Kyiv Restaurants

In the last years a restaurant boom has taken place in Kyiv. New types of ethnic cuisine are appearing - many of them in Podil, which recently saw the opening of the city's first Argentinean restaurant, El Asador. Podil also hosts a great Serbian restaurant, and the new Ukrainian eatery Shchekavytsya, plus a great but little- known Vietnamese-Laotian place called Luang Phong. None of those were around three years ago.

Kyiv's restaurant boom extends beyond Podil. It was Da Vinci, located in the center, that brought decent Italian food to Kyiv, first with its restaurant on European Square and later with its recently opened Fish Club on Volodymyrska.

Perhaps the biggest change has been the sudden flood of fast-food Chinese restaurants. Most of them remain pretty bad according to Western standards. But they should improve with time.

Another exploding cuisine is Mexican, with places like Desperados and Acapulco joining old favorites Tequila House and Arizona. Potato House could herald a new era of Mexican fast-food in Kyiv. These days if you know where to look, you'll find Korean, Vietnamese, Sri Lankan, Indian, Uzbeki, Turkish, Lebanese and Mongolian food. You'll also find, naturally, the world's best Ukrainian food.

Kyiv Fast Food

McDonald's remains the best fast-food chain in Kyiv. Others have tried to challenge, but in terms of food quality, availability, service and convenience, none of them comes close.

Of course, in determining the best fast food, much depends on your definition of it. Domashnya Kuchnya. often described as a stolova, has healthier food than McDonald's. But since it serves "real" food, not fast food, and does so in a cafeteria style, most Westerners would not think of it as fast food.

Mister Snack, meanwhile, manages to finish a comfortable second in the category.

In fourth place is Ukrainian fast-food eatery Shvydko, with Potato House in fifth place. Fried-chicken hut Rostik's is sixth, and Asian-Mexican hybrid Shelter in seventh. Dva Gusya, a Russian fast-food restaurant, finished eighth.

Kyiv Pizza Plus

American Pizza Plus has good products. The chicken wings (Hr 15 for a dozen or so) are meaty and covered with a slightly vinegary sauce. Their chicken sandwich (Hr 10) is served hot with plenty of mayonnaise sauce. Ham and salami sandwiches are also available. A large Chicago-style Texas Twister pizza costs Hr 48 in the restaurant, Hr 60 with delivery.

The restaurant itself has a simple design. It is small, with a comfortable but Spartan cafe-style layout and about 15 tables in the dining room, plus a small adjacent bar. The bar pours several varieties of draft Obolon and Slavutych (Hr 5 for a half-liter) as well as its bottled and imported brethren: Beck's, Corona, Heineken and Budweiser (Hr 14).

The restaurant offers outdoor seating along a shady, tree-lined street. Pizza Plus has the weekend license and works at the weekends only. One could complain over the size of the pies at Pizza Plus. The menu doesn't offer a small size but, by comparison with some pizzerias, the Pizza Plus medium looks more like a snail one and the large - like a medium.

But with its bar, televised sports and sporty decor, Pizza Plus has a relaxed, unpretentious feel that should Hike it a hit with students at the surrounding universities.