Kyiv has always been cheap compared to Western capitals, but with the recent fall of the hryvnia, certain services got even cheaper - that is, for those who get paid in foreign currency. The prices for many services don’t climb as fast as the currency falls, leaving a gap that one can benefit from.
Kyiv restaurants have been hesitating to raise prices too much in order to keep customers. As a result, a dinner at a quality restaurant here can cost nearly as much as curry and rice in Southeast Asia.
For example, a baked chicken leg with mashed potatoes goes for $3 (Hr 75) in the Oliva chain. For a venue with fancy vibe, go to Under Wonder (21 Velyka Vasylkivska St.) for $4-5 pasta. For extremely cheap yet satisfying lunch stop at Linass Cafe (2 Bessarabska Square) and have a falafel, kebab, or hummus – for around one dollar. Or pick up a $1.6 (Hr 40) salmon bagel from Chasopys (3 Lva Tolstoho St.).
Don’t feel like eating out? Order a Pepperoni pizza at www.dominos.ua or www.papajohn.com.ua for just 4$ (around Hr 100). Or two sets of sushi rolls for the same price.
Devaluation has made Kyiv bakeries an even more of a heaven for pastry lovers then they ever were. Plain croissants in the Wolkonsky bakeries are exactly one dollar (Hr 25), while the chocolate-filled ones are $1.6 (Hr 40). And that is the upper price range. In the famously ascetic bakery Yaroslava (15 Yaroslaviv Val) a dollar can buy up to five patties or a couple of freshly-baked large cinnamon buns with heavenly smell. Compliment the bun with a less-than-a-dollar latte from one of the many coffee trucks, and there it is – a delicious 1$ snack.
Done with eating? Let’s find some entertainment. Most of Kyiv museums charge visitors even less than a dollar. Tickets to the National Art Museum (6 Hrushevskoho St.) are only Hr 20, not to mention many art galleries with free entrance (check our online Going Out Guide for tips). Tickets to the concerts of Organ Music Hall (77 Velyka Vasylkyvska St.) and National Philharmonic (2 Volodymirsky Uzviz) start at Hr 30, slightly more than a dollar.
And the last but not the least: how about a $1 haircut? It’s actually $1.2 (Hr 30) and is offered in tiny booths next to almost every metro station outside the city center.
Kyiv Post lifestyle editor Olga Rudenko can be reached at [email protected].
