One of the most famous piano bars in the city
Russian Samovar, located in the Theater District in Manhattan, is an upscale Russian restaurant that has a lot of history. Opened in 1986, Russian Samovar has been THE Piano Bar where people go to for a great night out. So good, in fact, that celebrities like Liza Minelli have made surprise appearances and performed musical numbers on the piano for guests to enjoy. Upon walking in, we noticed that the restaurant was fairly busy. However, we were attended to right away which was very nice. The staff, from first glance, was attentive and very helpful to all guests.
When we sat down, we looked at the cocktail menu and were immediately drawn to the drink called “Russian Beauty.” This drink is essentially fresh raspberry puree topped with a crisp prosecco. When we tried it, our immediate take was that this drink was sweet, although not overtly, but you could still taste the crispness from the prosecco. There wasn’t too much kick to it which was nice especially being a pre-dinner cocktail.
For appetizers, we started with the Salmon Rose salad and the Pirozhok. The salad was made with salmon roses poached in white wine, served on a bed of mixed greens, and topped with red caviar. This salad was a solid option. The salmon was cooked really well and the salad itself was tossed in a tangy, Caesar dressing like dressing. When the salmon is mixed together with the salad, it makes for a very tasty bite where the sweetness from the salmon balances out the tanginess and acidity of the salad and the dressing. The Pirozhok was definitely our favorite. This dish is essentially a Russian puff pastry filled with a filling of the guest’s choice. We chose the onion and potato one along with the meat filling one. The meat filled one was filled with beef. The beef has this sweetness to it, most likely due to being cooked in red wine, and paired with the starchy yet flaky puff pastry, this was a hit. The onion and potato one was also very good. The filling inside was moist and the flavor itself was very subtle. Paired with the puff pastry made for a very mellow but delicious bite.
During the middle of the meal, we were served a variety of flavored vodka. The flavors were pomegranate, cranberry, ginger, horseradish, and pepper. The pomegranate vodka was sweet and went down easily with almost no aftertaste. The cranberry one was less sweet and had more of a kick to it, but it was nice nonetheless. The ginger vodka was a little aggressive with the taste, obviously because ginger in itself is a very aggressive flavor. The vodka had quite a bit of kick to it too. The horseradish one was very interesting. The way they preserved the horseradish taste was something. Upon trying this, you are immediately hit with a huge horseradish taste. So, if you aren’t a fan of horseradish, this shot might not be good for you. And lastly, the pepper shot had a lot of spice to it where even taking a small sip, your sense are hit with pepper, both on your tongue and even through your nose. It is very aggressive in the taste and has quite a kick, so if you are the adventurous kind when it comes to vodka, definitely try this out.
For dinner we had the chicken kiev as well as the lam country style. The chicken kiev was delicious. Served with an herbed butter inside, lightly breaded outside, and served over a bed of mashed potatoes, this dish is like the ultimate comfort food. The herbed butter kept the chicken moist and gave the chicken a lot of flavor with the herbs. The way I described the taste upon first bite was like an upscale chicken nugget with the way it was lightly breaded and paired with a moist and buttery inside. The lamb country style was a lamb shank cooked in a red wine reduction and served with herbs and peppers. This lamb was extremely good where the meat practically fell off the bone and melted in your mouth.
For dessert, we tried the Napoleon and the Medovik. The Napoleon was amazing. The light and airy puff pastry really enhanced the vanilla cream filling that was layered in between. The entire dessert was light and full of vanilla flavor. The puff pastry was so flaky and delicate. There was a great ratio of puff pastry to filling where nothing got soggy from too much filling and there wasn’t an abundance of crumbs from the puff pastry. The Medovik is their lightly sweet layered honey cake. This cake was so moist and had a slightly sweet honey taste that it was something that cleaned your palette. After eating a variety of heavy dishes, it was nice to finish off with something so light and subtly sweet where it wasn’t overpowering. The desserts were definitely a highlight to our meal.
