Restaurants in Russian Caucasus
-
Don Bazillo
This Italian eatery to the side of Hotel Intourist is encouragingly popular among the many Italians who do business in Krasnodar. Besides the city’s best food, it features an intimate atmosphere and friendly service.
reviewed
-
A
Natasha's
If you’ve never tasted khachapuri (Georgian cheese bread) then this pavement café is the master creator. The house specialty is the cholesterol-laden khachapuri po-adzharski. A hand-kneeded monster-sized pastry is filled with melted cheese and butter, then an egg’s floated in it. Other Georgian specialties like kharcho (rice with beef or lamb soup) and chanakhi (spicy meat stew in a clay pot) are also available, as are delicious desserts like chocolate or strawberry mousse. Service is snail-slow.
reviewed
-
B
Kafé Panorama
From humble railway carriage beginnings, Kafé Panorama has metamorphosed into a large swanky restaurant for those out for a night of dining, wining and dancing. The band hasn't changed; they've just cranked up the volume and added modern pop to their wild Armenian rhythms. The Armenian cuisine specialises in shashlyks and kebabs; try the lulya, a ground mutton or chicken kebab that melts in the mouth. It's best to take a taxi.
reviewed
-
Café Kristall
Specialises in Karachay cuisine, including sokhta (a mammoth sausage-like creation stuffed with minced liver and rice) and dzhyorme (smaller Karachay sausage). Seating is outside on a porch along the river or in the cosy dining room with refectory tables. The atmosphere is jovial, and you just might be invited in to share food, vodka and song with the Karachay regulars here.
reviewed
-
C
Ne Goryuy
On a quiet side street between the sea and Park Rivera, it’s the best of Sochi’s many Georgian restaurants. The house specialty is the chakhokhbily (chicken pieces swimming in a garlicky red sauce). The kharcho is also hearty and delicious. Choose from Georgian and more affordable, surprisingly palatable Kuban wines. English menu.
reviewed
-
Lesnaya Polyana
This peaceful Caucasian restaurant, hidden in the forest 50m from the Lermontov duel site, has outdoor seating in round twig huts. The house specialty is Azeri sadzh (sizzling meat dish served in a cast-iron pan with potatoes and onions). The beer is expensive; go with local Stavropol wine or imported Azeri wine instead (both around R100 per bottle).
reviewed
-
D
Stolovaya No 17
This wonderful canteen is a relic of Soviet days when 30m queues waited patiently for a cheap meal. Now there’s a kitchen full of babushkas serving a range of tasty options presented at a pick-and-choose counter. Plastic tablecloths cover metal tables decorated with plastic flowers, and you get to eat with aluminium cutlery.
reviewed
-
Restoran Zamok
This modern castle, 7km west of Kislovodsk in the Alikonovka gorge, trades on a legend about a boy who leapt from the edge of a nearby cliff out of love for a local girl. The girl was supposed to leap too but thought better of it. The setting is pseudomedieval, the dishes Georgian and the wine hellishly expensive. A taxi costs about R140.
reviewed
-
Restaurant Sosruko
This architecturally unusual restaurant at the terminus of the chairlift in Dolinsk Park comprises the head of Sosruko with an outstretched arm and hand holding a flame. It’s the place to try Kabardian national cuisine, including the Sosruko special, a concoction of minced meat, mushrooms and herbs in a pastry pear.
reviewed
-
E
Turetskaya Kukhnya
This unpretentious eatery is perfect for those who don’t read Russian because there’s no menu. Just waltz up to the glass display case and point to what you want. Pride of place goes to the kebabs, and the salads are also exceptional. It’s popular for a reason. The service is friendly, but check your bill.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Patskha Restaurant
Heaps of character here. Linger for long, drawn-out meals lubricated with local wine. The delicious cuisine is Georgian and the prime dish is trout or sturgeon which you catch yourself from a pool outside. Keep an eye on what you're ordering as the bill rapidly mounts, leaving you with a hole in your wallet.
reviewed
-
F
La Pizzeria
One of many restaurants scattered along the sea embankment. It has a large canopied bar at the front and a rustic Italian interior. A menu in English reveals a large range of pizzas and pasta. The salmon pizza is probably the best but order ‘small’ unless you have a huge appetite.
reviewed
-
G
Goldfish
A jungle of rampant vines almost covers this sunken garden leaving hidy-hole shelters containing wonky plastic tables. House speciality is the Goldfish salad - shrimps, salmon caviar, salad vegetables and a cognac dressing; afternoon tea is served with large lumps of Turkish delight.
reviewed
-
H
Yapona Mama
Russia has discovered Japanese cuisine and this smallish restaurant is one of several in Sochi. The illustrated menu greatly helps in ordering if you don't know the Russian for sushi or tempura. You can order a couple of pieces or mix and match to make a big feast.
reviewed
-
I
Home Kitchen
Near the sea terminal this unpretentious eatery comes in two parts served by a central kitchen. Opt for the older more homely part for a cosy meal in company or the modern section for a quicker meal. The Greek salad was one of the best we've ever tasted.
reviewed
-
J
Art Café Nostalgia
Despite the name, it’s more a statement of the new (European) Russia than a hark to the past. Elegantly designed with a relaxed atmosphere either inside or on its covered terrace. The food is light but ample and subtle in taste.
reviewed
-
Dublin
With few restaurants to choose from in Novorossiysk, this underground Irish pub is a blessing. There’s not much to distinguish it from any other Irish pub. Try the super-spicy Shanghai chicken curry washed down with Guinness.
reviewed
-
K
Kafe Tet-a-Tet
The upper-level outside gallery provides a circle view on life below while all sorts of coffee and 34 varieties of tea plus yummy cakes provide the refreshments. The exquisite chocolate drink needs to be spooned rather than drunk.
reviewed
-
L
Kafe Terek
This top-floor place operates as both a stolovaya (canteen) with a counter buffet and as an à la carte restaurant. If you're in for a quick feed go for the buffet and you have a choice of inside or terrace dining.
reviewed
-
Kazan House
This shashlyk specialist lies outside the main tourist zone, so it’s quieter, better and cheaper than places on Kurortny bul. The lulya kebabs are huge, and a half-litre of lager to wash it down costs just R40.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
M
Foxhole
In the basement of Kafe Terek, the Foxhole has dark hideaways for intimate conversations or shady deals, or a more lighted area for dining. Bliny come with almost anything - cabbage, bacon, apricots, cherries or salmon caviar.
reviewed
-
Millenium
This affordable hangout draws locals in droves to while away the afternoon eating shashlyk and putting back R40 pints of Don Zhivoe and Elbrus draught beer. The outdoor patio provides good people-watching along pr Kirova.
reviewed
-
Golden Dragon
Tired of shashlyk? Golden Dragon’s menu of Korean and Japanese food might tempt you. It even has an English menu – rare in Kislovodsk. The no-frills café downstairs has Russian food and the best desserts in town.
reviewed
-
Café Mzymta
This Georgian restaurant near Alpika’s base chairlift is well known for its khachapuri,chanakhi and other Georgian specialties. Also features Russian and European fare.
reviewed
-
N
Café Cinzano
Hanging onto the end of the Hotel Moskva, this café has some of the best food in Sochi. Try the bliny stuffed with mushrooms or salmon caviar, the peach pie or the wide range of salads.
reviewed
