234-0692
Dienli	11/61 Lva Tolstoho St.	234-9083
Domashnya Kukhnya	16-22 b. Khmelnytskoho St.	234-2918
Dva Gusya	42 Khreschatyk St.	229-7683
Kytayska Kukhnya	4 Hrushevskoho St.	464-0491
Maksmak	2 Bessarabska St.	234-8484
Lola	3 Horkoho St.	234-3466
McDonald's	19A Khreschatyk St.	230-2737
Mr. Snack	4 Horodetskoho St.	228-2987
Non Stop	6 Peremohy Prosp.	216-4073
Potato House	6/5 Mala Zhytomyrska St.	229-2153
Puzata Khata	1/2 Baseyna St.	246-7245
Rostyk's	Globus Shopping Center	238-5922
Shelter	15 Khreschatyk St.	228-5577
Sushi Express	26A Artema St.	216-1258
Trali Vali	65 Chervonoarmiyska St.	238-6496
Yakitoria	27 Lesi Ukrainky Blvd.	296-3389