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Real birch trunks line the walls of one of the rooms of Berizka, which is arguably one of Kyiv’s leading salad restaurants and most thoughtfully decorated spaces. Andriy Porokhnenko Discover some fresh options at Berizka and Fresh Bar

coli outbreak traced to bagged spinach, Kyivans are free from such worries. Of course, this is because one cannot even track down a few leaves of spinach here. My love of fresh green salad (not to mention my phobia of mayonnaise) makes me a tough customer in the former Soviet Union.

When I studied abroad in Moscow a year ago, I visited one bar regularly that I otherwise disliked, just for their fabulous Greek salad of spinach, bacon, moist bits of feta, and a tangy balsamic vinaigrette. For this article I set out to see if I could find a comparably delicious salad in Kyiv, heading to Berizka and Fresh Bar.

Opened in late August, Berizka is true to its name with its birch-tree theme. Some real birch stumps line the walls and a few even adorn the bar. As my companion noted, the interior looked like a forest. A really hip forest. Unlike many Kyivan restaurants, the interior decoration is masterly done and never feels kitschy. The color scheme is lime green and black and eclectic photographs line the walls. The ubiquitous flat screen also makes an appearance, hanging from a wall near the bar. (Who decided that a dining experience in Ukraine could not be complete without being able to simultaneously watch Fashion TV?)

On the weekends the nonsmoking room becomes a children’s hall. Any child steeped in the tales of the Brothers Grimm must love this place, Rumpelstiltskin or Little Red Riding Hood feel like they could pop out from behind a tree at any moment.

After perusing the long menu, my companion and I selected three salads out of the 29 types offered, as well as one entree. Of the three salads, only the first, the Vinaigrette (Hr 24), disappointed. We were naively expecting a tossed green salad with a vinaigrette dressing, but we received a tower of cold beets, carrots, and potatoes, surrounded on the plate by tiny piles of red onions, pickles, red beans, and two types of fish (another one of my food phobias).

Our second salad, consisting of apples and celery served on a bed of tossed field greens (Hr 26), was heavenly. Lacking crucial vocabulary such as the Russian word for celery, I asked the waitress about it, and she directed me to the bartender, who explained and mimed, in a friendly way, that it was the vegetable you use to stir a Bloody Mary.

Before we finished with the celery salad our waitress had brought out the next. Chopped bits of mango, starfruit, chicken breast, and peppers were tossed with a light peanut sauce and lettuce (Hr 42) Love is the only emotion that can describe how I felt about this offering.

Having eaten more lettuce than most Kyivans probably see in a year, we moved on to our entree, multigrain couscous with steamed vegetables (Hr 21). I did not even know multigrain couscous existed, so that was a pleasant surprise. It was as fluffy and filling as one would expect, and I was pleased especially by the steamed broccoli, an old friend.

I see myself at Berizka often this winter, curled up with a book and a salad long after green things have disappeared from markets and grocery stores around Kyiv.

Not so fresh at Fresh Bar

My editor suggested we also check out the salad offerings at Fresh Bar. When we arrived at the restaurant, an unmarked door on boulevard Taras Shevchenko, I was not convinced we were in the right place. I asked the waitress several times if we were really in Fresh Bar, as the menus said “Viola’s Bierstube.” Apparently, this is the upper part of Viola’s, where patrons are afforded the same fare as down below along with a view of the street. I was not particularly impressed with the array of salads on the menu, as they seemed fairly standard. The English translation of one of them, “mayonnaise-coated vegetable cake with herring,” (Hr 14) struck me as particularly unappetizing. Needless to say, phobia and all, I did not partake.

I decided to stick with what I knew, ordering mozzarella with tomatoes (Hr 18) off the “cold appetizers” section of the menu (if you ask me it is wrongly categorized.) When it arrived, I was disappointed to learn that the mozzarella was not the fresh variety, but the regular sliced kind you might find on pizza. But, to paraphrase U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s infamous quote (“You have to go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want,” Rumsfeld said in April 2004), you have to suffice with the cheese you have, not the cheese you want. I suppose I should be thankful for this old favorite, even in slight variation. The salad was covered in balsamic vinegar and a mix of fresh spices. Tasty.

Berizka (2 Esplanadna, 581-3222). Open from 8 a.m. till 11 p.m.

English menu: No

English-speaking staff: Yes

Fresh Bar (1 Tarasa Shevchenka Bulvar, 235-3751). Open from 11 a.m. till 2 p.m

English menu: Yes

English-speaking staff: Yes