Taste of the Black Sea

Amidst a vibrant, diverse, and rapidly growing culinary scene in Kyiv, neither Atlantic seabass nor French oysters hold the city’s residents or tourists in awe any longer. However, a place offering locally caught fish and seafood will certainly create a buzz

More than just a dining spot, this gastro fish restaurant opened its doors in July in an unostentatious district, between Lukianivska and Dorohozhychi metro stations. It is the sixth restaurant of the Chernomorka network with another five places operating in Kyiv and in Odesa.

Сouleur Locale

The restaurant’s atmosphere sets the stage – its cosiness envelops as we enter and take our seats on the summer terrace. The nautical-themed interior immediately draws association with a port city on the Black Sea coast.

Make sure you try

Garfish (per 100g)	112 UAH
Pike quenelle in creamy sauce	142 UAH
Salmon tartar with caviar of Zakarpattia pike caviar	192 UAH

All design accents – plain furniture, white washed brick walls adorned with flotation rings and oars, ceilings boasting boat shaped chandeliers, a tiled floor with a smartly distressed look (inside) and gravel (outside) – make us feel as if we are sitting in a small café on the sea coast listening to the relaxing sound of waves rolling in upon soft sands…

Whatever you Wish

No doubt, a huge ice showcase with fresh fish and seafood is the restaurant’s pride and key attraction. The variety of delicacies is a visual treat. Apart from dorado, salmon, squid, baby octopus, scallops, tiger and royal shrimp tails, kin clip, and smelt supplied from all over the world, guests can get a full range of Ukrainian fish. Even their names are mouth-watering – red and grey mullet, shark katran, sea fox, horse mackerel, knout goby, garfish, frog legs that are delivered from the Odesa and Kherson regions, and carp, crucian carp, catfish, pike perch from Dniester Estuary, sterlet, trout from the Zakarpattia oblast, and river eel from the Shatskiy lakes.

Edible Inventory

Odesa Forshmak	75 UAH
Meat of mussels	67 UAH
Meat of conch shell	62 UAH
Flatfish kalkan (per 100g)	115 UAH
Stingray (per 100g)	65 UAH
Pino Grigio del Veneto, Sant’Orsola (bottle)	350 UAH

Total 734 UAH

The venue has an open kitchen and special reservoir with live oysters supplied from France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and even Japan. Black Sea shellfish is also on the list.

Clients can purchase fish and seafood at Chernomorka, get it scaled and cook it at home, or, stay here to appreciate the chef’s talents. We choose the latter and decide to go local tonight.

Whetting the Appetite

Following our server’s advice, we take Forshmak to begin with. People flock to Chernomorka to try this specialty for good reason. One of the best forshmaks we have ever eaten, this cold starter is made out of delicious, juicy herring chopped and mixed with onions and apples that have a pleasant, slightly sour note. Bedded on an oyster shell, the spread comes with toast to set our tastebuds working.

Our feast continues as we order a bowl filled with hot Black Sea mussels and conch shell stewed in cream sauce. Rich in protein and vitamins, conch shell meat usually has a texture similar to that of squid. Yet Chernomorka knows how to turn it to a delicate appetiser with a tender taste.

Catch of the Day

We go on indulging in Black Sea delectables. A signature dish, flatfish kalkan cooked on a charcoal brazier makes for the first part of our main course. We savour a thick chunk of a slightly fatty soft succulent white fish garnished with a wedge of lemon and sliced ginger. Piquantly enhanced with a charred flavour, it is has a rich taste sufficient in itself.

Afterwards, roasted stingray arrives at our table. Its tight and dense texture resembles beef. It is so nourishing we feel full after the first bite. Gourmet tips – take home whatever you can’t finish at Chernomorka – quite often cold fish tastes even better.

The What’s On Check List

English Menu (partially)	+
English-speaking staff	+
Wi-fi	+
Price	$$
WO Rating	****

Small Exception

The only exception we make to ordering local produce during our dinner is a choice of drinks. We go after light uncomplicated well-balanced Italian Pinot Grigio that is a good match for all of our dishes, and we forgo dessert to allow the Black Sea aftertaste to linger as long as possible.

Of course, all Chernomorka spots differ in their design and style. However, their quality and assortment remain in high demand as the network keeps expanding. The seventh restaurant is planned to open in early October on the Dnipro Embankment, Knyazhyi Zaton 16D.

Chernomorka, fish eco shop
Melnykova 83A (Kyiv’s other addresses are Drahomanova 6/1, Yaroslavska 5/2, Preobrazhenska 7,
Velyka Okruszhna 110A, and Rishelievska 9A in Odesa)
⎯ 11.00 – 23.00
chernomorka2013
+380 67 594 05 05