Street food has been an unpleasant part of the urban culture in Ukraine, with kiosks selling cheap shawarma rolls that seemed to be made of nothing but mayonnaise. But new and better street food places are popping up all over. The Kyiv Post surveyed some of the offerings in Kyiv. In all of these places, the cooks were wearing gloves and seemed to observe sanitary rules while serving up tasty fare.
Furgonetta
Where: 12 Phiscultury St. near Olympiyska metro station, near Teatralna metro station (exit opposite to the Museum of Kyiv History)
Price: Hr 79
Furgonetta focuses on meat and noodles. Its two vans offer chicken and veal grill burgers and Chinese noodles. Burgers contain a meat patty, some salad, onions, tomatoes and BBQ sauce. In each of the vans, two cooks work in what looks like small high-tech kitchens. There are some chairs next to the trucks where customers can wait for their order. The burgers are freshly made and it takes at least 10 minutes to make one. Furgonetta claims to use only fresh products, with meat being delivered from local farms. According to its manager, Alla Ovsyannikova, Furgonetta never uses frozen meat for the patties.
Bistro Bistro
Where: next to Kontraktova metro station, in a row of other street food kiosks
Price: Hr 33
Bistro Bistro is probably the best destination for hot dogs. It serves hot dogs with Frankfurt or Bavarian sausages, onions, tomatoes, basil and original sauces. The staff, a cook and a cashier, are friendly and can recommend a hot dog based on one’s tastes. The company gets vegetables at the Bessarabska market in the heart of Kyiv, while sausages are delivered by suppliers. Hot dogs here taste delicious, making one want to go back and try every hot dog on the menu.
Diner
Where: next to Kontraktova Square metro, in a row of other street food kiosks
Price: Hr 33-50
Diner offers burgers and Italian Panini sandwiches with veal, chicken or bacon. There is a vegetarian mozzarella Panini available too.
There are three employees working in the kiosk: a meat chef, a cook who puts together burgers and one who takes orders.
“The patties are made by our original recipe. The trick is in the combination of veal and fat,” employee Snizhana Tsarovska told the Kyiv Post, adding that her personal favorite is the Diner’s King Burger (Hr 49).
There are small tables near the tent, to eat or wait for the order. Those who check-in here using Forsquare will get free French fries with the order.
Burger Farm
Where: 2B Vorovskogo St. near Lvivska Square
Price: Hr 40-67
Burger Farm opened 1.5 years ago and offers three types of burgers: Burger Farm, Cheeseburger and Fed Farmer. The wait for the order is 10-15 minutes, given there is no queue.
“We buy meat and vegetables at the market, fresh buns we get from a bakery,” says Aleksey Linkov, the cook.
The burgers here include a large portion of salad, but the patties were quite tiny – except for the ones in the Fed Farmer, the most expensive option (Hr 65) that includes a veal patty, Iceberg salad, tomatoes, pickles, ranch and BBQ sauces, cheese, bacon and eggs. It weighs 400 grams.
KontrWok
Where: Kontraktova Square, next to metro exit
Prices: Hr 60-70 (depends on ingredients)
KontrWok serves Chinese food to the passersby at the Kontraktova Square. One special feature makes this kiosk stand out – it offers the customers to mix their own box of Chinese food, adding the meat and vegetables to the basic noodles or rice. The list of ingredients includes beef, chicken, shrimp, vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, and seven different sauces. The wait takes up to 10 minutes.
Kyiv Post staff writer Anna Yakutenko can be reached at [email protected].
