Stylish Pleasure Cafe offers some tasty dishes and relaxed atmosphere
Dear reader, it is with a heavy heart that I reveal to you the saddest of truths: the review you are about to read will be my final installment in these pages at least until next summer if not – sigh – forever. So with this meal perhaps the last time I’ll ever have an expense account to offset my gluttony, I wanted to make my last hurrah as excessive as possible.
Flipping through my rolodex of restaurants to review (really just a dog-eared and slightly torn piece of paper I keep in my back pocket), the list of choices was staggering: Do I gorge on butter and cream at a French spot? Do I stare down and devour a mountain of meat at one of the numerous high-end Georgian places in town? Should I tear into half a duck breast covered in some experimental pomegranate-wasabi-goat cheese coulis at a new earnest fusion restaurant?
But the truth is I’ve been spending a lot of time at Hydropark lately, and I don’t look quite as good in a bathing suit as this town demands. My guest for my last supper was feeling similarly and, besides, in this heat, a heavy meal often leaves me without the ability to walk straight afterwards.
Hence the choice of Pleasure Cafe, the Asian-inflected and health conscious new eatery from Viola Kim, proprietor of such Kyiv mainstays as Viola’s Bierstube and Margarita Sichkar, the owner of the fashionable restaurant outfit Tampopo. Earlier reports made it sound perfect for a light meal and a casual atmosphere.
First of all, Pleasure Cafe is rather democratic when it comes to its clientele, but you wouldn’t know it by its location. Nestled centrally, if very inconspicuously, the easiest way to find the place is by facing the Palats Sportu and the adjacent kassa (ticket office), and then proceeding between these two buildings.
Don’t be cowed by the security guard or the lowered vehicle gate: you’re perfectly allowed to walk through (the guard, in fact, was nice enough to tell us where it was). Once through, just follow the music for a few yards until you see a bunch of seats outside to your right.
The service, I’ll admit, was at first painfully slow. It took about 45 minutes for a server to get anywhere near our table. But, to be fair, Ukraine had just qualified for the next round of the World Cup only minutes before, so the place was packed, the mood was extremely convivial and everyone had been drinking for hours (if not days).
The excitement was contagious, so I’m more than willing to assume the staff is a bit more attentive during days without a bold national accomplishment. And I’d certainly hope so, because the interior was so beautifully designed and arranged that it’d be a shame to let bad service puncture the bubble of zen-like – if animated – calm.
If you’re really in the mood to lounge, take a seat at one of the overstuffed couches in front of the wall-sized windows or grab a chair outside.
The menu was a typical Kyiv collection of meat and fish dishes, some with Asian touches, and, of course, the ubiquitous page of sushi. As light a meal as we wanted, my guest and I often get excited by the prospect of new culinary territory to be chronicled, so we ordered with relative relish.
But first, the wine: you should know that, back in the States, I often had bad luck choosing an unknown bottle. For some reason here, though, my tastes seem to be magic: Malbecs simply call to me. Chiantis cry my name. Pinot Noirs huskily ask to be chosen and Rieslings whimper when they’re wrongly overlooked.
So it was at Pleasure Cafe. A Calvet Bordeaux (Hr 120) flashed a coy smile as only the French can, and I was immediately charmed. Its garnet throatiness was perfect for the slight chill of the evening. Also a pleasant start was the basket of complimentary bread, complete with chive butter. Any Kyiv resident knows how often the free rolls can be underwhelming here. At Pleasure Cafe there’s no need to worry.
As the dishes were left at our table, the eggplant with tomato and cheese (Hr 35) sounded too staid to truly describe what arrived: a splayed whole eggplant, its slices arranged like a miniature and gentle mountain range sodden with verdant moss of thick pesto, and layers of ham and cheese intertwined within the folds. While the sauce itself was impressive, the base vegetable could’ve used a bit more time in the oven. As succulent as well-cooked eggplant can be, a few minutes too early from the heat can leave the flesh rubbery and bereft of flavor.
The salad of fried bacon and chicken with parmesan (Hr 39) was no different than a dozen “Caesar” salads I’ve had in Ukraine, and was just as satisfactory (which is to say neither memorable nor atrocious).
But the kitchen showed its polish when the pork with blinis arrived: volcanic brown peaks of pounded cutlet wrapped tightly around crepe dough, the delicious cones surroundedby rivers of red and black tomato magna and livid yellow wedges of grapefruit. A bit of salt and this was by far my favorite dish of the evening, not to mention the fact that it went quite well with the wine (of which we ordered another bottle).
Keeping with the blini theme, a plate of them stuffed with raisins and sweet cheese for dessert (Hr 25) was a fitting coda to the meal. Swallowing the last morsel, the crowd in good humor and the evening perfect for a stroll, I wondered why I’d decided to leave Ukraine at all.
So before I go, I have a few parting words (don’t worry: I would never use space in a newspaper for a soapbox. Well, I totally would, actually, but I’ll try to keep this as uncondescending as possible): A lot of ex-pats seem to enjoy nothing more than making fun of the food options here in the capital. And, after six months of vociferously tracking down obscure deliciousness hidden in the more esoteric parts of the city, not to mention the range of great choices in or near the center, I am firmly convinced that most of the gastronomic discontent stems more from the laziness of Westerners than from any deficiency borne by Kyiv itself.
Please, enjoy the selection, take pride in discovering new culinary gems – even if it means having to take the metro a few stops further than your usual bar.
Kyiv has much to offer, with many of us (myself included) so rarely taking advantage. And so I’m off before I get too sentimental. Ladies and gentlemen, here’s to good eating.
Pleasure Cafe
3 Sportyvna, 496-4135
Open daily from 11 a.m. till the last customer
English menu: YesEnglish-speaking staff: No
