My last time to Brighton beach was well over 20 years ago. I remember it well. All of the storefronts with. Cyrillic writing, clothes, food with wonderful smells, trays and trays of caviar, just bursting out the door. And, a Starbucks. Today, not too many Eastern European businesses are left. Now, it's banks, cellular, provider, stores urgent care, a 7-11, even a Popeyes freaking fried chicken. Oh, and the Starbucks is still there. After walking out of a very bad experience at imereti Georgian cafe down the street (see separate review) I found this place. Boy, am I glad I did. I was seated in the front. The restaurant was gorgeous. ! I could hear a beautiful voice singing, Eastern European songs in the back of the restaurant and at one point,, he switched to Elvis's "I can't help falling in love with you" in English. That made me a little emotional, because that was my late partner's and my song... Anyway, I decided to go for the crêpes with red caviar (salmon roe), and the Ukrainian borscht. Bread and butter is brought to my table. The white bread was OK, but the brown bread had a deep rich flavor. The crêpes come first, and they were amazing. The crêpes were very warm, soft and delicious. I loved the "red caviar". A little bit salty, more briny than fishy, and a wonderful explosion of flavor when the eggs "pop." in the mouth. I was very happy. Next came the borscht. It had cabbage, beets, potatoes, and either beef or pork. I'm not sure which one. The meat , beets and potatoes was very tender, and the soup was delicious and not too rich. A very satisfying flavor., the beets gave it a little bit of an earthy flavor. The sour cream that came with it, just added a creamy richness to it without overtaking the flavor of the borscht. 1000% a home run. Dinner wasn't cheap. Two dishes, two iced teas (I found out they charge for refills), and tax, and it came out to about $48 before tip, .I didn't care. I don't mind paying extra if the food is that good, and this food was absolutely beyond awesome. I would be glad to come back and try other items on the menu. Thank you! read more

See all

Stopped by as we wanted to try some authentic Russian food, and this did not disappoint! We ordered the classic Ukrainian Borsch, along with the green borsch with chicken meatballs, and the blintzes with meat to start. The classic borsch is very dill heavy, but that was my favorite! The blintzes were also delicious and came with a tangy yogurt/cream sauce. For entrees, we shared the chicken stroganoff with buckwheat and Cornish hen with mashed potatoes. The hen was incredibly tender with a dill gravy, and the buckwheat was perfect with the stroganoff. Overall really delicious dishes and a beautiful indoor environment! Also the service was incredible and the owner was very kind in explaining to us the dishes. read more

See all

Nice service from the owner/manager, very empty at 2pm on a Friday but a charming vintage atmosphere. Kotlety, bliny with caviar and meat were all great. Golubtsi was delicious but only 3 smaller sized ones. Greek salad was delicious with the cured meat on top. Lamb shashlyk was great too. Only average thing was the smetana which was a bit liquidy. Overall it was 4.99/5 and I look forward to returning. read more

The B train is one of life's greatest pleasures If you're like me, you get on somewhere on the Upper West Side and ride that thang in its entirety until you end up at the southernmost point of Brooklyn. An hour and twenty minutes of pure urban, transit-philic bliss. I usually go to Brighton Beach to get all my Eastern European groceries. The day I discovered Skovorodka however, we were in the middle of the deepest freeze in recent memory, and I NEEDED some borscht and vodka to survive between my sporadic stops at Cyrillic plastered storefronts. Skovorodka could not have scratched this itch in me more perfectly. I ordered the Ukrainian borscht and Siberian Pelmeni - and of course received complementary Borodinsky bread. Between these two hot appetizers, a generous basket of bread, and a few chilled vodka shots, I felt invincible. I'm convinced that I would have frozen to death, right there waiting for the Manhattan bound B to leave the station had it not been for the perfectly executed Russian food and $7 beluga shots. read more

Skovorodka - Borscht - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

See all

If you like Russian food, this is definitely a good place to start when in Brighton Beach. This is my second time here. There were 5 of us and had a wonderful meal. We mostly ate appetizers since we wanted to try other places as well. We enjoyed the pelmeni, vareniki, potatoes with mushrooms, blintzes with red caviar, lamb kebabs, smoked mackerel with potatoes, and the pickled fruits and veggies. It was unique and I unexpectedly liked it. With that said, I'm already thinking of going back in 2 weeks. Russian food for me is a great comfort food, especially the dumplings that feel like a warm hug on a cold and rainy day. Why not 5 stars?? I think the dishes were way overpriced with the food ratio. read more

See all

First off, I would be lying if I didn't say that I wasn't compelled to go to the restaurant because of the giant bear statue that they have out front. I mean where in New York City are you going to find anything like that. That being said, it was overall a good dining experience at an authentic Russian restaurant in Brighton Beach when I had dinner there. The service was very friendly and attentive. I initially was going to order the iced tea, but the gentlemen recommended I get the compote and it was tasty. We ordered the lamb pelmeni, beef kebabs, salmon kebabs, and caviar with crepes. All were very good, especially, the kebabs. I will say that compared to other places in the neighborhood, the bread was a bit underwhelming but other than that it was an enjoyable dinner. Like other reviewers have said, the music can be a bit loud, which is why we opted to sit closer towards the entrance. If you're looking for authentic Central Asian or Eastern European cuisine, I would definitely recommend going to Brighton Beach and I would definitely recommend checking out of Skovorodka. read more

See all

Really good and reasonably priced Russian restaurant in Brighton beach. The pelmeni were definitely fresh as they were 10x better than the frozen pelmeni I bought and cooked at home from Tashkent next door. We didn't try any soups, but we got lamb shashlik (Russian / Georgian version of kebab) and it was perfectly cooked and the sauce was a nice addition. They had several types of decaf hot tea which was appreciated. Will definitely be back when my babushka comes to visit me in NY :) read more

Skovorodka - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

See all

Great place to experience famous Russian friendliness, hospitality, and quality of customer service. We didn't get to taste any food but we did learn a few Russian choice words and phrases. So we give them 2 stars. read more

Skovorodka - Famous Russian friendliness and hospitality, experienced first hand. - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Stop what you're doing and eat here. Your plans will include this place often. I've tried different menu items and found them acceptable. Skovorodka's staff members delivered exceptional service. I plan to come back for new food experiences. read more

Great spot to go to if you are in the area. Stopped by for blintzes, pierogi, and crepe with caviar and they did not disappoint. The crepe dough + cheese filling was definitely sweet so keep this in mind when ordering. Traditional restaurant that I am eager to visit again and try more menu offerings next time I am in the area! read more

Skovorodka - Crepes with Red Caviar - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

See all

Our neighborhood dining scene just improved. Every person working there was helpful. You get abundant food and everything tasted wonderful. Our limited order was neither impressive nor disappointing. My future area trips include this restaurant. read more

The restaurant is nicely decorated. Food was okay, a bit bland (needed some salt and black pepper). I think plating does the food injustice because the plates are huge so the food portion looks little and skimped. If they had smaller plates and had a nicer plating it would help the presentation. People eat with their eyes first, so seeing what I got kind of turned me a little away. read more

Skovorodka - Chicken Cutlet - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

My friend was visiting from out of town and loves Eastern European food, so on Friday afternoon 6/13, we decided to try Skovorodka. We had originally planned to check out Tashkent Supermarket, but the hectic energy there triggered my friend's anxiety, so we looked for a sit-down place instead and found Skovorodka nearby. As soon as we stepped inside, an older man--possibly the owner or manager--walked right up and just stared at us. I gave a polite wave; he kind of nodded or grunted. Then he suddenly yelled something in another language (maybe at someone behind us?) and said "COME," motioning us inside. When seating us, he mimicked the way I'd looked around the restaurant--like a weird impression of my head turning--then said "It's OK" and walked off. It was bizarre, and honestly kind of rude. The restaurant itself was clean and mostly empty around 5 PM. We got menus and ended up ordering from the same man: I got the chicken noodle soup, and my friend ordered the chicken cutlets. My soup came out almost instantly--it was just OK, mostly broth and noodles, no chicken. After some time passed, the man came back to our table and just stood there silently. Thinking he was checking in, I said, "She's just waiting on the chicken cutlets." That triggered some kind of attitude--he threw his hands up like I was complaining and snapped, "Chicken cutlet not like water!" No "coming right up," no explanation, just hostility. The whole experience felt awkward and tense. I wasn't rude, I wasn't impatient--frankly I go out of my way to be easygoing at restaurants because I know how tough the service industry can be. But this guy made us feel unwelcome and uncomfortable from the moment we walked in. The cutlets themselves were actually pretty good, and there was a younger server who seemed much friendlier. But that older man soured the entire visit. I love coming down to Coney and Brighton to explore new spots--but unfortunately, Skovorodka won't be one I return to. Also, I've noticed other reviews mention similar treatment--if management ever wants to explain or respond, I'd be curious to hear their side. read more

Short review: Highly recommend the dumplings and the chicken stroganoff of all things. I decided to upload a modern menu as well it hasn't been updated on yelp for years. Otherwise, this review is from back back in April (sorry for taking so long.) We had a mix of food from this Russian/ Ukrainian spot. Our waiter was nice. For drinks they had Baltika (which I had) along with Georgian wine and some other wines along with liqueurs. As we ordered a lot, I'll be listing them below by section. Appetizers/salads: Herring with potatoes: Nice garlicky potatoes. Vareniki with potatoes & sautéed onions: Very good version. Nice dumpling texture. Siberian Pelmeni- Traditional boiled dumplings with meat: I preferred this over the other dumplings even though both were excellent. Meaty and delicious: Avocado salad: Nice fresh avocado. Had some tomato as well. Salad "Kavkaz- Pickles, veggies, feta cheese, and cured beef (basturma.) Very uhh Russian/Eastern European salad. Tasty though a ton of pickles. Mains (most came with a side which I am listing after with brackets.) Beef stroganoff (mashed potatoes:) There wasn't that much beef but it was tender. Very rich but I preferred the chicken version. The chicken version was a lot cheaper (I believe $9) and the sauce made the dish more than the actual meat. Pan-fried calf liver w/caramelized onions (home fries:) Very tasty not overly cooked liver with not so much breading. Home fries were fine. Wiener schnitzel (pan-fried veggies:) Also quite good. Nice light fry again. The veggies consisted of roasted pepper and cauliflower which was unexpected and quite good also. Grilled salmon w/spinach sauce (pan-fried veggies:) We got this as a lighter dish but I'm not that big of a fan of salmon usually. The spinach sauce was light. Alright. Desserts: Crepes with fresh apple filling: They weren't that big but the filling was tasty. There was also a bit of chocolate sauce. Apple strudel with ice cream: Massive strudel. The apples could have used a bit more flavor but it was fine especially for the price. Vareniki w/cherries: Disappointing. Needed more sour cherry and these unlike the other dumplings were gummy. Outside of the desserts being just alright (gives a reasoning to go to Tashkent instead which isn't a bad thing,) the rest of the food was quite tasty. Nice staff as well. No real complaints. It's just generic tasty Russian food. read more

See all

Food: We ordered a salad which came... already... salted. Why? I would have preferred to salt my own salad. The onions for a herring came in soaked in vinegar. I have never seen that in any Russian restaurant nor cafe. It would have been better to thinly dice the red onion and put it on top of the herring not leave it in vinegar. The chicken/veal cutlets had an aftertaste, I don't think they were fresh, and the buckwheat was smudged probably in butter or some sort of oil, also salted for us. Usually borscht doesn't taste sweet. They probably added some sugar to it. Service: When we requested the food to be served without any butter or oil, the owner/manager/waiter smugly smiled, and shared his unrequested, intrusive, rude, and uninformed, unwanted opinion - that we all need cholesterol without which we would not be alive. This was his personal narcissistic response to my informing him that I have to watch my cholesterol and haven't thought that it was funny nor anything to smile about. He doesn't care about my cholesterol, he is there to make a profit at my expense, a narcissistic, not empathetic response. In the midst of our waiting for our food, an awful singing came from the back of the cafe. It was so loud, it interrupted our conversation and it was impossible to stay. We had to leave in a hurry. We requested for the rude cholesterol, all knowing manager to wrap everything for us to go. He didn't even wrap any bread. The meal was expensive. The service needs improvement. It is best for the owner/manager to stay out of his own way and let other people serve their customers. We do not need education on cholesterol! The food nowadays is prepared in aluminum foils, causing all kinds of immune disruptions. Americans consume too much unhealthy, too salty, and full of unhealthy fats as it is. Canola oil or other... cheap oil. We are trying to eat clean and healthy and by the way they served our potatoes not with olive oil on a side but some unhealthy oil, probably from a plastic cheap bottle, it was possibly canola or some other cheap oil dipped in tiny pieces of garlic, so tiny the garlic was not felt because there was too little of it. Don't educate your customers on cholesterol (when they request to put your oil on a side not on the dish) that they have to watch! It is not polite nor appropriate. Watch your manners! We do not recommend this place. We will not be back. read more

We enjoyed our lunch at this place! The pan fried potatoes and the Kharcho soup were delicious, the chicken borscht was okay, nothing special. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted warmly. We were helped with our choice and served well. Ambiance was calm and cozy. Nice place to have lunch/dinner imo. read more

See all

I'm on the fence about this place. The service was ok. The music was ok, good enough for older crowd . Good was not bad but portions were small and prices were way too high for those portions. read more

See all

I really wanted to try Russian and Ukrainian cuisine while visiting Brighton Beach during a recent stay in New York City, and Skovorodka definitely fit the bill. It is a short walk from the Brighton Beach Avenue Q train stop. Just look for the brown bear statue positioned in front of the cafe. Skovorodka is one of the few places in the NYC metropolitan area where one can try Russian beer like Baltika or Russian vodka. Got a chance to try the borscht, which was delicious. My first experience with Russian cuisine many years ago was with pelmeni served at a dinner party. I had my heart set on trying pelmeni again, but after seeing photos of the delicious red caviar and crepes, I ordered that with a plate of mashed potatoes. Loved the decor at Skovorodka, and enjoyed sipping from a glass of Baltika. P.S. the borscht at Skovorodka, heavy emphasis on beets and cabbage, is more on the savory side and is quite good. read more

See all

My favorite Russian restaurant in NYC. If you are coming here expecting modern cuisine or atmosphere you may be disappointed. The charm of this restaurant is that it hasn't and won't change. The dishes are all incredible, must try pickled watermelon and grapes (the pickled platter is a great option). I always get the Borscht here which has never disappointed and the Beef Stroganoff and Shashlik is also incredible. Have been coming here for years whenever I'm out in Brighton Beach, and don't anticipate stopping. read more

Incredible food and ambience like walking into a local place in Moscow. Everything we had was fresh & homemade. read more

See all

We stopped in for lunch and the man didn't give us a conspicuously cold greeting and then brought us to a table in his otherwise empty restaurant. The food was not good. We all found it very ordinary and not up to our standards, and we found the prices rather high for such a mediocre meal. I can't understand why people who work in such a business aren't going out of their way to make customers feel appreciated. We will never return. read more

This is probably my first Russian/Ukrainian Cuisine and it was great! Service: 5/5 So accommodating and nice. Food: 5/5 !!!! The Chicken Stroganoff was DE.LIC.IOUS. So good, we ordered one to go for when I get home. Will definitely come back! Def recommend! read more

Skovorodka - Chicken Stroganoff - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

We were excited to try this place but left pretty disappointed. The $30 beef stroganoff tasted like a boxed mix, and we were charged an extra $4 for vegetables--which, ironically, were the best part of the meal. The duck was extremely dry, and the couscous it came with was flavorless. We also had the borscht, and while we ordered two bowls, one inexplicably came without any potatoes or beets. The service itself was friendly, but a 10% service charge was automatically added. With so many better Russian food options nearby, I wouldn't come back. read more

Overall a disappointing experience... After spending some time in Coney Island, I wanted to check out the Eastern European food scene in the area and stumbled across this place. My friend and I shared the potato vareniki and I had the crepes with red caviar and my friend had the chicken Caesar salad. The potato vareninki had this weird fried onion but it was really dry and the taste was overwhelming. Further, it was swimming in oil, although it's boiled in water? The crepes were pretty good but my friend's chicken salad had basically a sour cream sauce instead of a Caesar salad sauce. She barely touched it . Lastly, there was a big party and the service was painfully slow... Unfortunately, I won't be back here read more

Delicious place I was looking for Ukrainian food - they got you covered ( both Russian and Ukrainian food) I enjoyed seeing the colors of Ukrainian Flag suggesting the solidarity / support with Ukraine here in Brighton Beach Lovely people work here and they make everything in house Pinlmeni from scratch read more

Skovorodka - Ukrainian Borscht Soup - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

See all

I don't often come out to Brighton Beach but the food is so worth it. Among a group of us we split an array of appetizers. The pickle platter is unique in that its not just pickles, but pickled watermelon, tomato, cabbage. We also got eggplant caviar, vareniki with potato filling, and foi gras. I would say the vareniki is definitely a must here. They're buttery little pillows of delight with what i feel are deep fried onions on top. Probably the best of any kind I've had anywhere. I went ahead and tried the borscht because I've honestly never had it before and felt it was about time. To me it tastes like tangy tomato soup and I enjoyed it. Especially with sour cream. They load your table up on bread and butter. Which is also appreciated since we plowed through two bottles of vodka. It was a byob but I believe if you choose that option there may be a service fee. Entree I went with the home style beef stew served in a clay pot. It probably was honestly too much food at this point. The presentation is amazing. They cover the stew with a puff pastry sheet. The stew was pretty good but overall I say the dumplings are better and wish I had ordered more lol. The entire dining experience is great and at a pretty decent value. There was also live music when we came in on a friday night and much to my delight they played a whole slew of ABBA songs. And by live music I mean a singular man playing on a saxophone. It suddenly felt like I was three years old again in my parents basement. Sweet peanuts. This place is quite the experience. read more

See all

Authentic in every way imaginable. We loved the service, direct from the owner it seemed, no funny business. Great stuff. read more

Skovorodka - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

See all

A week ago a friend and I headed to Brighton Beach for an ethnic food outing. We started the night at another local restaurant that featured Korean influenced Russian food but knew that we wanted Skovorodka to be the main event for traditional Russian and Ukrainian food. The restaurant is clean with a nice stylish vibe. The staff were friendly and helpful. The gentleman that was running the place made helpful recommendations throughout our meal. We started with a selection of appetizers. The basturma was perfectly tender and redolent with the spice of the curing process. The caviar and crepes dish was excellent, briny caviar and well prepared crepes. The "Ark" was a large selection of a variety of dumplings served with sour cream, the dumplings were absolute perfection and the sour cream was decadent. We decided to share the beef stroganoff as an entree. This was the best stroganoff I've had, very rich with tender beef. We selected buckwheat (kasha) as a side and it was the perfect complement to the dish. We were enjoying our meal so much, we decided to circle back to the appetizers and try the smoked fish platter. Four unique and excellent types of fish, well worth trying. For beverages we had a glass of the compot, a nice fruit beverage and a few shots of the Beluga vodka. The Beluga vodka was exceptionally smooth and ready to be sipped or done as a shot. Dessert was an excellent multi layered cake, great texture with just the right amount of sweetness. Skovorodka was an excellent place to sample a wide range of Russian cuisine. I would certainly return. read more

See all

I was visiting a friend on Brighton Beach and we were just looking for a place to sit down and have a cup of tea and rest. But somehow we ended up ordering food anyway, and it was wonderful! We loved this place! We were seated right away and offered quite an extensive menu. A very charming waiter named Yan was more than accommodating. I had Greek salad, a smoked mackerel with potatoes and fish cutlets with vegetables (you have got to try the fish cutlets - they melted in the mouth!) All the food was fresh and delicious. For desert we had a scrumptious, fresh and absolutely delicious apple pie with ice cream and tea in metal "podstakanniki" - so pretty and nostalgic! We will definitely be coming back for more, what a gem! read more

See all

One of the very few places that are left that have old school vibe , all I can say is food is great and the service was awesome Thank you

We missed Russian food a lot, so we specifically went from Manhattan to Brighton Beach! Borscht, solyanka, cutlets, mashed potatoes, and escalope - just like at home! The compote was delicious too! Highly recommend! read more

Potato was much worse then when I ate here last time (a year ago). The worst potato I ever ate. Not a "home style". Seems like it was fried on many times used oil. Worse then French fries. Sour cream is also poor, like a liquid, like mixed with water. And "blinchiki" with meat are not tasty read more

Skovorodka - "Home style potato", but it's not a real home style - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Quality was exactly that. Food was delicious. My only BIG complaint has nothing to do with the quality of the food. My issue for never going back was the 10% Service charge. They also charge 3% for a credit card so 13% NOT including a tip. Yes a 10% service charge even if you pay cash as I did. Also your wording on the 3% CC is not according to the SBA SNY. Small business association of New York So it's incorrect AKA illegal. I am a business owner. read more

Nice cozy place. Live music. Friendly staff. Good service. My only disappointment was the food. I order Green vegetables with a fillet of whitefish. Everything was super greasy and oily Fish was over cooked. Dissolved on my plate swimming in oil. read more

Skovorodka - vegetables with the Basa Filet in Mushroom Sauce - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

The BEST RUSSIAN FOOD I ever had in past 6 years, highly recommended! We have tried 5 different dishes and all of them was so good, have no words to describe! Entourage 4/5 Food 5/5 Service 5/5 read more

I think I found something that I like... There are abundant of russian restaurants in the area, but Skovorodka kept coming up in my search list. We came on a Saturday afternoon. We were quickly seated. We order pate with toast, chicken cutlet russian style and chicken kebab. We also order a pitcher of kompot. The kompot was delicious- just the right amount of sweetness. I thoroughly enjoyed our food. Everything was seasoned well. We got such large portions that we took some home for dinner. There was a service charge of 10% on the bill. I added some additional tips as the staff and food was delicious. read more

Ate kharcho and pork shashlyk there. Shashlyk was ok. Neither too good nor too bad, regular one, i suppose (well, probably better than mine). Kharcho, well that was a piece of art. Even though they do lamb, and not the beef kharcho, which is kinda odd. Anyway, it was one of the best kharcho's i've ever tried, and believe me, i tried very fancy ones, my Tbilisian friend's mother's homecooked. These guys really cook delicious kharcho. Ah, yeah, tried some pirozhki along with some delicious Czech beer, they were pretty good too, but i don't think they're worth mentioning anyway. Overall: love this place, vouch for this place, and i'm becoming one of their regulars. Staff is very nice, location is very convenient, just one minute walk from Brighton Beach train station. Highly recommended. read more

TL;DR at the bottom... Background: my folks grew up in the USSR, I eat food like this at home, made entirely from scratch by my mother. On a family trip to NYC, my folks decided to travel the multitudinous subway stops down to Brighton Beach, to do some [window] shopping, and get some lunch before going back home. Out of the rather few eateries on Brighton, we settled on this one, as the menu was what we were looking for. Our expectations weren't set really high, but even if they had been set high, this restaurant would still have blown us away. Really, REALLY awesome. I'll put it to you this way: Next time I'm going to meet a friend for lunch in NYC, I will try to convince them to go here. Expecting portions much smaller than what was brought to the table, we ordered perhaps a little too much. While in retrospect we should have ordered less, it did let us try a lot of really awesome stuff, and kept us full for the trip back home, which was almost two hours longer than scheduled (traffic and such) I'd like to reiterate, that even from the Deluxe Special (Lunch) menu, portions were more than modest. A Deluxe Special would be perfect for lunch! You won't leave exploding, but it'll hold you off until dinner. I'll start with the bread. The pieces of bread brought to the table were of very high quality. As opposed to the under cooked play-dough many restaurants love to bring, here it was real, flavorful bread. There was a rye bread, and a white bread (but without the life processed out of it like Wonder bread) For the soups, we ended up trying Green Borscht, Red Borscht, and the Mushroom soup. To those who haven't experienced Russian soups before, they are quite rich in flavor and in ingredients, they are not as simple as, say, tomato soup. While I am slightly partial to the soups made at home, these were still excellent. First and foremost, they were fresh! Potatoes in soups like these are always a tell., and they weren't at all glassy. Also, in my reviews, balance is one of the things I am always screaming about, and these were certainly balanced, in all aspects. They were cooked with stock as the base, which has just the right level of oiliness. Not the dryness of being cooked in a water base, but not swimming in fat either. Everything in the soup was of perfect size too! Herbs sprinkled on top was a great touch too! Absolutely delicious! Spring Salad was not at all what I was expecting. Rather than get something leafy, I got cucumber, radish, and a tiny bit of grated egg, with a dressing of sour cream (much less dense than the stuff you get at the store). Same as with the soups, everything was fresh, and everything was in balance, including dressings and seasonings. Chicken Shish Kebab was a delight! The chicken was cooked perfectly, and using dark meat meant it retained much of its juiciness/moisture. Cabbage and onions added a wonderfully fresh and slightly acidic tinge to the meal. The sauce they provide with the meat is divine! I was also extremely impressed that the onion was sweet, and not at all overpowering. Russian Style Chicken Cutlets were also very good. They come with the same sour cabbage salad, but the onions are mixed in with the cutlets themselves. While I did really enjoy having the onions mixed in, I would have preferred a little less mixed in, and maybe more on the side (as in the kebab) Fries were really good, with that tiny little flaky edge great fries have. Perfectly seasoned too! Just not an inherently Russian side. Blintzes with farmer cheese I liked more than the ones my grandma makes (she doesn't have Yelp, please don't tell her) The cheese was delightfully sweet, and the dough was not fried through, but cooked to be soft and delicate. Vereniki brought my mother to tears, for she had not had something like at least since leaving the USSR in 1989. They were delicate, not overly sweet, and with just the right balance of dough to filling... too often restaurants skimp on the filling, not here. By the way, with the blintzes and vareniki, don't shy away from mixing the jam and sour cream. Both are mild, and combined work a duet you wouldn't expect and may enjoy more than the two solos. The compote was great. Nothing like fruit punch in the US, not insanely sweet, with the fruits/berries it's made of adding an actual taste rather than the sugar overwhelming everything. Service was terrific. Some on here comment about Russian/Soviet service, while this can be found in other eateries on Brighton, this one has top notch service, location is clean and bright too! Oh yes, and the prices are extremely reasonable. Adding up the astonishingly good value here. TL: DR: * Real, fresh, balanced, delicious homemade Russian food * Astonishing value * Great Service * Great Atmosphere By the way...if you were wondering... Skovorodka means Frying Pan. read more

See all

Let's goooooooo this place is a "Yes chef" from me! Initially went down to Brighton Beach from Manhattan to go to Kashkar, but they happened to be closed that day. Blindly walking around looking for something to numb the pain, my girlfriend and I stumbled across this gem! We went at a weird time (I think it was like 430 or so on a Tuesday), so I'm sure the service was appropriately sleepy as a result, but it's worth mentioning this is a place to come if you're looking for more of a cohesive dining experiencing and a not a wham bam thank you maam fuel up. Our waiter also seemed to be the cashier and was gloriously inattentive. I'm not being facetious I actually think it added to the charm of the place that he was much more interested in yelling at someone on the phone, watching TV, and singing a drinking song while groaning and moaning at the task of running through the receipts. It didn't matter a nickel or dime because the food was GREAT! Gotta doff my cap where a cap deserves to be doffed: you never forget your first time, and this was my first experience with Compot! I'm so beguiled by it! Subtle fruit punch! It was just the right amount of sweet and had a silky undercurrent that spoke of something rich and mature. Ordered the chicken kebab for sustenance and it was a delight! Perfectly seasoned, juicy and tender, and topped with the pristine amount of raw onions to complement the char. Ordered it with the couscous, which was plump and tender and bingeable. Found out I lost my job the day I went here and this helped cheer me up. read more

Skovorodka is a Brighton Beach classic. I'm pretty sure I've come here for every single one of my grandpa's birthdays in the past 15 years. While I was not very excited to go here again, I must say I was pretty impressed with the food. It is pricey (I'm not sure how much, we had a banquet style meal) but there were many options, big portions and actually mostly delicious food! Some of the most memorable aspects of the meal included pickled tomatoes, duck salad, the pasta with fish (so. good.), and of course their potatoes with onions and mushrooms. This place is not a bad spot if you are craving home-style Russian food and want to be super full and satisfied for a long time read more