Babushka's - Hyde Park — Restaurant in Tampa

Such a shame really… We just moved here 6 months ago and when I found out there was a Russian restaurant 5 min from me well I was sold I have been coming to this location since. I am a high tipper, easy patron very laid back. This was my FIRST time making an order for pickup, From the moment I called the (Host) Paulina answered with a attitude which I’m not sure what happened there it was so hard to complete my order because she was pretending? To not hear me because I would ask her something to make sure it was correct and she would not respond I had to keep saying hello can you hear me or repeat my question and she would not respond to it but say something completely different (I REALLY have been craving Babushkas for a little so I dealt with it) she said it would be around 20-25 min so I always give restaurants about 10-15 more with incoming orders things can get backed up. I called my Uber he waited for me I walked in asked for my pick up order the host asked for the name I said I was never asked my name (And right away she knew what order it was) 🤔 ok… she says we are runnning 5 min behind ok I say. I talk to my Uber driver and he says he will wait for me I go back inside she tells me to pay the bill I do I ask her to please check on my order it’s been about 6 min now. She charges me comes back and says it’s going to be another 20min…. 😂 at this point I’m just in shocked is someone playing a prank what is going on….. I was in such shock I just walked out told the Uber driver I would over tip him and I’m so sorry for wasting his time took care of him he left and I waiting for my order. Decided to eat my food there as this was just too much drama to take home I’m starving at this point worked a 12 hour shift today so let me just relax. I’m literally on my laptop with a perogie almost in my mouth when the same host (PAULINA) does not ask me but TELLS me to move to another seat because other patrons want to sit in the seat next to me (I have one seat with my lunchbox,book bag,work bag and one seat I’m sitting in) I put the fork down and said to her are you seriously asking me to move my whole plate assembly my whole dinner table I just set up? She said yes I am with a horrendous sarcastic attitude. I’m not quite sure what’s going on in this ladies life but we all have problems, I don’t take it out on my patients when I’m going through whatever it is I’m going through. (This is me giving her the benefit of the doubt that anything is even wrong in her life to act the way she has been acting since I placed my order over the phone) Brandon is a great bartender and I could tell he was not pleased with the situation but what can he do? TATIANA the manager was ok not much customer service not too involved but she refunded me my money and I can’t say much about her other than just a body there. And the food that I decided to eat there… they brought my soup, my periogies and my dessert all at the same time…. When the brought the dessert I said please all the food is coming out too fast can you please put it in a container to go (I could tell they wanted me out of there) I’m not sure what I did but ok…. And guess what that food runner got super pissed as I thanked him he just gave me the nastiest look 🤷🏼‍♀️ This place has lost my business and any patients/clients/associates/friends like I said earlier it’s unfortunate. As for Brandon I tipped...

I will preface this review by saying that the last few times that I had eaten here;, it was amazing. The flavors are so on point and the staff is so friendly. I will also say that if you're choosing to eat at Babushka's and are willing to go despite this review, please definitely go to the Hyde Park location. The Temple Terrace location is but a shadow in comparison; I'm not sure how they manage it, but the food tastes less fresh.

Anyway, while we are often very much fans and advocates of this restaurant, our last experience was quite poor. Day after Valentine's on a Saturday so it's packed, which honestly wasn't so bad. While our server was kind, he was pretty inattentive, but they may be due to just how busy it was.

Our main complaint was the food and the reaction we received when we spoke up about it. We had the adjaruli khachapuri, beef stroganoff, and the golubtsy. The night started off fantastically, the adjaruli khachapuri is a melted soft cheese with a yolk stirred in on beautifully soft bread. Like biting into a savory pillow.

However, our entrees arrived and we noticed a staggering size difference in the beef stroganoff. Now, I understand that food costs have gone up since COVID and will continue to rise in the future. But this was quite literally 1/4 of the size of what we have previously loved to death for the same $27 DOLLARS. It took about 5 bites to complete and maybe had 4 pieces of meat total. The first photo with the spiral noodles, if you can believe it, was the original dish, blanketing a large plate. The second photo was what we received this past weekend. If I recall correctly, it's the same portion they provide for the sampler that comes with smaller servings of three other dishes.

Now I'm no stranger to spending $30 a plate at a restaurant. But unfortunately, I cannot do so as much as I'd like. And I certainly cannot justify it and leave the restaurant still hungry. I would hope that most people would agree that if you spend $75 before tipping on an appetizer and two entrees, that you'd at least leave a restaurant full.

I spoke with the manager about our grievances, and he repeatedly assured us that it's the same amount of food; he backtracked and said that it was the same amount of beef at 300g after seeing the first photo and that the pasta was just different. I can forgive a small difference in meat because the sauce is so good, but to try to convince me that there was no difference in volume is ludicrous.

We loved this restaurant, but from a purely fiscal perspective, we cannot return unless we can return to the previous serving sizes because a restaurant should be a restaurant: a place where you leave fed. Again, to spend near $80 to only have to go to another restaurant because you're hungry (went to Bartaco by the way) is simply ridiculous. A very unfortunate happening, but hell, if you can afford to eat here and leave hungry, more power to you; it's just not in the cards for us..

Edit: I took about 5 minutes to look at past reviews and it looks like they made the change about 8 months ago. Disappointing to the say the least. Don't know if it's new management, just rising food prices or both. It's dishonest and practically a robbery to serve the dish at $27. Also the golubtsy was just incredibly okay. Very...

3 stars for the apps and atmosphere, 1 star for the entrees and service.

First, we'll start with the good. The ambiance is lovely and makes for a nice place to spend the evening for a relaxed dinner. Second, the appetizers are pretty good. They offer many types of Eastern European specialties - our group got a few to share. The samsas, blinis, dumplings and khachapuri were all enjoyed.

Next, the bad news. The entree (and service) were majorly subpar. I do not generally eat meat and the menu is very meat based as far as the entrees are concerned. The only vegetarian entree they had available was the veggie grill, so I decided to get it. Based on the way the menu is set up, it seems at first that the veggie grill includes veggie skewers, cabbage salad, potatoes, bread and dips. However, once my food came out (and I looked at the menu closely again), I realized that only the meat skewer dishes come with the above mentioned side items, NOT the veggie grill. My mistake for misunderstanding the menu, although as it was a bit ambiguous, I'm sure I'm not the first person to have expected the same thing.

Secondly, the service was downright pathetic. Our server disappeared for long periods of time throughout the evening. After we received the entrees, he didn't come back to check one us even one time, until he offered desserts and the check. Had he come by to ask how our meal was, I would have asked if I could put in an order for the side items that I was expecting - or maybe asked to change my meal for something else. However, since he didn't give me the chance to do so, the issue was never resolved. When he finally came around to bring the checks, he stopped by our table a total of 3 times within 5 minutes. My plate was still 90% full because I barely touched the food. Besides my disappointment in not being able to ask to add on the sides, the veggie grill was just soooo boring. No seasoning, just plain grilled veggies in large chunks (like large tomatoes cut in half, entire bell peppers also cut in half - and undercooked) I understand some people will say don't go to a restaurant like this and get a veggie grill platter - but I say if the restaurant has it on their menu, they should be able to make it decently. So, when the server came to the table multiple times while bringing checks, etc. he saw my entirely full plate still sitting in front of me. Didn't ask if something was wrong, didn't offer a box, no acknowledgement whatsoever of the blatantly obvious issue. At this point it was too late in the evening (they were about to close) to order anything else, and since the server didn't seem to notice, I decided to just let it go.

The final kicker was the 20% mandatory "large party" gratuity for a table of 6. Nowhere on the menu or website did I see any mentioning of this. I am happy to voluntarily tip 20-25% for good service, but it's really irritating to be forced into paying a good tip for poor service.

All in, my bill was $35 for 1 can of beer, an inedible plate of grilled veggies and a tip that didn't match the service...