Buddha Bar can be found located in the centre of Kiev, on the renowned shopping street known as Khreschatyk. We have visited many Buddha Bars around the world and there’s something quite special about each one, with each location having its own Buddha with its own story. The Buddha in Kiev is incredible and to give you some idea of the size, if you think of a double decker bus you wouldn’t be far off.
The restaurant is huge and is spread over two levels with the bar area being on the upper level overlooking the lower restaurant level. The décor is stunning with signature Buddha Bar statement pieces found throughout.
The only downside to our visit is that I don’t speak Russian and their English wasn’t much better. Having a gluten allergy I have to be very careful about what I am ordering and what ingredients are used, which didn’t make for the easiest of tasks due to the language barrier. So we ended up having a short visit with just a couple of sushi options before going to dinner elsewhere. Despite this, we enjoyed our time there.
“We have visited many Buddha Bars around the world and there’s something quite special about each one, with each location having its own Buddha with its own story.”
To begin our evening, we ordered some pre-dinner cocktails. I chose the Grapefruitini, which saw a punchy and delicious blend of gin, fresh grapefruit juice, watermelon syrup and fresh lemon juice. My partner opted for a Black Sabbath which was a mix of whisky, passion fruit puree, strawberry, blackcurrant liquor and fresh lemon juice.
For our food choices, we went for the Crazy Spicy tuna roll served as six cut maki rolls, garnished with fresh red chilli and pickled ginger. These rolls were quite spicy, but equally beautiful and terribly moreish. We also chose the California Roll with salmon, also served as 6 cut maki rolls, which certainly didn’t disappoint.
We washed down our food with a bottle of 2014, M. Chapoutier, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, La Bernardine, France that boasted ripe red fruit flavours with hints of spice and liquorice. It was delicious.
Overall we had a great time at Buddha Bar and would certainly return, but perhaps being more prepared to communicate in Russian! It still comes highly recommended by us as a great choice in the city.
The Bill: £78 per head
