Restaurant: Russia House
I have to admit that I had high hopes for Russia House Restaurant. I've know of its existence for a few years but wasn't intrigued enough to actually go until our recent travels to St. Petersburg (read this and this to catch up). I figured it would be somewhat authentic while being a bit Americanized, but the food would still be good. I went in thinking that if it was anything close to the meals I had in Russia, it would be a pleasant meal.
The Look and Feel
It's located in what feels like an old office building. You could just as easily be going to see your childhood dentist as you could be going to a nice restaurant. Unfortunately the feel inside the place felt just as old. It was decorated with culture specific pieces but I couldn't help but feel like I was eating in someone's grandmother's dining room. The copious amounts of red and gold probably wouldn't have been as apparent had everything not seemed old. There were only four tables occupied, out of at least 30, so you couldn't help but feel like everyone else knew something you didn't.
The Service
Given the lack of patrons, the staff really had no choice but to be attentive. The were polite and available but all seemed very unsure of themselves as they tripped over their words. They apologized profusely when we complained of a flat soda and sent someone out to buy more Coke. While a nice gesture, it would seem obvious the reason the soda was flat was because they don't turn over that much of it. The most egregious error, however, was the complete admission of borscht from my meal. The waitress did not write our order down (a pet peeve of mine) and as a result, must have missed my order. I didn't realize I wasn't getting it until our mains came and at that point, it was too late. We weren't charged for it, but that's really not the point.
The Food
My pirozhki were nothing like the grandmother's slavic version but rather more like pastries. The concept was decent but for the most part they tasted liked crust because there wasn't enough filling in them. This version supposedly had meat and cabbage but I could barely taste either. If they crammed the suckers with a bit more of the good stuff, they probably would have been pretty awesome but alas... they fell short.
Since I had borscht in Russia and loved it, I was looking forward to making a comparison of authenticity. The problem is you actually have to be served the stuff to know what it tastes like. I'm actually pretty bitter about not getting it because it was one of the reasons I went there.
To keep up the comparison, I had beef stoganov as my main. The stoganov I had in Russia was nothing short of amazing so let's call that a 10. My childhood babysitter used to make what, at the time, seemed like the most disgusting thing ever so we'll call that a 1. I'd put this stoganov at the 6 or 7 mark and I'll tell you why. The beef itself was very tender and definitely of good quality. The sauce was pretty good but much darker than what I had in Russia and didn't have onions. I know there are different recipes for it but the stuff I had before was so good I wanted this to be like that.
Other dishes ordered (not by me) included grilled shrimp brochette and broiled salmon with a champagne caviar sauce. The fish was reportedly "okay" and when asked if she'd order it again, the wife couldn't say. That's a bad sign in my opinion. I had some of the shrimp and while prepared well, I can't say the dish blew me away. The rice and grilled vegetables it was served on was pretty good but is that Russian and how much does that really matter? I got a free pastry cake thing because it was my birthday and unfortunately, it was just average.
The Verdict
I'm not sure how the tone of this review reads to someone else, but it's meant to be slightly above average. The food was decent, with just a few tweaks needed here and there to make them worth going back for. The major hitch in my mind, and likely the reason why there were really no patrons, was the prices. It's possible people either don't know about the place or have a misconception about Russian food, but it's far more likely they feel a two course meal there isn't worth $50 a head. I say try it once if you're curious or just want something different but don't prepare to be blown away.
The Look and Feel
It's located in what feels like an old office building. You could just as easily be going to see your childhood dentist as you could be going to a nice restaurant. Unfortunately the feel inside the place felt just as old. It was decorated with culture specific pieces but I couldn't help but feel like I was eating in someone's grandmother's dining room. The copious amounts of red and gold probably wouldn't have been as apparent had everything not seemed old. There were only four tables occupied, out of at least 30, so you couldn't help but feel like everyone else knew something you didn't.
The Service
Given the lack of patrons, the staff really had no choice but to be attentive. The were polite and available but all seemed very unsure of themselves as they tripped over their words. They apologized profusely when we complained of a flat soda and sent someone out to buy more Coke. While a nice gesture, it would seem obvious the reason the soda was flat was because they don't turn over that much of it. The most egregious error, however, was the complete admission of borscht from my meal. The waitress did not write our order down (a pet peeve of mine) and as a result, must have missed my order. I didn't realize I wasn't getting it until our mains came and at that point, it was too late. We weren't charged for it, but that's really not the point.
The Food
My pirozhki were nothing like the grandmother's slavic version but rather more like pastries. The concept was decent but for the most part they tasted liked crust because there wasn't enough filling in them. This version supposedly had meat and cabbage but I could barely taste either. If they crammed the suckers with a bit more of the good stuff, they probably would have been pretty awesome but alas... they fell short.
Since I had borscht in Russia and loved it, I was looking forward to making a comparison of authenticity. The problem is you actually have to be served the stuff to know what it tastes like. I'm actually pretty bitter about not getting it because it was one of the reasons I went there.
To keep up the comparison, I had beef stoganov as my main. The stoganov I had in Russia was nothing short of amazing so let's call that a 10. My childhood babysitter used to make what, at the time, seemed like the most disgusting thing ever so we'll call that a 1. I'd put this stoganov at the 6 or 7 mark and I'll tell you why. The beef itself was very tender and definitely of good quality. The sauce was pretty good but much darker than what I had in Russia and didn't have onions. I know there are different recipes for it but the stuff I had before was so good I wanted this to be like that.
Other dishes ordered (not by me) included grilled shrimp brochette and broiled salmon with a champagne caviar sauce. The fish was reportedly "okay" and when asked if she'd order it again, the wife couldn't say. That's a bad sign in my opinion. I had some of the shrimp and while prepared well, I can't say the dish blew me away. The rice and grilled vegetables it was served on was pretty good but is that Russian and how much does that really matter? I got a free pastry cake thing because it was my birthday and unfortunately, it was just average.
The Verdict
I'm not sure how the tone of this review reads to someone else, but it's meant to be slightly above average. The food was decent, with just a few tweaks needed here and there to make them worth going back for. The major hitch in my mind, and likely the reason why there were really no patrons, was the prices. It's possible people either don't know about the place or have a misconception about Russian food, but it's far more likely they feel a two course meal there isn't worth $50 a head. I say try it once if you're curious or just want something different but don't prepare to be blown away.
4 Comments:
When I read it, it sounded like you hated it - the decor, the food, etc. After you talked about it for the last year or so, it's definitely on my list of places to try.
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