Choosing the best among Kyiv’s fast-food options
Having a candlelit meal at a fine restaurant, slowly and gracefully, enjoying every bit is the best way to do it, but we’re all busy people and at times we are forced to leave all the rituals behind and simply get some quick food. Fortunately, the era of convenience has made it easy to get your grub almost anywhere and do it quickly, too. Kyiv is full of fast-food places where you can satisfy your hunger at a modest price, so we decided to find the best place to go in Kyiv when your stomach begins to growl.
Mister Snack is the best choice for those whose ideal lunch is a decent-sized sandwich – you can choose from over 20 different fillings, as well as ready-made sandwiches and menus, which include salads and soups. By now, the Mister Snack chain is comprised of seven restaurants, all casually designed, offering competent service, and meals that will cost you about Hr 20. However if you don’t find it very healthy to feed on sandwiches regularly – and I can’t disagree with you on that – Mister Snack can hardly become your favored spot.
Two highly popular fast-food chains Pizza Celentano and Potato House could be called “deluxe” fast-food, closer to quick-casual restaurants than the McDonald’s type eateries. While officially Celentano and Potato House don’t belong to the same chain, it’s quite obvious they are close relatives judging by their similar casual interiors and menus – both offering a selection of salads and pancakes. Both eateries offer good music and humorous pop-art design, which creates a pleasing and relaxed atmosphere. Despite all the similarities, the two chains differ in their specialty cuisines. Celentano is an Italian pizzeria that is relatively cheap – around Hr 30 for an average pizza (good quality too). All you need to do is to choose the ingredients for your pizza, from a long list which includes ham, chicken, salami, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc. and wait for the hot pizza to arrive at your table.
Potato House specializes in Mexican cuisine, offering a selection of burritos, traditional hot chili, fried pork ribs, steak, and a spicy tomato based cocktail named “Babtsya Konchita” (“Grandma Konchita”). Some of the Celentano and Potato House establishments have their own bars, serving a standard selection of spirits and cocktails, with several brands of beer available at each spot. The desserts from Celentano and Potato House are also great; however, the selection is somewhat limited.
Yapona Khata is new in town, but it appeared just in time to capitalize on the growing popularity of Japanese cuisine in Ukraine. Its sushi, sashimi, and rolls, as well as salads and soups, are good quality and offered at decent prices – you can have a great sushi lunch for as little as Hr 40. Naturally all the food is freshly prepared – because of this you will have to wait at least 10 minutes for your order. Unfortunately, there is so far only one Yapona Khata with a separate location (Aladdin shopping center), while the others can be found in the food courts at Globus and Metgograd. However, having sushi next to people munching down french fries and chicken wings takes some of the enjoyment away from the experience.
The Puzata Khata chain, offering Ukrainian and European home-style food in restaurant-like interiors has already become the top popular cafeteria of the kind in the capital, due to a huge variety of high quality dishes at moderate prices. My favorite Puzata Khata outlet is the two-story Puzata Khata in Passazh on Khreshchatyk, with its original interior that recreates the traditional clay-walled hut you can come across in practically any old Ukrainian village. Paintings, numerous crocks, unvarnished earthen dishes, and straw decorate the walls and ceiling, and the wooden furniture, traditional stove, and wooden cart all create a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The dishes offered at Puzata Khata are never cooked from by-products, but from the freshest ingredients delivered to the restaurant daily. The menu boasts such well-known national foods as Ukrainian borsch with pampushki, homemade sausages, varenyky, pancakes, salads, many meat and fish dishes, as well as desserts, beer, and kvas. Each time I go there, no matter how hungry I am, I don’t manage to spend over Hr 20 at Puzata Khata. And even though we already named it the Best Ukrainian cafeteria, we can’t help but call it the best fast-food establishment as well. Even the fact that Khata seems forever overcrowded fails to drive me away from it.
Puzata Khata (15/4 Kreshchatyk (Passazh), 278-5577)
