Ukrainian Village — Restaurant in Vancouver

My friends and I went to this restaurant 2 days ago since it was one our friend's birthdays and she wanted to try a new kind of cuisine. I was curious to try out some Ukrainian food too and see how their pierogis tasted. Sadly, it was the only thing that tasted 'alright' at the restaurant compared to all the other dishes we ordered. When we arrived at the restaurant, the waiter gave us the table which we reserved earlier. He seemed a little agitated at first because we were 25 minutes late (yes, it's our fault, I know) and decided to eventually give us the table set for us (because if we came 5 minutes later, he would've given it to another oncoming group instead).

When I looked at the menu, I knew what I wanted to order, which was the duck dish. 2 of our friends ordered the cabbage rolls, 1 ordered the vegetarian rolls, and another ordered the chicken paprika. When our food arrived, I looked at my duck on the dish, which didn't look similar to the picture on the menu. I tried it out and the flavors didn't seem interesting at all. I also cut some of it for my friends to try. They didn't think it was anything special either. I also went to try out some of my friend's cabbage rolls and chicken paprika. Nothing special at all. Overall, the pierogis we ordered to share were probably the most delicious things we tried on the menu (Potato and Fried Onion) and that's saying a lot. The Sauerkraut was mediocre at best.

When our bill finally arrived, I decided to just give a lower tip because I was honestly not satisfied with the food at all. I was really looking forward to this experience, but it was just a letdown in the end. Of course, I should've showed some degree of gratitude to the waiter for giving us our table in the end, but his attitude was overall unpleasant. Another thing was when he went back to the counter to check the money we paid, he said we were $13 short. That was absolutely ridiculous! As a result, he brought our bill back to us to double-check, telling us to recheck everything. It was at that time I noticed a change in his tone (probably because of the tip I gave him?!). Some of our friends, being accountants and mathematical experts double-checked the money given and they came up with the right amount. However, the way he checked was still $13 off. In order to avoid a scuffle (and being mentally and physically exhausted earlier that day), I covered the extra $13. The waiter, after receiving the money, said that we should be careful to check the money next time because it wasted 'a lot' of his time and to not let that happen again. 'Wasting' his time?! The tables weren't full at all and I saw him playing with his phone half the time we were there _

A local mainstay on the northern end of Denman Street, this restaurant has retained a soul that is often lost in the more commercialised eateries around Vancouver.

The decor had an unmistakably touch of homeliness, and the waitress, who looked absolutely stunning in her traditional dress, provided hospitality more akin to a stay at a relative’s place. The menu was easy to navigate and items were very reasonably priced.

There must have been a magician in the kitchen because the meal served was incredibly captivating. The plates came filled to the brim and each component of the meal was packed with unique flavours that worked well with each other. The ingredients used were on the simpler side but were incredibly balanced across meats and vegetables and nothing felt over processed or over seasoned.

For reference, my wife and I sampled a considerable cross section of the Ukrainian cuisine. We had as our starter the Solianca (a tangy sour cream and tomato soup). For mains, we ordered 1) the Roasted Duck served with Mashed Potato and Coleslaw, and 2) the ‘Ukrainian Dinner’: a diverse sampling platter of pierogis (three different fillings), cabbage rolls, coleslaw salad, sausage, sour cream and mustard. We also ordered a shot of Stolichnaya (a vodka) and Ukrainian Iced Tea as drinks, and had a Kiev Cake as dessert. While the portion sizes were massive, we did manage to finish everything.

As one of the few independent places that continues to serve a good ol’ classic meal, this place is sure to please even when everything else around this city keeps choppin’...

The food is absolutely fantastic, the place itself could use a bit of renovation, IMHO, the service is good no matter what the user before me said. Ohh, they didn't get a thousand "please & thank yous" and weren't wished "Happy Holidays"....man, some people really enjoy those empty smiles and "how R Us" without meening. It makes me feel tense and awkward and I just want to leave. Service should be about service, kissing your ass should not account for so much of it. You said you will not return there, well good luck finding food like that somewhere else. I was born and raised in Ukraine...well for the first 16 years anyway. My grandparents were great cooks as well as my mother, so I know how the real food is supposed to look, smell and taste. The funny thing is, I lived in Vancouver for 20 years and never visited Ukrainian Village until last month. I didn't consider even for a second that it could be any good, well comparing to home cooking anyway. I WAS VERY WRONG. The food is actually great, it may reflect in a price, but I would rather pay a little more for a better tasting food then go to McDonalds or some chineese food place that costs next ot nothing but the minute food cools down, you can't force it down your throat with a boot. ;) Anyway, home-cooking is home-cooking, but all in all - the Ukrainian Village Restaurant turned out to be an amazing little place with a nice variety of delicious ethnic food. I will definetly recommend it to anyone that asks and eat there myself more often. Just one thing, IMHO, they could make alcohol a...