Sometimes, a restaurant begs to be visited again and again. Kyiv’s Kult Ra, a Trypillian-themed eatery, is just such a place.
Sometimes, a restaurant begs to be visited again and again. Kyiv’s Kult Ra, a Trypillian-themed eatery, is just such a place.
It combines great food and ambiance, with a lesson in ancient culinary customs, be it food or drink. It appears to be achieving something other restaurants in Ukraine have been unable or unwilling to do – carving out its own unique identity.
Keeping true to its name, Kult Ra focuses on Ukrainian food, but not of the generic kind. A cabbage and mushroom varenyk (dumpling) is an experience, while a mushroom dish conjures up the feel of smoky Carpathian Mountains and a more distant era when nature was celebrated for its bountiful gifts.
For this review, I was accompanied by family that had traveled to Ukraine from Canada. My cousin in particular is a fierce culinary critic. Several nights before, we had dined at a Polish restaurant in Krakow and she had given the waitress a gentle earful for serving frozen pyrogies, rather than freshly made.
First looking at Kult Ra’s uniquely-designed menu – it is adorned by pagan symbols and script reminiscent of Kyivan Rus – I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Personally, I have never been a fan of Ukrainian food in Ukrainian restaurants; few have been able to live up to the tasteful standards of the many women from my childhood who labored for hours making varenyky and holubtsi for church functions in my hometown of Denver, Colorado.
Yet the name of the dishes beckoned: Black Sea Salad, Ruskiy Borscht, Ragu from Summer Vegetables. After savoring the menu for many minutes, my cousin chose a mlynets (pancake) with chicken and mushrooms (Hr 26.50) and another with mushrooms and cabbage (Hr 21.50).
My aunt had varenyky with cabbage and mushrooms (Hr 57), while my mother decided on a mlynets with berries (Hr 43). I ordered a Carpathian mushroom soup with noodles (Hr 47), fried mushrooms (Hr 67) and beef in herbs (Hr 95).
Because there was so much food – the portions were generous – we shared our dishes. Simply put, all were delicious. I particularly liked the berry mlynets. Served with a berry sauce, it was not too heavy and just as easily could have been a desert.
The mushroom soup was truly one of the best I have had in Ukraine. The fried mushroom dish was a medley of porcini, champions, oyster and chanterelles with a smokey taste. It was that dish that reminded me of the woody Carpathians.
As for the beef in herbs, let’s put it this way: With this particular dish, Sam’s Steakhouse now has a true competitor. And I don’t say that lightly since, for years, Sam’s has been a favorite place for beef.
Our meal was washed down with water (Hr 20), which the restaurant brings in from the village of Staike, Kyiv Oblast. It is unique in taste, and while it is not a water I would drink every day, it enhanced the taste of the dishes.
While it is admirable that Kult Ra is trying to remain true to the Ukrainianess of its dishes and menu, there is one suggestion I would make: Add to the wine list.
The restaurant offers two exceptionally good beers, Mukolynets (Hr 20) and Tern (Hr 30), but its wines leave something to be desired.
The menu is heavy in Massandra products, which, with the exception of its desert wines, are not good.
I went to Kult Ra with long-time friends the day after my first visit – the beef dish was even better and the cherry varenyky (Hr 57) were awesome – but the Massandra Aligote (Hr 180) was a disappointment.
Ukraine just can’t compete with Italy, France, Chile or even Georgia when it comes to wine.
Give customers a wider variety because a bad wine can spoil a really great meal.
A word must be said about the presentation of dishes and interior. The culture of the pagan Trypillian civilization that inhabited Ukraine some 7,000 years ago is making a comeback, and Kult Ra has certainly understood that.
The restaurant offers some of the most interesting tableware I have ever seen in Ukraine. Dishes are presented on tableware featuring Trypillian designs, as well as mugs and bowls that mimic the culture’s traditional shapes.
The interior is adorned by the pagan god, Dazhboh, as well as pagan goddesses, which were painted by hand.
Kult Ra also has a book store, tableware, jewelry, organic products and other knickknacks. All of these components come together organically, creating an environment where one can spend hours with the hopes of returning again.
Kult RA
Volodymyrs’ka 4
tel. 044 331 59 48
Open 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.
www.kultra.org
Metro station:
Zoloti Vorota
Read more: https://archive.kyivpost.com/news/guide/food/detail/109636/#ixzz1VkiaYGYl
Staff writer Natalia A. Feduschak can be reached at [email protected].
