Kyiv Social

Comfort food nourishing those in need, one plate at a time.

November 11, 2024

1 / 8Porcini-stuffed cabbage rolls in roasted tomato sauce.Edwina Pickles

4 / 8Herring toast with eggs, pickled cucumbers and green apples.Edwina Pickles

5 / 8Chicken Kyiv with garlicky, herb-flecked butter.Edwina Pickles

7 / 8Potato and cheese dumplings.Edwina Pickles

14.5/20

Eastern European$$

Born from the horrors of war, this Plate It Forward venue shines bright in dark days. Staff inside the heritage-listed building include displaced doctors and economists forced to flee their homeland, and every set menu helps them and others (for each meal sold, two more are donated to those in need). Happily, the comfort food fills the heart and is delicious to boot.

Fresh and light sorrel-based green borscht is best mopped up with fluffy, brioche-like pampushka; “Grandma’s” earthy steamed mushroom dumplings are hand rolled by sisters Ruslana and Olha every morning; a twist on chicken Kyiv features crumbed schnitzel doused tableside in garlicky butter and is tailor-made for Australian tastes.

Raise a glass of Young Henrys “Beloved” Ukrainian-style lager. Amid so much struggle, there’s no better time to celebrate Ukrainian food, culture and community.