For many tourists, local drinks and traditional cuisine tell as much about a country’s culture as its history and architecture. A glass of fine wine or refreshing beer will complement a day of sightseeing nicely or set the mood for a night out. The Kyiv Post offers a guide to a range of spots where one can enjoy beverages produced in Ukraine.
Local beer
While Ukrainian stores stock beer produced by the established Ukrainian brands, such as Slavutych, Obolon, Lvivske, Chernihivske or Rohan, craft beers such as Tsypa and Varvar are available mostly in pubs or a few shops.
A 0.5-liter glass of ordinary beer costs about Hr 38–50 in Kyiv pubs, while craft beers run Hr 70–80 for a 0.3-liter bottle.
One must-visit Kyiv brewery, Solomyanska Brovarnya, is at 28A Andriyivsky Uzviz, a popular tourist street, with its ancient architecture and souvenir stalls. Apart from various types of beer, try the beer cocktails at the brewery for Hr 50.
Another spot for beer lovers is a chain of pubs named Pyvna Duma, which offers four types of house beer, along with other beverages. Pyvna Duma pubs can be found in the city center and in the city’s historic Podil district — at 10 Khreshchatyk St. and 5 Spaska St.
The Klaipeda pub chain, located at 37/20 Nyzhnii Val St. and at 44 Velyka Vasylkivska St., offers beer from three Ukrainian breweries (Hr 92 per liter) along with food.
The recently-opened Taphouse by Collider on 16 Yaroslaviv Val St. offers its house beer, named Collider, as well as other craft brands such as Tsypa and White Rabbit.
Pilsner Bar, a pub located at 20 Pushkinska St., also has Ukrainian craft beer.
Syndicate Beer & Grill, a pub with a fancy wooden interior at 4/6 Suvorova St., offers house beer and meat dishes.
On the left bank of the Dnipro River, one can try beer in Solod Enjoy Bar at 1 Pavla Tychyny Ave., which specializes in beer and smoked dishes, and at the Lisopylka Brovarnya at 1E Starosilska St. near Darnytsya metro station. Lisopylka brewery offers beer from 12 different producers for Hr 38–50, and snacks to go with it.
Those who crave craft beer, but are in the company of cocktail lovers, can visit bars that serve both: Dogs & Tails at 19 Shota Rustaveli St., Am Bar at 8A Velyka Vasylkivska St. and Pod Asfaltom Plyazh at 33A Yaroslaviv Val St.
Some choices:
Solomyanska Brovarnya.
Pyvna Duma
Klaipeda
Taphouse by Collider
Syndicate Beer & Grill
Pilsner Bar
Solod Enjoy Bar
Lisopylka Brovarnya
Local wine
Ukrainian wines cost less than their European counterparts yet compare well in quality.
One must-visit spot to sample local wine is Like a Local’s wine bar at 26 Sichovykh Striltsiv St. (former Artema Street), which opened about a year ago. Here, one can order a bottle of wine from Ukrainian producers such as Winery of Knyaz Trubetskoy, Kolonist, Artemivsk Winery and more for just Hr 260, or pay Hr 60–70 per glass. The place also offers Ukrainian snails and cheeses to go with the wine, from Hr 100 for a dish.
Malevich bar is nestled in the yard at 9 Yaroslaviv Val St. Tiny and cozy, Malevich offers various types of Ukrainian wine for around Hr 300 per bottle, and cheese from Ukrainian farmers at Hr 100 per platter.
A good selection of Ukrainian wines is also available at Good Wine locations – at 38 Khreshchatyk St. in the TsUM shopping mall; at 9 Mechnikova St. or 16B Heroiv Stalinhradu Ave.
Some choices:
Like a Local’s wine bar
Malevich
Good Wine
Nalyvky (fruit liquors)
Ukraine does not produce whiskey, rum or tequila, but is famous for strong homemade drinks, called nalyvka. Kyiv bars offer a great variety of these vodka-based liqueurs with fruit and sometimes honey, served as shots. The prices for nalyvkas range from Hr 27–40 per shot.
Brasserie Podshoffe (Russian slang for “drunk”) at 45/2 Pushkinska St. near Lva Tolstogo metro station is a good place to try nalyvkas. And Podshoffe doesn’t just offer shots — one can buy a one-liter bottle for around Hr 200.
Samogon Fish Bar, located in the city’s Podil district at 25 Naberezhno-Khreshchatytska St., offers 14 kinds of liquors, including one made with raspberry, buckthorn and mint.
Ukrainian cuisine restaurants Ostannya Barykada (The Last Barricade) at 1 Maidan Nezalezhnosti St. and Kanapa at 19 Andriyivsky Uzviz, owned by restaurateur Dmytro Borysov, have a large variety of vodka-based drinks for around Hr 30 per shot.
Banka Bar, the chain of the jar-themed bars, one of which is at 11/61 Lva Tolstoho St., serves drinks and dishes in small jars. The bar offers a wide range of nalyvkas, including a traditional vodka-and-honey one called medovukha. The Chorne Porosya (Black Piggy) pub at 8/14 Velyka Zhytomyrska St. has around 10 types of house liquor such as cherry, blackcurrant and ginger with honey.
Another must-visit place for tasting nalyvkas is Spotykach restaurant at 16 Volodymyrska St., which is named after a type of homemade liquor infused with spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, saffron, and vanilla. The trademark drink is available here for Hr 30.
Those looking for souvenirs to take home can stop by the Nalyvky Zi Lvova (Liquors from Lviv) store at 40 Budivelnykiv St., which has more than 20 types of nalyvka in bottles for Hr 70–170.
Some choices:
Podshoffe
Samogon Fish Bar
Ostannya Barykada
Kanapa
Chorne Porosya
Spotykach
Nalyvky Zi Lvova
Banka
