You're reading: Taking a bite out of Africa

Go to Krokodyl, and you will get a taste of Africa – though it won’t necessarily be in the food.

A newcomer on Kyiv’s restaurant scene, Krokodyl is, in fact, all about good taste, but its connection to the Dark Continent is primarily restricted to the decor. Several intriguingly named dishes, such as Crocodile Salad and Cleopatra, also contribute to the African imagery, but there’s not so much as a bowl of couscous on the menu. That said, Krokodyl doesn’t presume to be anything other than the theme restaurant it is, and as such, it does a great job.

Located just outside Pecherska metro station, everything about Krokodyl appears brand new and squeaky clean. Though lacking windows, the space is comfortable enough, with a white tile floor and about six dark-wood tables.

Krokodyl is done up with an aquarium, masks, carvings and several Africa-inspired paintings, which cover the walls of the restaurant. A bar takes up one end of the room, and there are also plenty of mirrors and a requisite television hanging from the ceiling.

The staff is attentive and competent, and reasonably good recorded music also adds to the friendly atmosphere whether for an after-work drink or an evening meal.

Open for just more than a month, Krokodyl is currently offering a promotional menu that takes 20 percent off the already reasonably priced entrees. That news has yet to get around, for on a recent weeknight, the restaurant was far from busy.

That meant we had the full attention of our waitress and chef for our dinner, and we began with the sizeable assorted smoked fish appetizer (Hr 35) and the Hungry Elephant salad (Hr 15). The Elephant salad wasn’t really African and contained no elephant. Instead it was a good, heavy chicken salad that included plenty of tropical ingredients, including bananas, oranges, mangos, pistachios and coconut.

The Bedouin’s Joy entree (Hr 21.26 with the discount) was another example – since it was more of a roasted pork dish than anything else. But on that theme, my friend selected the Safari pork (Hr 18.82) with vegetables (Hr 8.50) and, in coconut milk with curry – and pronounced the dish really tasty while offering a slightly different spin on a traditional favorite.

The menu was divided into the usual categories of chicken, beef, pork and fish with several but not-all-that-different selections in each. Choosing among the beef dishes, I sampled the Cameron steak with lemon and greens (Hr 17.60) with a side of French fries (Hr 6.50). I wasn’t asked how I’d like the meat cooked, but it was grilled to a medium degree and was delicious.

For drinks I opted for domestic, and went with a half-liter glass of Slavutych for Hr 5 while other options included an assortment of spirits and wines, also served by the glass at Hr 10 for 150 grams.

We rounded our meal off by taking advantage of the restaurant’s apparent fondness for fresh fruit and ordered the assorted fruit platter for Hr 20. Like everything else at Krokodyl, the portion was large, was imaginatively displayed, served quickly and – relatively speaking – remarkably cheap. Truly African or not, Krokodyl is worth exploring.

NIBBLES

While dining at Krokodyl we happened to meet Ukrainian co-owner Yevgen Kuzmin. He told us he was planning to give Eric Aigner of Eric’s Bierstrube a run for his service-industry money. Kuzmin said that along with his own German partners, he’ll be opening a series of restaurants, bars and clubs in the capital. He said he would continue to promote his plans through occasional late-night parties at Krokodyl and discount cards for regular customers.