Babushka's - Temple Terrace — Restaurant in Temple Terrace

It was a cool experience! I've never really had food from Russia, Ukraine, or Georgia. I've only had the Americanized versions. Honestly, I've been wanting to try this place since it first opened near USF. There are 2 locations. The other restaurant is in the Hyde Park area. This review is for the original location.

Our first impression was a good one. I love the rustic look and ambiance. I felt like I was Little Red Riding Hood visiting Grandma's (Babushka's) house. It's like a cabin in the woods, but decorated with flowers and cool light fixtures. It's cozy, yet the wooden bench tables are spaced out and have individual seat cushions for a more comfortable experience. The table set up gives a very nice homey feel to it. Service was good. There were 3 other tables that were occupied with one waitress. She did a great job. Fortunately, we already knew what we wanted. She took our order and brought our drinks out. The food did take a while, but that was expected.

Our appetizer was the Hot Buterbrod. It was definitely unique. It was 4 good sized slices of ciabatta bread with a mixture of cheese, ham, peppers, and a dressing that is baked in the oven. I think there may have been some shallots in there. It kind of tasted like an elevated pimento cheese, but more zesty. We thought it was pretty good. We got our main entrees about 15-20 minutes later. Not too terribly long for something that is cooked to order. His Beef Stroganoff arrived first. The beef was very tender and the sauce was very good. He really seemed to enjoy it. He got it with mashed potatoes instead of egg noodles. My pan fried salmon came out shortly after. It was so wonderful! One of the best salmon recipes I've ever had. I totally loved the crispy skin under the salmon along with the seasoning. The filet was very tender and juicy inside. The young potatoes had slivers of garlic. It was a simple preparation that felt very comforting. That homemade dill sauce (blended with sour cream) went so well with the salmon and potatoes. I'm not usually a big lover of sour cream, but I used it on everything. It was great.

We didn't have any leftovers to take home. However, we did get Napoleon pastries for dessert. We had it boxed up for later. I think that was our only disappointment. It tasted okay. It definitely had a good pastry cream filling. It was just that the pastry layers were soggy. It wasn't fluffy or crispy. Perhaps we should have tried the Honey Cake that everyone raves about. Other than that, all was good. We want to eventually go back and try the stuffed peppers and braised cabbage. We just didn't have enough room to...

What a great little spot! We tried the borscht, khinkali, kotlety, the babushka salad, and the farmer's cheese blinchiki for dessert. The borscht was amazing - so flavorful with tasty bits/chunks of beef throughout. Khinkali are giant Georgian dumplings. We had them for the first time at a place in South Florida. These were far and away superior. Note that these have soup and meat inside - the soup spills out when you break into it. So delicious, they are bursting with flavor. Kotlety are delicious little meat patties and accompanied by yummy mashed potatoes and babushka salad. The babushka salad was fresh and tasty. Everything was wonderfully seasoned and oh so flavorful. We decided to try the farmer cheese Blinchiki for dessert, and it came accompanied with a chocolate swirl, a sprinkling of blueberries, and sweetened condensed milk for drizzling. The crepes were light and flaky, and the filling was ample and creamy. Also, love the decor. It is kind of on the rustic side - lots of wood. Babushkas and folk art everywhere make this just delightful. (The Ukrainian flags were a nice touch, too.) Seating is not the plushest, being wooden benches w/thin cushions, but they're not uncomfortable by any means. We arrived around 7:00 on a Saturday evening and had to wait about half an hour. Reservations are recommended on a Saturday if you don't want to wait. Our server was super friendly and helpful. 10 out of 10 would recommend and we...

Different and unique in their own way. Confort food that leaves you satisfied and full. Flavor profiles are different from the American, Italian, and American/folk/fusion dishes that are prevalent in Tampa right now, but this is a good thing and I tell you this to be aware before you go in and/or leave a bad review. Different, unique, and satisfying, Babushka's dishes stem from Romanian/Ukrainian home cooked meals. Dishes from steak, cabbage and mushrooms, stuffed peppers, lamb perogies, and caviar toast, you will find food that breaks the mold here and leaves you satisfied. Our server was genuinely a pleasant person who handled our table with the utmost sincerity, showing care and eagerness for us to be comfortable and happy. My favorite dish was the Honey Cake. We ordered it to go because of how stuffed we were and I had a bite before bed a few hours later which was a mistake! I ended up eating half the cake before my self control kicked in to save some for my wife.

The dishes come out when they're finished so each eating experience is different. We had a party of around 10 so we all shared and took some from each other's plate as the food hit the table. You'll always know your food is hot and just off the grill or oven and that it's not sitting under a heat lamp waiting for everything at once to come out.

For a unique experience on home cooked meals, this place is one you'll...