We were doomed from the start. We had started our work day too early to eat breakfast… spent all morning outside in the cold… and as the hours passed the temperature dropped and the precipitation arrived. By lunch time we were cold, shivering, and starving.
The standard advice is to never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach — but equally dangerous is ordering lunch on one. And when we sat down at a large table at “Ukrainsky Stravy” – or, “Ukrainian Dishes” – and were handed a ten page bible of a menu… I just knew we were in trouble.
Ukrainsky Stravy celebrates the traditional dishes of Ukraine and, at 25 years old, is one of the longest operating restaurants in Kyiv (most of the places that existed during the Soviet Union have long closed) – famous and celebrated by locals but far enough from central Kyiv that visitors to this city need to be in the know in order to make the trip. Frankly, if you only had time to hit one restaurant in Ukraine, it would have to be this place. Literally any Ukrainian specialty I’ve ever found, tasted, or written about – and dozens I haven’t! – can be found here.
Upon arrival we were offered shots of various flavored horilka (vodka) – cherry is definitely the way to go here – and what the sweet waitress laughingly called a “Ukrainian Snickers”: pickle, cheese and rye bread. After that palate cleanser we perused the menu, full of amazing options like “herring under a fur coat”, pigs ears with garlic, Ukrainian haggis with horseradish, “happy mother in law” salad, pickle platters, and on… and on… and on.
To keep things simple, we ordered rounds of soup and then each chose a different traditional dish to follow.
But this being Ukraine, the borscht came with a giant hunk of meat, an edible bread bowl, and side items like salo (lard), pickles and garlic. To add insult to injury, a breadbasket full of the doughy garlic rolls known as pampushky was refilled again and again – so by the end of Round One we were groaning and dreading the arrival of what came next.
What came next?? A mayonnaise-y Olivier Salad topped with trout caviar… Ukrainian dumplings (varynyky) stuffed with potato, mushrooms and bacon…
And finally an assortment of meat dishes that could have easily fed a batallion. Honestly, we should have immediately had them placed in to-go containers… but the gauntlet was thrown, and on we pushed.
A dish called chicken tapaka was an ENTIRE spatchcocked and fried chicken surrounded by a farm’s worth of vegetables…
Pork Ribs in honey sauce were juicy, salty-sweet and finger-licking good…
And the chicken Kyiv, battered and full of garlic, was served with a dollop of whipped potatoes to soak up the oozy butter. I would also note the cutting boards on which these dishes were served are not mini cutting boards. They are standard-sized. Which means the food served on top was giantesque.
There was to be no dessert after this caloric marathon, and unfortunately for us, there was no place to lie down either.
Ukrainski Stravy; m. Kyiv, prospekt Vidradniy 22, https://ukrainski-stravy.com.ua/en/
