the food is so wholesome and tasty. Nina is the best hostess and cook. love it! We went out of our way to get there but so worth it

Stop in and visit Nina at the Samovar cafe in Nikolaevsk. You will be so glad you did. Nina is warm and welcoming and she makes a delicious borscht, her bread both Russian and fireweed is fantastic, and her dessert was amazing! We loved picking fresh berries from her garden to add to our dessert, and truly appreciated borrowing her clothes to take some fun pictures. A visit with Nina at Samovar cafe is an experience to treasure, savor, and remember. Also, for $35 per person. Nina will take you on a 1 hr tour of this traditional village which includes a FREE PHOTO with old fashion clothes. PLEASE call ahead to book this tour and place your food order as she makes food to order so it's ready for you. read more

Samovar Cafe - Nina in front of samovar cafe - Russian Near Me - Nikolaevsk, Alaska

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Nina, the owner and chef, is an incredible person who made us feel like guests instead of customers. We truly enjoyed spending the afternoon at her cafe, tasting raspberries from her garden, homemade fireweed tea, and borscht that tasted like a real memory, not a recipe. She even brought out authentic, hand embroidered Russian clothing for us to try on for pictures! This isn't just a restaurant, it's Nina sharing a piece of herself. I recommend making a reservation ahead of time. read more

Unfortunately, this was a very disappointing experience. I am originally from Russia, so I was looking forward to authentic Russian food, but the borscht did not taste traditional at all. It tasted as though it had been made from frozen vegetables on a fly rather than with fresh vegetables, and it lacked the flavor and quality that I used to. There is no seating at the restaurant. All of the food was brought out to our car, which was unexpected and made the experience feel more like a takeout pickup than dining at a restaurant. The service was also disappointing. Nina came across as rude and very pushy, and the menu was sent by text message instead of being provided at the restaurant, which felt unusual. What surprised me the most was the price. We were charged $4.50 for a single piece of bread, and it wasn't even fresh. In total, we paid about $70 for three bowls of borscht and three pieces of bread, which was far too expensive for the quality of the food we received. As someone who grew up with traditional Russian cuisine, I was especially disappointed because the borscht did not taste authentic. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend this restaurant. We were group of three and each of us was very disappointed. read more

Samovar Cafe - Bourch and bread. - Russian Near Me - Nikolaevsk, Alaska

DO NOT for any reason visit this horrible place! The soup that was "claimed as borsh" was made from 10 year old frozen and can vegetables. The price of the soup was 15.99 and two pieces of bread was 4.50. Bread was previously frozen and a little moldy. At this point soup kitchen would taste much better then this Cafe. Just know Russian borsh doesn't taste like that! We threw this soup and bread away. read more

Samovar Cafe - Russian Near Me - Nikolaevsk, Alaska

Definitely a memorable moment for me and my family! We tell everyone to visit and you will not be disappointed in the wonderful experience of Nina's delicious food and culture read more

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Sorry to report the building is about to fall down. If you enjoy the macabre, & supporting their Russian Orthodox church to build fancy gold dome turret things, by all means dine (only outside) here. Everything is "to-go", you must call or text SMS ahead to order. Nina's Borscht is great, but she had no sour cream only mayonnaise & still charged us over $100 for lunch. The dessert was not as pictured, clearly she was out of essential ingredients. Probably best to just stick with a cup of borscht. read more

Wow what to say, sad and very disappointed. You know when you hear about places and know that they speak your language you getting excited and want to share experience and story about your self and ask questions about native living. Well this will be NOT what you will get. I reed previously people visit reviews and I say no it can not be that way. Well I can tell you yes - sad but it is . And I will add very sad and not happy person here . We arrived and first think she asked if we book our appointment, when we said no we just want to check out and see - her answer was -need to buy something , like you have to buy or get F... out almost . So I left at that point her little shack , my friends on other hand want to see her store and felt obligated to buy tea and some cake . After 10-15 minutes my friends convinced me get in back again , and talk to her , they thought if I will speak to her in Russian she will treat me better, well not that story. I return and politely greeted her in Russian and told her that I would like to talk to her - ask her questions , her replay was " you have questions.?" And she give me piece of paper telling me what she did in her previous life before arriving to USA and very rudely ask me inRussian if I am planning to buy anything. When I replay thank you but not. Her reaction was like why you coming in if you not intrasted to shop, you have to shop what a point of your arrival. And what I even want to know. By that time I told her I don't want to know nothing more . She return to my friends and In perfect English says - you have to buy something, and if you want to take pictures in side 4 pictures she will charge 5$. My friends shake their heads and told her nope thank you , we leaving , she shook her head and still was continue mambeling under her nose in Russian that we have to buy something. By that point I just left. So if you think you will get warm welcoming-spear your time and your money to go there. Once it was maybe something, now it old shack billing with few old pieces of some Russian Coulture, but she don't care to give you any answers or any service. If you not shop you are not welcome. You cannot come by and just take pictures, she will charge you money . So spear your time to go there .tea my friends told me was just so so, and some cake they buy with it - also maybe a 3... So find other place and remember this is not what Russians look like . read more

Samovar Cafe - Drive to the placev - Russian Near Me - Nikolaevsk, Alaska

The ride out to this town through the beautiful hilly fireweed covered countryside alone is worth the money Nina will extract from your wallet. Nina and her cafe / gift shop are unique, fun, and intimidating. All are getting older, dustier, and crustier- but a treat just the same. The sign on the building said "open" when we arrived but the door was locked and no one in sight. By the time I read all the notes on the door, Nina drove up from her house across the road. She got out of her car and asked if we came to look or eat- if it was just to look she wasn't going to open for us. "Lucky" for us we came to eat. She opening the door, told us to "take your shoes off" and we followed her to the inner sanctum gift shop / roped off special seating place. She explained the menu and that we would need a reservation for the "full Russian experience" given at the special seating place. The menu had 5 or 6 items but 3 weren't available unless you had a reservation. Nina cooked us borcht, pel'meni, homemade fireweed bread, fireweed tea, and dessert- all were tasty. We sat in the cafe area in front and Nina passed us our food thru a window to her kitchen area. We were the only people there but Nina is having trouble walking so we didn't mind getting up and serving ourselves. Bring your reading glasses cause every time we asked Nina a question, she pulled out some paper or brochure and told us to read about it. She has signs and printed info everywhere. Turns out she has a masters degree in electrical engineering. She also has a doctorate in money extraction- but was worth the experience. Would I go back? Probably not. Do I regret going? Absolutely not!!! read more

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We really enjoyed this beautiful and unique place! We did not come to Nikolaevsk just for Nikolaevsk - we came to meet Nina! She is an amazing woman! The food was great. Everything is home made; Nina grows her own berries and herbs to make tea, jam, bread - I highly recommend trying these! she told us a lot about the history of the village and first Russian immigrants. Nina is a wonderful person, the store is cozy and full of pieces of Russian culture. We are happy we managed to meet her. We called in advance to make a reservation, and I recommend doing so. Thank you Nina for this beautiful experience! Wish you all the best. Elena, Sergey, Xenia, Nick read more

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This cafe really isn't a restaurant in the traditional American meaning, more of a Russian family meal with the owner, Nina as your host. The menu is very limited with only 2 starters (Borscht and Piroshki, 3 entrees (Beef Plemeni, Polish sausage and a combo of the two) and one dessert. Most likely Nina will pick the best for you or may be out of one or the other if you dont book in advance. Make sure to check out the tea - it has a rather original taste. If you purchase a gift over $25 Nina can give you a talk About the town, Old believers while cooking the food. Also dress children in traditional Russian clothes. We didn't go for this however - just tried the great borscht and plemeni. read more

Samovar Cafe - Nina bringing dessert - Russian Near Me - Nikolaevsk, Alaska

We went to the area to see the Russian town of Nikolaevsk as it was listed as about interesting side trip from Anchor Point. We went taking pictures in the town and stopped at her run down cafe to take some more. Then she drove up and swooped in to open the "closed" cafe for us. She is a good talker to get you to get "Your money". Food was very so so and priced as a fancy restaurant, that it was not. I would not recommend the cafe. read more

Nina has a little Russian Restaurant along with B&B options. The place is a bit remote town near Anchor Point, Alaska. Its about 10 miles up the road, easy to get close, a bit hard to find at the end but ask anyone - like at the Post Office. The food was good, especially dessert and the tea. The B&B is a bit rustic, but you are getting the rooms for a very good price considering this is Alaska. Nina will try to sell you everything in the store so be prepared!! read more

5 star entertainment factor with Nina, 3 star food but hits the spot after a long drive out here. Prepare to laugh read more

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Our YWAM team was looking for something to do that was fun on an off day. The drive time from Homer to Anchor Point and then to the Russian village was a little longer than expected but it was beautiful. The village was not as "little Russia" as I expected but it was quaint. The Orthodox Church was not open either which was a bummer. The cafe was a little over touristy but the tea and create puffs were fun to enjoy. Nina the owner and server was a hoot. Take cash when you visit. There are tons of trinkets to look at and purchase though they are little speedy. Definitely worth the trip if you have the time. read more

Samovar Cafe - My cup of Russian tea. - Russian Near Me - Nikolaevsk, Alaska

Oh my gosh is all I can say. Bring cash, and lots of it because you will get all the courses whether you like it or not. Don't get me wrong, the food was delicious, and the decor was interesting, but Nina was quite the intimidating host. Photos are extra, and you have no choice in the matter, because Nina will take your phone and start snapping pictures. If you want an expensive, yet unforgettable and slight terrifying experience, try it.. I don't regret it! read more

Nina is the one woman show for this sweet little cafe located about 20 minutes inland from Point Anchor (about 40 minutes for Homer). Nina is the hostess, server, cook, cashier, photographer and educator of this Russian experience. Her food was very good. We had the soup and bread and then followed with the fire weed tea and dessert. For us, it was a perfect light lunch. If we had made a reservation, she would have cooked us an entire Russian meal. We would have given her 5 stars but found her to be a little forceful to purchase souvenirs but from what we understand, she does this to help the children in Russia and so she is a woman with a mission. The experience was very charming and we most definitely learned more about her and her culture. We'll never make it to Russia and so this was enjoyable and educational and actually fun. We dressed in costume (for $30) and Nina used our cameras to take lots of pictures. If you're open to the new experience and not expecting a typical cafe, then this is the place for you. If you just want a meal and then leave, then this is NOT the place for you. Go with an open mind and lots of money in your pocket. The meal mentioned above cost us $79 for 3. read more

AVOID THIS SCAM. The food is absolutely horrible--frozen and microwaved. Nina is pushy pushy pushy-- She makes you pay $20 to take photos on YOUR cellphone, and requires each couple to pay $20 for a 'free' gift, which is a piece of junk. She is a master rip-off artist and we ended up being charged EIGHTY DOLLARS PER COUPLE! AVOID THIS TRAP. read more

The borscht was great! I came here for lunch and we didn't do the whole "package", just ate, but Nina was very sweet and talked to us the whole time. It's definitely an interesting experience and the food is really good. Plus, you get a little peak at the Russian village. read more

Delightful, quirky and delicious! Nina serves Russian comfort foods like borscht, pelmini and cream puffs with a side of personality garnished with humor. Pay a little extra and opt for the Russian Experience if you want the full effect. Regardless, you'll see an interesting side of Alaskan rural life and have an off-the-beaten-path adventure. read more