Scott F.
Yelp
Listen up, folks, 'cause I'm gonna school ya. It's listed as a Russian restaurant, and according to our dining companion, that's right on the money, not just for the food, but the service. Like no other restaurant I've been to, this place has a protocol. The listing says it closes at 9pm. Ignore that. If you walk in off the street after 6pm you will be turned away, so get there EARLY. Yelp has a photo of the menu online, so use that to figure out what you want to eat before you get there because - get ready for this - they only have one menu. We had five people in our group and needed another chair and place setting, but they didn't seem particularly interested in getting one for us. No problem, we just pulled them from a nearby table. About a third of the menu items we ordered weren't available, so we made alternate choices. They might not have your favorite beverage in stock, so be ready to choose another one. In short - BE FLEXIBLE.
The food? It was out of this world. Between us, we ordered the beef, lamb and chicken kabobs, and beef and chicken Lula (it's like a casing-less sausage) that was absolutely delicious. The portions? HUGE. The price? TINY. Like, fourteen bucks (I think) for two huge skewers of meat, plus some sort of pickled persian cucumber and tomato salad that was excellent, and seasoned fried potatoes. Two responsible people could share an entree and not walk away hungry. We started with hummus, Greek salad, cabbage salad and eggplant salad to share between us, and everything tasted fresh and authentic. We walked out of their door feeling as if we'd just come back from a trip to Russia.
The language barrier and the all the little caveats make this is a challenging place to eat, but it is SO worth it! If I didn't live halfway around the country I'd tell all my friends about this place, and eat here at least once a month. HIGHLY recommended!