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Alaverde
Of Kyiv's many Georgian restaurants this unpretentious little affair is the best value. There's no English menu; if you're stuck order some suluguni (Georgian cheese) and anything from the 'hot dishes' (Гарячі Страві) section - it's all good (unless you're vegetarian).
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Arena Beer House
Wash down the best steaks in Kyiv with home-brewed beer.
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Bessarabsky Rynok
Grocery shopping is rarely such an aesthetically pleasing experience, so this market full of colourful fruit and veg should definitely not be missed. The arrangements of fruit, vegetables, meat and flowers in this light-filled hall are works of art and it almost seems a shame to disturb them by buying them - almost, but not quite. The market was built in 1910-12 for traders coming to Kyiv from Bessarabia. Some imported produce is on sale (at a high price).
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Celentano
This is where it all started for the country's most popular chain restaurant. Its (dare we say revolutionary?) design-your-own-pizza formula remains as wildly popular today as ever. There are about 15 more Celentanos in the city if you miss this one.
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Concord
Concord delivers the entire package: incredible Euro-Asian fusion food, effortlessly slick interior design and impeccable service. The DJ spins tunes that everybody else will be playing three months from now. The mouth-watering salads here are like temples to the sultan of sassafras, like shrines to the Raman of radicchio. The views from atop the Donbas Centre are just dressing on the salad.
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Dio Long
Cafeteria-style Chinese resto. Not pretty but works if you have no money and are tired of greasy Ukrainian stolovy .
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Domashnya Kukhnya
This was the first of the now-ubiquitous fast-food stolovy (cafeterias) to grace the city, and it's still the largest and second only to Puzata Khata in terms of quality. Heap a few dishes and a beer on your tray and skedaddle out to the huge patio.
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Entresol
The design is funky, the music hip and the service snail-slow. It also doubles as a bookshop/library and contemporary art gallery. But the main reason to come (besides free wi-fi) is the vegetarian-friendly European food and (pricier) fresh juices.
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Garbuzyk
This fun if slightly hokey eatery offers a great introduction to Ukrainian food without breaking the bank. Appetisers like deruny (potato cakes) and borshch , and even salmon shashlyk are affordable. Wash it down with horilka (vodka).
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Gorchitsa
Gorchitsa is a tale of two restaurants, one rather stuffy and expensive, the other a frivolous café with an outdoor patio and great breakfasts. Both are French and draw plenty of deputies from the nearby parliament.
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Grill Asia
The Hyatt's swanky signature restaurant; some consider it tops in Kyiv.
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Himalaya
Himalaya has occupied a prime perch overlooking Khreshchatyk for some time, and somehow it just gets better with age. The Indian food is spicier than you expect in these parts and there are many veggie options.
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Kartoplyana Khata
Kartoplyana Khata 'Potato Hut' has exploded into a national chain, but this smoke-free original location remains its flagship. The ribs, dripping in grease, have attained legendary status, and burritos are its other speciality. Despite its moniker, the potato is but a minor player here.
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Kazbek
Don't be misled by the flashing neon lights and adjoining casino - this place is quality. Our favourite Georgian restaurant.
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Khutorok
This wooden paddle-steamer moored on the Dnipro has a cosy Carpathian-style interior. Sit on the deck in summer, or huddle up to the fire in winter, while partaking of delicious shashlyk, green borshch, (beef roulades) or vegetarian options. Watch out for the wandering musicians though.
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King David
This certified kosher restaurant behind Kyiv's main synagogue has a small café/bar area in front where you can find affordable falafel and pita wraps, and hamburgers.
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Kray
The Chinese chef at this well-kept secret in Pechersk cooks a mean broccoli with garlic sauce, spicy 'chicken panic' and various other dishes for vegetarians and omnivores alike. Grazing is best done on the outdoor patio, weather permitting.
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Krym
This dirt-cheap Crimean Tatar basement restaurant spills right out onto sunny maydan Nezalezhnosti in the summer months. There's a compact menu of central-Asian favourites like plov (pilaf), manty (dumplings) and laghman (meat stew), plus reasonably priced Chernihivske beer.
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Le Grand Café
The height of opulence, this French eatery is the place to take a date if you're out to impress and money is no object. Naturally you'll spot plenty of politicians, many of them just here to have a snifter of Hennessy in the extravagant piano bar.
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Marrakesh
This showcases three things Ukrainians apparently love - '1001 Nights' Arabian design, couscous and hookah pipes. The food is good but perhaps too bland for true connoisseurs of Moroccan cuisine.
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Megamarket
A little further out but worth it if size and selection are what you seek.
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Mlyn
The upscale Mlyn is a waterfront restaurant housed in an old wooden mill in Hydropark. Open year-round.
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Muka
This new Italian restaurant is proof that exceptional food in Kyiv doesn't have to cost a fortune.
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Myslyvyts
A two-minute walk east of the walking bridge in Hydropark. Just go up to the window and order. Open year-round.
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O'Panas blyny stand
City's best blyny come from a shack in front of Ukrainian eatery O'Panas.
