Hmeli Suneli
Your Go-To Georgian
Hmeli Suneli is a Georgian restaurant, named after a popular spice specific to the Caucasus region and located right around the corner from Iset Hotel. They serve everything from khachapuri (a kind of cheese pizza, of which there are several from different regions of Georgia; from 230 rubles) to khinkali (Georgian dumplings, 90 rubles per piece) and everything in between: satsivi (chicken in walnut sauce, 330 rubles), spicy veal soup kharcho (360 rubles) or pkhali (chopped or minced vegetables with nuts, from 205 rubles).
Prospekt Lenina, 69/10 hmeli.ru
Fabrika Kukhnya
Traditional Pelmeni
Yekaterinburg is famous for its Uralskie pelmeni and the first floor of the Iset Hotel once housed a place called exactly that: Uralskie Pelmeni. It was bought by the ubiquitous Ginza restaurant company and is now called Fabrika Kukhnya — a fitting reference to a factory-kitchen, or a communal cafeteria. Try some of the Uralskie pelmeni (169 rubles) or dumplings with pike (159 rubles). There’s also Yekaterinburg-style borshch (89 rubles) and other cafeteria staples like chicken Kiev (139 rubles) or pilaf (99 rubles).
Prospekt Lenina, 69/1 fabrikakukhnyaekb.ru
Papa Carlo
Best Coffee
Papa Carlo is one of the best alternative places for coffee in a city that takes the drink rather seriously. Hario V60, aeropress, chemex (from 150 rubles) or your plain old flat white (160 rubles) — they have it all and the quality is superb. If you are hungry, there are bagel sandwiches and some desserts.
Ulitsa Tolmacheva, 17 vk.com/papacarlocoffee
Zames
Hipster Pelmeni
Zames is the same old Uralskie pelmeni concept with a twist. In this hipster-friendly cafe you can order dumplings called “oil and gas” — made of black dough, with salmon and dill mousse (270 rubles) or the regular “dumplings from the Urals,” but with smoked sour cream (200 rubles). Vareniki, pelmeni’s sweet siblings, are also on the menu: try the ones made of cherry-infused dough with a cottage cheese filling and blackcurrant mousse (200 rubles). Chase it with homemade mors (Russian berry-based drink) or the local Jaws craft beer.
Ulitsa Pushkina, 12 vk.com/zames_ekb
Cafe 1991
Recipes From Yeltsin’s Wife
Cafe 1991, a restaurant at the Yeltsin Center, is thankfully not dedicated to the bland food of the 1990s. It’s a “new Russian” restaurant, reimagining the traditional recipes and some of the signature dishes of Naina Yeltsina, the wife of the first Russian president. Start with chicken liver mousse with spicy lingonberry sauce (310 rubles) and continue with beef stroganoff on pearl barley. Finish with one of Naina’s tasty desserts, like mini eclairs or cherry pie (150 rubles). All the while you can enjoy the views of City Pond and the historic part of Yekaterinburg from the windows. If you’re at the Yeltsin Center, this is the perfect place for a pitstop.
Ulitsa Borisa Yeltsina, 3 bycenter.ru/services/meal/cafe1991
Kraby, Gady i Vino
Seafood in a Landlocked City
“Kraby, Gady i Vino” can be roughly translated as “Crabs, Seafood and Wine” and it’s a seafood restaurant with rather affordable prices, particularly given that Yekaterinburg is in the middle of the continent and rather far from the sea. Tuna tartare will cost you 470 rubles while lasagna with crab meat will set you back 550 rubles. As you’d expect, they have a large selection of crab dishes available. Chase all that delicious seafood with craft beer (from 150 rubles) or a glass of wine from the restaurant’s wide selection (from 165 rubles).
Ulitsa Khokhryakova, 23 gady.me
Sorriso
Best Italian
Sorriso is a traditional Italian eatery and wine bar. If you’re suffering from Italian food cravings while in Yekaterinburg, this is the place for you. Get your fill of traditional pasta: bolognese (400 rubles) and carbonara (400 rubles) or lasagna (from 430 rubles). There’s also ravioli, gnocchi and risotto, as well as your favorite Italian desserts: tiramisu and panna cotta (from 250 rubles). Buon appetito!
Ulitsa Malysheva, 71 sorriso-ekb.ru
Pelmeni Club
Upscale Pelmeni
Pelmeni Club is yet another Yekaterinburg establishment devoted to the eponymous local specialty. But as the name suggests, this is an upscale place. All the ingredients here come straight from the farm and the menu has plenty to offer. Try the Urals borshch with beef (290 rubles) and dumplings (320 rubles). Don’t miss their homemade vodka infusions and spirits (from 175 rubles).
Krasnoarmeiskaya Ulitsa, 2 pelmeni-club.ru
Engels
Best Breakfast
Engels is your perfect breakfast spot in Yekaterinburg. They make their own sweet and savory waffles, with all kinds of toppings, including salmon, capers, quail eggs and truffle sauce (290 rubles) or marshmallow, strawberry and chocolate sauce (275 rubles). You can also combine toppings of your own choice to make a customized waffle. If you spent too much time in one of the city’s sports bars the night before and you’re looking for something to get you moving in the morning, cappuccinos are 160 rubles and flat whites are 200.
Ulitsa Malysheva, 21/4 engelscoffee.ru
