Anastasia Barannik, a 21-year-old head of online educational projects, drinks up to five cups of coffee every day. She says it helps her calm down and distracts her from the everyday routine.
“It’s a ritual. It’s an important element of my life,” she told the Kyiv Post.
While Barannik has a list of favorite places she visits to grab a hot coffee, she is always eager to discover new cafes, she says.
So for Kyiv’s coffee lovers like Barannik, the Kyiv Post has picked out some of the most interesting coffee shops that have opened in Kyiv recently.
Takava Coffee-Buffet
This small place, located in the center of Kyiv, between the Lva Tolstoho and Olimpiiska metro stations, opened around a month ago. With the business still operating in test mode, Takava Coffee-Buffet is experimenting with different kinds of coffee while collaborating with a range of Ukrainian coffee roasting companies.
Takava specializes in espresso, cappuccino, latte, raf, cacao and frappe. Apart from that, they offer lemonades and desserts — cakes, macaroons, eclairs, and muffins, and they plan to bake their own croissants and puffs.
Lamps made out of cezves (small pots for making Turkish coffee) contribute to the warm atmosphere inside the two-storied cafe. For those who stay to enjoy their drink, Takava Coffee-Buffet has prepared a range of books, magazines and table games.
Bekir Suleimanov, one of Takava’s co-owners, says that they will keep experimenting and try to contribute to the development of Kyiv’s coffee culture.
“We will be glad to see everyone who loves coffee as much as we do,” he told the Kyiv Post.
Prices: espresso — Hr 38, cappuccino — Hr 48, latte — Hr 58.
Takava Coffee-Buffet (43/16 Velyka Vasylkivska St.) Mon-Fri — 8 a. m. — 11 p. m. Sat-Sun — 9 a. m. — 11 p. m.
Right coffee bar
This coffee bar opened near Lvivska Square in early summer. Featuring a modern design, Right is a great place to start the day with a cup of coffee and some granola.
The bar uses coffee beans roasted in Scandinavian countries. Their beverage menu includes espresso, cortado, cappuccino, latte, flat white, raf, cacao and tea. In addition, Right offers three kinds of filter coffee — pour-over, cezve and aeropress. Along with drinks, the bar sells granola, brownies, cheesecakes with gorgonzola and caramelized pears, croissants and traditional French quiche.
For the coming cold season, the cafe will add special offers — “coffee in good spirits” — coffee with added alcoholic drinks.
Apart from that, Right soon plans to start electronic music evenings every week, and says it will conduct coffee tasting sessions and educational workshops on making coffee
Right is also animal-friendly: Visitors can spend time with their pets inside the cafe and even find friends for them, as lots of animal lovers are regular customers here.
Prices: espresso — Hr 32, cappuccino — Hr 39, latte — Hr 43.
Right coffee bar (9V Sichovykh Striltsiv St.) Mon-Fri — 8 a. m. — 10 p. m. Sat-Sun — 9 a. m. — 10 p. m.
Kachorovska na Lva
The brand Kachorovska first became famous in Ukraine for its elegant shoes and accessories. Kachorovska used to sell its products online, but after getting more attention, it felt the need to open its own store. However, the idea of opening a shoe and bag store seemed a little too boring to Kachorovska’s team, so in 2015 they launched a store that also serves coffee — Kachorovska Store&Cafe, located in Podilskyi district.
Two years later, they opened in the summer another store and cafe near Lva Tolstoho metro station. With its modern minimalistic style, the two-storied Kachorovska na Lva combines shelves with shoes organically with coffee tables and comfy chairs.
The cafe usually uses coffee beans from Guatemala roasted in Odesa, and occasionally conducts specialty days with different kinds of coffee. Kachorovska na Lva sells traditional espresso, cappuccino, latte, flat white, flat orange, and raf, as well as alternatives — aeropress, V‑60 (purover) and coldbrew. The cafe also offers tea, lemonade, milkshakes, fresh juice, cacao and smoothies. Along with drinks, visitors can try cakes, breakfasts (served all day), sandwiches, salads and soups.
Apart from that, the cafe occasionally hosts events such as coffee tastings and meetings with interesting people.
Prices: espresso — Hr 30, cappuccino — Hr 36, latte — Hr 38.
Kachorovska na Lva (14 Velyka Vasylkivska St.) Mon-Fri — 8 a. m. — 9 p. m. Sat-Sun — 10 a. m. — 9 p. m.
Make My Cake
This cafe is perfect for those who can’t imagine drinking coffee without something sweet. Make My Cake sells cheesecakes, brownies, black forest gateau, and their calling card — classic French dessert macaroons. The cafe offers 20 types of macaroons, including the most popular ones — salty caramel, lavender cheesecake and gorgonzola-quince.
Daria Voinarovska, one of the cafe’s baristas, says “it’s a place where one can try the best macaroons and coffee of good quality.”
Make My Cake uses Colombian coffee beans roasted in Odesa. Their drinks menu includes espresso, latte, cappuccino, americano, cacao, flat white, long black and green Japanese matcha tea.
It’s a small and cozy café, with a minimalistic modern design. Visitors can either enjoy their coffee inside or get an order to go.
Founded at the beginning of summer, Make My Cake already plans to open another coffee shop by the end of September, and keep feeding the macaroon craze among the citizens of Kyiv.
Prices: espresso — Hr 35, cappuccino — Hr 41, latte — Hr 43, macaron — Hr 35.
Make My Cake (7 Mechnykova St.) 9 a. m. — 9 p. m.
31V1
The 31V1 educational space has worked as a platform for public events for over three years, with numerous lectures, meetings and workshops being held here. This summer, 31V1 launched their own cafe in order to allow visitors to combine learning new things with enjoying hot drinks.
31V1 uses Colombian Supremo coffee beans. According to Pavlo Kozyriev, the café’s barista, the beans are roasted in Kyiv, and brought straight to the cafe, which helps them retain their fresh aroma.
The cafe offers espresso, americano, cappuccino, latte, flat white, frappé, mojito, lemonade, fresh juice and five kinds of tea. Apart from that, visitors can order cookies, bars, cakes and fruit.
When there are no events held at 31V1, the platform works as a free-of-charge coworking space and is open to anybody who wants to study or work while sipping a drink.
Located in the center of Kyiv, on Pushinska St., 31V1 is sheltered from the city buzz by surrounding buildings, giving its guests a small break from busy city life.
Prices: espresso — Hr 22, cappuccino — Hr 36, latte — Hr 38.
31V1 (31V1 Pushkinska St.) Mon-Fri — 10 a. m. — 6 p. m. When events are being held, open till 9 p. m.
BuzzPlace
Although BuzzPlace lives up to its name in being quite a noisy place, Dmytro Dubovetskyi, the café’s owner, says it’s still a cozy place for a coffee. He says that while the place is busy, there is always a good atmosphere there.
BuzzPlace opened at the beginning of summer on Vozdvyzhenska Street. It’s a small cafe with a modern design, wooden furniture, neon signs and tables outside.
The cafe collaborates with a coffee roasting company from Dnipro and uses blends of Arabica beans. They sell espresso, americano, cappuccino, latte, flat white, raf, frappé, freddo, orange, some signature coffee and one alternative — kalita. Apart from that, BuzzPlace offers hot tea and cold drinks.
There is a choice of breakfasts — granola, croissants, sandwiches, and their specialty — waffles with sweet (fruit, berries, peanut butter) and savory (cheese and tomatoes, chicken and mushrooms, salmon and cheese) toppings.
BuzzPlace occasionally holds special events — lectures and meetings with public people like photographers and bloggers. The cafe will soon update its menu, adding wine, as in the evening the people strolling around Vozdvyzhenska are less inclined to drink coffee, Dubovetskyi says.
BuzzPlace’s owner also says he plans to expand the number of cafes in Kyiv, and even open cafes in Poland.
Prices: espresso — Hr 50, cappuccino — Hr 60, latte — Hr 75.
BuzzPlace (8 Dehtiarna St.) 9 a. m. — 10 p. m.
