Kiev - Post Report Question and Answers
What typical restaurants, food delivery services, and/or takeout options are popular among expatriates?
Georgian restaurants are the best!! It is the most underrated cuisine that is a must-try in Kyiv. Take out was plentiful and cheap via Glovo. Just about any kind of food you can imagine. One disclaimer is pretty much every ethnic food is fusion, so don’t expect good ethnic food. Food delivery for groceries is easy using the Glovo app or Zakaz.com. - May 2021
There are so many choices of restaurants in Kyiv, pretty much anything you can think of, from traditional Ukrainian to Japanese, to artisan burgers, and a lot of them deliver but be ready to wait anywhere between 1-2,5 hours for your delivery. Georgian food is extremely popular and is generally well prepared. Some of the popular restaurants with good food and good prices are: Fujiwara Yoshi (Japanese) Vino et Cucina (Italian, with an outside playground for kids and "animators" - adults who take care of the kids while their parents are enjoying dinner) Like a Local's Wine Bar (only Ukrainian wines) Okhota na Ovets (Asian fusion, one of Dima Borisov restaurants, a famous Ukrainian restauranteur, all of them are excellent. http://borysov.com.ua/en/dima-borisov) One thing that expats love is the "Street Food Festival" held regularly in warmer months, super fun and has all kinds of things to do both for kids and adults. Even pets are welcome :) - Jun 2018
There has been an explosion in restaurants in the last few years. Lots of great new-Ukrainian, Georgian, Italian, continental, and more and more Chinese-ish options. There are Mexican restaurants but they are disappointing; also Thai and Indian are few and far between - but that is likely to change. A lot of places deliver, and there is a service called eda.ua that will pick up for you for a small fee. There also is a monthly "street food festival" in warmer months that brings together the many food truck-size vendors from around Ukraine. - May 2017
Restaurants are quite good and very cheap by US standards. For a classic Ukrainian feast, my favorites are Shynok and Hutorets. Another wonderful option not widely available in the U.S. is Georgian food - tons and tons of great options exist, but Shoti, Mama Manana, and Gogi were some of my favorites. There are tons of restaurants serving French, Italian, modern European, and American food. It is harder to find Asian food (though sushi is very popular, but the only place that aims at authenticity is Fujiwara Yoshi) and Mexican food.
We didn't order much takeout, but our favorite delivery options were Vesuvio or Il Molino for pizza, Chachapuri for Georgian, and Varennychnaya Katyusha for Ukrainian. - Nov 2016
Depends what you like. We found the local restaurant scene to be fun to explore (especially given low prices) but there wasn't a wide selection of non-European foods. For delivery, we usually got pizza from Il Molino or Vesuvio, local Ukrainian food from Varenichnaya Katyusha, sushi from Sushi-ya, or Georgian food from Chachapuri. We tried Wok2Go for sort of pan-Asian but it wasn't that great.
I could list restaurants all day, but some of our faves: Shynok and Khutorets for Ukrainian, Kiflik for Carpathian, Lyubymy Dyadya for modern European/Israeli, Kosatka and Barbara Bar for great comfort food and a great bar by night, Citronelle and Graine de Moutarde for French, Vero Vero, Vino e Cucina, and Pizzeria Napuli for Italian, Arbequina for Spanish, Dogs & Tails, Syndicate, and Crab's Burger for various American-ish experiences, Himalaya for Indian, Fujiwara Yoshi for Japanese, and Bao for Chinese. Best desserts at Milk Bar, followed by Honey. - Jul 2016
Domino's, McDonald's. Really cheap. Restaurants in general are cheap, but sometimes for three people to eat at McD's only costs US$10. A decent restaurant outing will cost maybe US$20-30 for a really nice meal for three. - Nov 2015
Lots of restaurants with good food, from brew pubs to pizza to lovely Italian and French. Many set up terraces once the weather is nice. And you won't have to miss Dominoes or McDonald's. My son gets a Big Mac, fries, a drink, a side of chicken nuggets and an apple pie and it's about US$4 for all. - Jun 2015
There is a lot of fast food in-town. Restaurant food is expensive. There is good food in Kiev but not as much as you would imagine. This is not a food city by any means. - Apr 2014
McDonald's, (Also McFoxy, Ukraine's chicken version), KFC, TGIFridays, Domino's. Also a few local chinese fast-food and Hot wings fast-food places. - Apr 2013
McDonald's is here and it is fine. KFC is rough. The best food is the good Ukrainian food. - Apr 2013
Ukraine is not yet an eating-out culture. There is a lack of family-friendly restaurants, but it's changing. McDonald's is always jammed. - Feb 2013
Puzata Hata is the classic Ukrainian fast food, you can eat a huge meal for around $4. There's also McDonald's and its Ukrainian knockoff, McFoxy (I never went). - Jul 2012
McDonald's and a few sandwich shops are about it for fast food. There are lots of restaurants that range in price from cheap to pricey. - Aug 2009
McDonald's is here and so is TGI Friday's (Friday's service is terrible!). McDonald's is the same price as back home. There really aren't any other choices that I'm aware of. - Apr 2008
McDonalds, lots of pizza places, and Mr. Snack (a Ukrainian subway) as well as other Ukrainian fast food places. Restaurants are opening all over the place. It's gotten a lot better since I've been here with a trend to move away from old Soviet big menu type places to more affordable bistro type restaurants. There are two Indian places, Georgian, Italian, French, an acceptable Mexican spot, TGI Friday's and imitators, and lots of sushi places. Basically, you can find anything you want to eat here and prices are, in almost all cases less, than what you'd pay in the States. - Apr 2008
The only American fast food chain at the moment is McDonalds. TGI Fridays is also here. Most other ethnic cuisines (apart from Mexican) is present in Kyiv. This is a very fad-focused city so you'll see five sushi places quickly open and then close, then five Indian, then five French, etc. Nice restaurants tend to be extremely expensive, but the food quality doesn't match the price. It is often better to stick with the mid-level and cheaper places. The quality still isn't often great, but at least you're not paying as much. Ukrainian food is good and often affordable, but heavy and bland so it is nice to mix it up occasionally. - Feb 2008
