There’s no need to choose between staying outdoors to enjoy a warm spring evening after work and going for a drink, as many bars in Kyiv serve wine and cocktails at outside tables.
Silver Spoons
Despite its name, gastro bar Silver Spoons is not a great pick for those who like stealing silverware, because they don’t actually have any silver spoons. But the bar does serve appetizers like hummus, bruschetta or seafood, and over 30 cocktails.
The drinks menu has all the classic choices, like Long Island Iced Tea, Margarita, Mojito and Daiquiri, as well as some more unusual ones. Their specialty, the Spoons Cocktail, is made with Becherovka, Lillet Blanc, strawberry syrup, lemon juice and egg white. Located in the center of Kyiv on the busy but atmospheric Baseina Street, the bar is a nice place to stop in on while on the way home after a hard day.
Prices: cocktail — Hr 135.
Silver Spoons. 5B Baseina St. Sun-Tue, 10 a. m. — 11 p. m. Wed-Thu, 10 a. m. — 12 a. m. Fri-Sat, 10 a. m. — 1 a. m. +38067 328 0551
Drunk Cherry
This franchise, famously popular with tourists in Lviv, recently entered the market in Kyiv. There are now three such bars in the capital, including one that opened recently near the Lva Tolstoho Square metro station. The bar’s unusual pitch, which just keeps growing in popularity, is to get people drunk quickly and cheaply. Drunk Cherry doesn’t have seats but gives its guests the chance to stand and have a quick drink at high tables, including ones outdoors. They sell cherry liqueurs in various volumes, as well as desserts like marmalade and pastila.
Prices: cherry liquor — Hr 38–55.
Drunk Cherry. 16 Velyka Vasylkivska St. Mon-Fr, 11 a. m. — 12 a. m. Sat-Sun, 10 a. m. — 2 a. m. +38073 827 7878. 13 Khreshchatyk St. 10 a. m. — 12 a. m. +38095 274 6727. 11A Stepana Bandery St. (indoors only) Mon-Sat, 9 a. m. — 10 p. m. Sun, 9 a. m. — 9 p. m. +38097 940 1059
Bilyi Nalyv
Another drink and go place was recently opened on Kyiv’s busiest street Khreshchatyk by the famous Ukrainian restaurateur Dmytro Borysov. Bilyi Nalyv is a one-euro bar, where all menu items cost Hr 29, or one euro. The bar specializes in serving apple cider, apple liqueur and punch. Their food menu includes hot dogs and vegan hot dogs, chicken pie, apple pie and oysters. The bar doesn’t seat their customers outside — instead they offer high bar tables shaped like large barrels.
Prices: Hr 29 per drink, food item.
Bilyi Nalyv. 23A Khreshchatyk St. 10 a. m. — 11 p. m. +38098 885 8744
People enjoy food and drinks outside Zigzag bar in Kyiv. (Courtesy) (Zigzag/ Facebook)
Zigzag
This bar, with its stylish, minimalistic design, is a great spot to enjoy a tasty drink and the aesthetics of the quiet surrounding streets. Zigzag offers all kinds of wine, spirits, beers and cocktails. The most interesting tipples include Mayan Islands with spiced rum, Pedro Ximenez sherry with tequila and salty caramel, Flowers of Hope with Becherovka, apricot liqueur, lemon juice and lavender-grapefruit foam. The food menu includes entrées, salads, burgers and a wide choice of appetizers such as cheese plates, bruschetta and chicken paste.
Prices: cocktail — Hr 130–160, wine — Hr 90–200.
Zigzag. 13 Reitarska St. 9 a. m. — 11 p. m. +38068 385 6551
Like a Local’s
This wine bar serves food from local producers and wine from Ukrainian vineyards. Like a Local’s offers over 40 kinds of wine for any taste, including sparkling, red, white and rose. All the wines are categorized and have descriptions on the menu that helps visitors to make a choice. The bar also serves food: tapas, pastes, pies, cold cuts plates, snails, as well as sweet brownies and candies with gorgonzola.
Prices: wine — Hr 200–1,400.
Like a Local’s. 26 Sichovykh Striltsiv St. Mon-Thu, 4 p. m. — 11 p. m. Fri, 4 p. m. — 1 a. m. Sat, 12 p. m. — 1 a. m. Sun, 12 p. m. — 11 p. m. +38093 682 2626
People drink Ukrainian wine outside the Like a Local’s wine bar in Kyiv. (Courtesy) (Like a Local's/Facebook)
PR Bar
PR Bar is not just for those working with public relations — it’s a place for drinking and networking, and it welcomes people of all occupations. The bar sells various kinds of wine and cocktails with gin, bourbon, whiskey, rum, brandy, tequila and vodka. They also offer four cocktails to try with oysters. They also offer appetizers sets, bruschettas, shrimps and meat plates, as well as a choice of entrées. The bar is located on Sahaidachnoho Street, which is closed to traffic every weekend, and is especially charming when pedestrians are walking along the road.
Prices: cocktail — Hr 149–279, wine — Hr 69–89.
PR Bar. 6A Sahaidachnoho St. Sun-Thu, 12 p. m. — 1 a. m. Fri-Sat, 12 p. m. — 3 a. m. +38067 828 1849
Pink Freud
One of the most popular bars in Podil has a whole outdoor courtyard filled with chairs, tables and cozy lights. The bar offers a wide choice of liquor such as scotch, gin, rum, brandy, vermouth and wine. Pink Freud serves over 40 cocktails and has a menu guide to help visitors select a drink — sour, sweet, strong or refreshing.
They also make signature cocktails, including Peru by Pisco, a tropical drink with Peruvian vodka, From Dusk Till Dawn, a citrus drink with tequila, and The Long Kiss Goodnight with whiskey, chocolate and prunes. The bar, whose name was inspired by famous Austrian founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud, invites guests to get inside their unconsciousness and discover secret desires and fantasies.
Prices: cocktail — Hr 140–180.
Pink Freud. 19 Nyzhnii Val St. Sun-Thu, 6 p. m. — 1 a. m. Fri-Sat, 6 p. m. — 2 a. m. +38050 991 9818
Malevich
Apart from the fact that Polish avant-garde artist Kazimir Malevich, who painted the famous Black Square, actually stayed in the building in front of the bar, this place was named after him so as to be associated with culture and the arts.
Located on Yaroslaviv Val Street, Malevich invites visitors to enjoy local Ukrainian wines. They serve white, red and rose wine for reasonable prices. The menu includes Pinot Grigio, Cabernet and Merlot. To accompany the drinks, Malevich’s food menu offers cheese plates, olives, stewed tomatoes and grissini (Italian breadsticks), as well as two desserts — lemon meringue pie and chocolate brownie.
Prices: wine — Hr 40–100.
Malevich. 9 Yaroslaviv Val St. Sun-Thu, 11 a. m. — 11 p. m. Fri-Sat, 11 a. m. — 1 a. m. +38073 400 7139
