Sometimes restaurants in Ukraine become an example of how foreigners influence the Ukrainian gastronomic scene. Find out which famous Ukrainian restaurants were founded by foreigners and what flavor cultures they brought to Ukraine

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In recent years, Ukraine has turned into a real culinary mosaic, with traditional dishes alongside interpretations of cuisines from around the world. This is largely thanks to foreigners who open restaurants, cafes, and coffee shops here, even despite the war and other difficulties. Here's where to find restaurants opened by foreigners in Ukraine and what to try in these gastronomic oases.

Spicy NoSpicy: spices and interior - in Asia

Where: 114 Velyka Vasylkivska St., Kyiv

Spicy NoSpicy in Kyiv is a restaurant of authentic Asian cuisine, opened by a Thai couple who wanted to bring the “hot” tastes of their homeland to Kyiv residents and guests of the capital. The concept of the restaurant is based on a variety of Asian spices and an interior in the style of Ayurveda, which seems to add flavor to every dish. The restaurant owners believe that spices can influence mood, well-being, and even desires. The waiters at Spicy NoSpicy are knowledgeable about Ayurveda, so they will advise you on which dish will cheer you up and which will awaken your passion.

Among the restaurant's interesting features are 600 original Vietnamese baskets on the ceiling of the restaurant, as well as the opportunity to purchase unique spices to go.

The average check is: 1100 UAH

Sam's Steak House. America, meat and meat again

Where: 37 Zhylianska St., Kyiv

The already legendary Sam's Steak House restaurant in Kyiv was opened by an American back in 1996 and is one of the first American restaurants in Ukraine after McDonalds and the first steak house in Ukraine. The restaurant is known for its steaks and traditional American meat cuisine, which is essentially a mini-production of meat fermentation using the unique Natural Wet Aged technology. Many world stars and politicians who have visited the Ukrainian capital have visited the restaurant.

The menu of Sam's Steak House consists of more than 20 meat items: from classic steaks and burger sets to specialty grilled vegetables. The wine list includes wines from all “meat regions of the world”: USA, Spain, Argentina, Australia, Chile, Italy, France, and the collection of single malt whiskeys and bourbons is a real find for connoisseurs of strong American drinks, as there are more than 100 items, including tasting sets.

The average bill is 800 UAH.

Earlier, we wrote about the gastronomic traditions of Ukraine and the Ukrainian restaurants that reveal them the most

Casa Nori restaurant - special Italy and a bit of experimentation

Where: Kyiv, 1 Borysohlibska St.

Casa Nori restaurant in Kyiv's Podil district, owned and chefed by Italian Andrea Nori, is a talented promoter of Italian cuisine in Ukraine. And this is exactly the case when the chef is the face of the restaurant. The restaurant has gained fame for its gastronomic format of “osteria-cicchiteria”, the main feature of which is the combination of wine with small Venetian cicchetti snacks. Originally from Verona, Italy, Andrea Nori knows all about the flavors characteristic of this region, and some of the recipes for the menu were taken from an Italian cookbook that is more than 150 years old.

However. Italy is not the only one. Before coming to Ukraine, Nori had worked in Switzerland, the United States, and Russia, and finally settled in Ukraine, bringing his culinary extravagance and experimentation to our country.

The average check is 700 UAH

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NĂM (BAO) Modern Vietnamese Cuisine. Hector Jimeno-Bravo, and that's all.

Where: Kyiv, 14/1 Mechnikova St.

The selection of restaurants from foreign chefs will not be complete without a description of the restaurant of the famous Colombian showman and talented chef Hector Jimenos-Bravo. The latter promotes not Colombian or even Spanish cuisine in Ukraine, but the culinary traditions of Vietnam. NĂM (BAO) Modern Vietnamese Cuisine is the name of Ektor's premium segment.

According to the TV presenter himself, Asia inspired him to look for authentic and unexpected Vietnamese recipes, and that's how the idea of the restaurant came about. However, in his best master traditions, Hector likes to modernize, transform, and experiment perfectly. The chef is sure that he creates, first of all, for gourmets and gives them a taste of the best flavors of the world. That's why Ector's restaurant offers exotic Vietnamese snacks, both trendy and well-known, as well as non-trivial, and arch-traditional dishes made from fresh, and sometimes live, seafood. And Ector's signature sauces and spices, his desserts are known without any advertising. And all this in an open kitchen, so that every visitor has the opportunity to observe the Asian mystery of cooking.

The wine list of the restaurant includes more than 85 wines from different regions of the world, and the author's alcoholic cocktails in NĂM are no less original than the dishes.

Average bill: 800-1200 UAH.

Here is information from Visit Ukraine about Ukrainian restaurants abroad

BAO Casual: China in Lviv?

Where: Lviv, 25 Staroyevreiska Street.

We continue to reveal the topic of Colombian Hector Jimenez-Bravo's passion for Asian cuisine on the example of another of his establishments, this time in Lviv. Opened in July 2022 by BAO Casual, during the active phase of Russian aggression, the restaurant aims to reveal modern Chinese cuisine. Back then, Ektor went all-in and didn't lose.

In BAO Casual, the showman-cook recreated the cozy atmosphere reflected in several themed Chinese halls, where you can smell the delicious smell and feel some spirituality... The menu of the restaurant, as you might guess, includes many experimental and bold dishes from Ector, but traditional Chinese flavors, such as octopus salads or seafood cocktails, are also widely represented here.

The restaurant's pricing policy is also a pleasant surprise - it is average. For example, 500 grams of the restaurant's signature Peking duck costs about 800 hryvnias.

The average bill is 950 UAH.

We wroteabout unusual dishes of Ukrainian cuisine inour previous article

Fumi Caffe: hot and kind Japan at the service of Kharkiv residents

Where: 43 Hryhorii Skovoroda Street, Kharkiv

In Kharkiv, in the midst of Russian aggression in 2022, 75-year-old Japanese Fuminori Tsuchiko opened a Japanese cuisine cafe Fumi Caffe and began... to serve hot lunches to everyone for free. Every day, personally, with sincerity and inspiration. At the same time, as a sign of his support for Kharkiv residents, the Japanese man came to live in the subway, where the citizens were hiding from constant Russian shelling, and for some time brought them food on his own. He fed Kharkiv residents three meals a day, and also served them herbal tea if they wished.

Today, all Kharkiv residents know about Fuminori Tsuchiko's restaurant, and it is known far beyond the city limits. The chef knows most of his visitors personally, but every day new customers come here and are surprised by the richness and nutritional value of the Asian dishes on the menu and their affordability. After all, the prices in the cafe are really inexpensive.

“Everyone needs to eat every day. And I want to feed people at least once a day, because most people are having difficulty with money now,” the Japanese man says.

Interesting. In early June 2024, it became known about a dispute between Fuminori Tsuchiko and his assistant Natalia Grama. Fuminori accused the woman of fraud and using his name for collections.

The average check was: 200 UAH.

Guramma Modern Asia restaurant: not about Japan, but about Japan in the world

Where: Kyiv, Dniprovsky descent, 1

Guramma Modern Asia is a premium restaurant opened by Japanese Anthony Toshio Kando, who has lived all his life in the United States and came to Ukraine specifically to create this restaurant. His task was to develop a perfect map of the new taste of Asian cuisine and reveal its endless variety. Prior to Anthony Toshio's arrival in Ukraine, the restaurant was set up by another American chef, Tom Catley, who had previously made a career in Malaysia and Singapore.

The restaurant was formed under the guidance and ideological influence of Michelin-starred chefs Gordon Ramsay and Nathan Outlaw, and therefore the menu includes truly masterpiece dishes. This allowed the restaurant to top the Nikkei rating of Japanese-Peruvian cuisine in Ukraine.

Asian delights are expressed here not only in the dishes and their unique flavors, but also in the interior with a panoramic view of the Dnipro River. The restaurant also regularly hosts special show programs and generally follows global trends in the restaurant business. The management of Modern Asia says that this restaurant is not only about food, but also about a space for creativity, fusion, and experimentation.

The average bill is 1450 UAH

Ukraine is a country of impressions, a country of landscapes, a country of flavors. And to literally taste Ukraine, to fully unleash its culinary potential and comprehend its food diversity, book a food tour of Ukraine with Visit Ukraine. Our gastronomic tour database is gourmet-tested, exquisite, original, and, of course, the most delicious.

Just a reminder. The restaurant business is a modern niche with its own secrets and pitfalls, which were discussed by restaurant consultant and expert Igor Pokachalov.

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