Ask any expat in Kyiv, and they’ve probably been to the Golden Gate Pub at least once, and likely much more often, since it opened its hallowed basement doors in 2001.
But now it is the latest casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Longtime owner Michael Don, one of Ukraine’s top restaurateurs since the mid-1990s, confirmed its closing. His il-Molin0 pizza chain, which occupies the ground floor space that used to be part of the Golden Gate, will expand and take over the pub.
Don regrets the closing.
“This is fifth time we’ve been attacked by the economy or revolutions,” he said. “We always getting stronger afterward. We will try to keep the same atmosphere with il-Molino. They are going to keep the same amount of beer. We are afraid there are not going to be enough foreigners in Ukraine, except local foreigners, to keep the Golden Gate Pub open.”
The secret to the pub’s success?
Many patrons would not say it was the quality of the food or service, although both had moments of glory.
Rather, its location across the street from the historic Golden Gate and eponymous metro stop made it an extremely convenient meeting place. Its subterranean charms also helped create the neighborhood pub atmosphere, like the famous American TV comedy “Cheers.”
“It leaves a big hole to fill in the Kyiv pub scene,” said longtime patron Euan MacDonald, a former Kyiv Post editor.
