You're reading: Best places to quench summertime thirst in Kyiv

Summer heat is upon us and it's time to trade hot coffees and herbal teas for cool lemonades and ice-cold beverages. Here's where to find the most refreshing drinks in Kyiv. All prices are by the glass.

Lemonades
Fans of “lemonades” (cool summer fruit drinks that are not necessarily made from lemons) should go to 3B Café (23 Khoryva St.). The café’s No.1 Lemonade is made with orange and passion fruit juice (Hr 35). Among other options, there are lemonades with wild berries and grapefruit.
Check out a bubble-gum lemonade (Hr 19) at Druzi Café (2D Andriyivskiy Uzviz; 5 Prorizna St.). It is the most frequently ordered drink in the place, along with the classic lemonade.
For even more lemonade flavors, visit the Fusion Café (27B Sahaydachnogo St.). It offers lemonades made from berries, apples, peaches and melon (Hr 50-174).
Gastronomic cafe Kitchen (68/21 Saksahanskoho St.) specializes in eco and healthy foods. Their hit drink this summer is a ginger lemonade made from birch tree juice (Hr 40).

Smoothies
Smoothie lovers should check out Milk Bar (16 Shota Rustaveli St.). This venue offers a blackberry-strawberry-coconut milk smoothie with Oreo cookies that they bake themselves (Hr 69).
Also, tasty fruit smoothies (Hr 41-45) can be found at Credens Café (20 Velyka Vasylkivska St).
For a blackberry-mint and peach-banana-mango smoothie (Hr 45), check out the cozy Dragee Café (Lvivska Square).
For a yogurt-based lassi (Hr 39), go to 3B Café. These guys make them with strawberry, basil and cardamom.

Sangria
This wine-based drink with fruit and berries can be found in a variety of places in Kyiv. For a sweet sangria (Hr 65) or ice wine with lime and spices (Hr 45), go to Glintveinya (2 Bessarabska Square). The venue is about to feature more summer drinks soon, including sangria made with a ginger-grapefruit tonic and ginger ale, a cucumber-lime cocktail with mint and soda, and a Tobasco-rosemary cocktail with chili and bitter lemon.

For a more traditional sangria, go to Arbequina (4 Hrynchenka St.), where it is sold by the pitcher (Hr 215). It’s best to enjoy it on the terrace overlooking a quiet street just next to Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square.

Milk shakes
A good, old-fashioned milk shake is available almost everywhere in Kyiv, but especially good ones are served at Credens Café (Hr 35-39) and Druzi Café (Hr 29). All the classic flavors are available, including chocolate and banana. For something more unusual, try the lavender milk shake (Hr 45) at Milk Bar. This venue also sells flavored cold milk.

Fruit and coffee cocktails
Those looking for fruit cocktails or a cold coffee should pay a visit to one of Kyiv’s four Banka bars (11/61 Lva Tolstoho St.). There is an interesting refreshing drink here that includes ice-cream, kiwi, grenadine, mint and orange (Hr 40).
Fruit cocktails can also be found in Dragee Café (Hr 45).
Devoted coffee fans can find comfort at Credens Café, initially a coffee bar. It serves various cold coffee drinks (Hr 41-45).
When in 3B Café, make sure to try the Almond Frappuccino (Hr 39) and a cold coffee with orange juice (Hr 35).