"Back in the USSR" Restaurant — Restaurant in Tiraspol City Council

I have never been to Russia but this place just evokes the ambience of being in Russia. There is this Soviet feel to it and there are a lot of Soviet items that are used in the decoration of the restaurant. I heard that visiting Tiraspol visiting this place is a must. I entered and I sat at the foyer, though there are different sections in the restaurant you can choose to see in the main hall, the foyer or even the outdoors. I had a look at the menu and was looking at what could I order. I did have some items in mind and I saw that they were available in the menu. I ordered the Pelmeni, which is also the dumplings and the Napoleon cake. I asked for recommendation for a drink which is non-alcoholic and the staff recommended me to try the Buratino, which I have never heard before but I said yes. Turned out the drink looks pretty cute with a Pinocchio picture on the label and it tasted fruity like an apple soda drink. The dumplings were good, they were cooked to perfection the meat inside is soft and juicy and the taste is very light with minimal flavouring. The cake is the highlight of the meal, though I wanted the honey cake but it was unavailable. Very enjoyable meal. Don't leave just as yet after finishing the meal, take some time to look at the Soviet items that were displayed some looks really cool. It's so soviet that they use the Russian dolls to put the bill. There seems to be just one male staff and he could speak pretty good English and there is also free Wifi in the restaurant. Interesting restaurant with good food and...

I visited this so called restaurant in summer and sat outside. After reading all those positive reviews I thought that this is a place from the gods. Well I dunno if sitting outside made the difference but the food was mediocre. We grabbed lunch with my kids but after trying the soup they absolutely refused to finish it. So did everyone else in the group. The other dishes, the meat, mashed potatoes, salad etc, had the same mediocre taste. We were joking that they even forgot to put the salt. I guess they serve less tasty food outside? The service was the same: mediocre. Waited 30 minutes for someone to bring us a drink because the kompot was, you guessed it mediocre, even though the restaurant was serving one table inside. I checked because I went inside to see the memorabilia there from the Soviet time. When entering the restaurant the place was gloomy. A seriously depressing mood was felt immediately. Maybe they had turned off the light because they were serving only one table and it was summer, I dunno but remember it's a 5 star rated restaurant right? Most of the waiters were hiding in the kitchen by the way. So expectations were high but results not very. Maybe after some shots of vodka that might have changed my view of things but with a can of coke the view was very different. If the goal of reviews is to improve business let's hope this does for the customers who come for lunch...

Despite what some reviews say, this restaurant is NOT a tourist trap (I don't even think PMR receives enough tourists to support a tourist trap restaurant, particularly in the off season). The entire experience was excellent. Although I know enough Russian to navigate a menu and order in Russian, my waitress Kristina spoke English. The menu also has English translations. The local beer is from the brewery in Bender, and it is very good. I had Shopska Salad for entree it was better than the ones I had in Bulgaria and Serbia. For main I had the Chicken Kiev which was very tasty. The Russian honey cake for dessert topped everything off. The price was reasonable. 2 beers, an entree, main and dessert for 220 rubles as of December 2024. I will probably come back again...