Some visitors to the BarBQ Bar Grill might find the new steakhouse’s décor a bit too funky for their tastes, but few are likely to argue with the quality of its meat.
Thick, juicy and cooked just right, BarBQ has some of the best beef I’ve ever tasted in Ukraine. That is no small feat in a country filled with restaurants that tout their special grilled shashlyk, pork and beef and too often disappoint.
Located on Gorodetskogo Street, just steps away from the Khreshchatyk metro station, BarBQ offers a wide selection of foods for every palate.
Carnivores should add this restaurant to the list of places they frequent. (Oleksiy Boyko)
Its main courses include chicken wings with two sauces, calamari with homemade aioli and tomato tartar, and salmon with estragon sauce. It is its steak, however, grilled to near perfection, which is likely to win the eatery a solid reputation and woo customers back again and again.
BarBQ offers rib-eye, New York and tenderloin steaks, all for Hr 347 for 400, 350, and 250 gram servings, respectively.
I opted for the less expensive burger, which was really a 350 -gram steak in a bun that runs for Hr 97, fries included. When I asked for the meat to be cooked medium rare, the waitress smiled knowingly, and finished my sentence for me.
When the burger arrived, it took only one bite to realize nirvana. The meat was cooked medium rare as ordered and melted in my mouth. Served with tomatoes, green lettuce and a creamy sauce, it was one of the most unusual burgers I’ve ever tried in my life. Not a huge bread eater, I had initially toyed with the idea of scrapping the bun altogether, but that one bite convinced me otherwise.
If there was one criticism, it was that there were two tiny bites in the middle of the burger that were a tad undercooked. Otherwise, this burger, which comes with the restaurant’s home-made and absolutely delicious french fries, was perfect. The meal was washed down with the restaurant’s least expensive red wine – french for Hr 130 a bottle.
BarBQ’s burger menu isn’t only about beef. The restaurant offers a vegetarian burger, burgers with tuna and turkey and a royal burger that includes foie gras, a detail that immediately grabbed my dinner-mate’s attention. The burgers range from Hr 67 to 187. There are also a wide variety of soups, appetizers and salads that run from Hr 37 to 127, and breakfast, which is served until noon.
Dessert was flan, covered in raspberry sauce and the right amount of powdered sugar for Hr 57. Rich and creamy, the portion was large enough for two people. Staff had no problem in bringing another plate and spoon for a desert to be shared.
In terms of service, BarBQ stands ahead above other establishments I’ve visited in Kyiv over the years. Three people – a waitress, a waiter and a manager – all came up to ask about the food and if other help was needed. The food itself arrived at the right intervals and was hot. Needs, whether they were another bottle of water or a shot of vodka for an accompanying friend, were immediately met. Maybe this is because the restaurant – which way back in the early years of Ukrainian independence was a pool hall – is still new, and personnel are trying extra hard to impress.
I hope the great service will continue because I plan to return in the very near future to try the restaurant’s new Grill All Inclusive, which is essentially an all-you-can eat grill fest for Hr 160.
BarBQ, 10/1 Horodetskogo St.,
tel. 279-3355
Kyiv Post staff writer Natalia A. Feduschak can be reached at [email protected]
