Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Shevchenko Park; blyny 10uah; 9am-8pm; Pl Lva Tolstoho)
The city's best
blyny
(pan-
cakes) come from a shack in front of the otherwise unspectacular Ukrainian restaurant,
O'Panas.
Spotykach
UKRAINIAN$$$
( 586 4095; vul Volodymyrska 16; mains 90-160uah; 11am-midnight; ; Zoloti Vorota)
A
tribute to the 1960s - a happier (and funnier) period of Soviet history - this discreetly
stylish retro-Soviet place will make even a hardened dissident shed a tear. Food is Octo-
ber Revolution Day banquet in the Kremlin, but with a Ukrainian twist. The eponymous
spotykach
is vodka-based liquor made with different flavours, from blackcurrant to
horseradish. Beware: its name derives from the Russian for 'stumble', which pretty much
describes the effect it might cause on the uninitiated.
Barkas
SEAFOOD
( 569 5640; vul Volodymyrska 49A; 11am-11pm; ; Zoloti Vorota)
Fresh from the
Black Sea is the fish and fresh from Sevastopol is this Crimean transplant. It's not only
about local seafood favourites like
sargan
and
barabulya
. The chef plays with the best
Crimean produce, including goat cheese, lamb, 'bull's heart' tomatoes and sweet Yalta
onions. The restuarant is hidden in the courtyard of a new business centre.
Dio Long
CHINESE$$$
(bul Tarasa Shevchenka 48A; dishes 90-140uah; Universytet)
Beijing duck comes in all
shapes and sizes in this Chinese expat getaway hiding in a courtyard off bul Tarasa
Shevchenka.
Osteria Pantagruel
ITALIAN$$$
$$$
( 278 8142; vul Lysenka 1; mains 85-145uah; ; Zoloti Vorota)
Homemade pasta, risotto
and bruschetta are turned out at this whitewashed cellar restaurant by Zoloti Vorota. The
warm months see tables and chairs spill onto the square out the front - probably the best
place in Kyiv for a beer on a summer evening. The bronze cat across the road is a monu-
ment to Pantyusha, who once lived in the restaurant.
