Skovorodka — Restaurant in New York

My friend was visiting from out of town and loves Eastern European food, so on a Friday afternoon in Brighton Beach, 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 my friend and I 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...

Went here for a friend’s birthday and it was an experience. The food was pretty good. We got mixed smoked meat platter, mixed smoked fish platter, pickled vegetable platter, pirogies, red borscht, potatoes with mushrooms, and kebab platter.

A few dishes were amazing, particularly the pickled grapes and the potatoes. The pirogies were also super doughy and almost like a donut texture—also very good. The kebab platter and smoked meats were fine. The smoked fish platter was a little overpowering and could have used something to balance the intense flavor; the borscht was bland.

The best part was the scene. Tons of Georgian and Russian folks dancing with an old guy doing the one man band thing playing keyboard, sax, and singing (belting out songs like “Do the Twist”, “Dancing Queen”, and… “Proud to be an American”(not your normal dancing song)).

One of my friends said this was a “spiritual relative” though not culinary relative to Sammy’s Roumanian (our first choice but has been mysteriously closed the last few weeks). I’ll take the food at Sammy’s over Skovorodka—especially Sammy’s chopped liver—but this place wins the vibe...

Great Russian/Ukrainian/Ethnic Former Soviet Republic Satellite (Georgian, Armenian) good. Authentic and you can tell it's home made. Reasonable prices, fresh with quality ingredients! Place had always been clean and servers professional. One of my favorite in Brighton beach area, even Brooklyn for that matter.

Eggplant salad, salad Olivier have always been fresh and refrigerated (even when the summer temps have been 100+; important when eating a Mayo based salad) and the chicken kabob has always been flavorful, juicy (NOT undercooked, or burnt for that matter...) And the triple espresso really wakes you up after eating heavy foods.

Close to the beach and a great place to her something to eat in Little Odessa for lunch or dinner. Let's put out this way, Russian and Ukrainian émigrés eat here... They know authentic food. Also, ambience is decorative-festive (you can take company here), I took a co-worker here who was unfamiliar with Russian food, and they loved it.

Expect slighter longer wait times for your food, especially if they're busy, but a small price to pay for the freshness...