Stolovaya — Restaurant in New York

A throwback to Soviet cafeterias, this restaurant offers both dishes and propaganda on its walls to live up to it name. Stolovaya translates to "cafeteria" in Russian and has a wide variety of dishes running the whole gamut of my Russian upbringing. While you are only provided with Russian menus, you can ask for an English one. I recommend:

1. "Salad Olivier - A potato, veggie, and mayo salad popular during Russian celebrations.
2. "Golubtsi" - Meat and vegetables wrapped in cabbage.
3. "Pelmeni" - $5 for 25 dumplings in them! An absolute steal. I go for the "Siberian" variety myself.
4. "Blini" - Russian style pancakes similar to crepes. A perfect way to finish off the meal

You can bring your own bottle here and many do, but I do recommend the "kompot", a refreshing drink freshly made with fruit.

Service is good and the prices are shockingly reasonable. All in all, it's a great meeting place to visit with friends and offers up a nice slice of a different culture for both foodies and the average person...

An update: visited this place recently: prices got much higher! Food got a bit worse, sizes are a bit smaller. Ordered grilled fish - was too fatty and soggy. My wife didn't eat it. French fries were also soggy. Looking at the menu- Prices wise- fried potatoes with mushrooms is $13?! That's greedy. 2 sticks of shish kebab (shashlik) from beef is $14?! That's grabby! No side-dishes are included for that place. It's a no for me. What a pity, it used to be a great and delicious cafe!

Awesome Russian cuisine cafe! The food is authentic, portions are nice, prices are affordable. The staff is pleasant, always double-checks on orders making sure they are correct. The kitchen gives food fast! Food itself is tasty, you can't go wrong with salads, soups, or entrees. As a desert we order "pirogi" (vareniki) with cherries and with sweet cheese. For the prices - you get a great portion on your plate. Really happy...

BE AWARE OF BAD SERVICE I would not even give a one star. So sad.. We were four people and patiently were waiting when table for us would be available. As u can see only table for two was available. New customers came after us ,couple. They were also patiently waiting. Finally, the lady got time to clean table for SIX and give it to new customers . BUT not for us . She looked at couple and said them to come and sit … We asked if they maybe had reservation, and serving lady lied to us , “they gonna be 5 “ !!! She lie , after we heard that couple were looking for table for TWO PERSON!!! Waiters left us with a word “ wait for available table” We left. I am really upset. I came to that place for the first and last time. Maybe it happened for better to us. At least got...