With its unusual location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, its industrial heritage and its vibrant cultural life, Yekaterinburg’s uniqueness shows in every aspect of city life. And its food scene being no exception. These are the best food places in the unofficial capital of the Ural region.
Located in the city’s historic centre, Belmesi will steal your heart with its pleasantly laid-back atmosphere and delicious home-style meals. One of the best places in the city to eat Uzbek food, Belmesi is an amazing combination of atmospheric design, high-quality food and great service.
The city’s most talked-about gastropub with the poshest menu you can imagine: ribs with tomato jam, black beef with onion ash, and lamb soup with white wine, estragon and tkemali sauce. Gastroli also has the best humus in the city and, for dessert, you can stuff your own cream puff with the filling of your choice.
Another Uzbek restaurant on the list, Nigora is the perfect place for a hearty meal or a hangover breakfast. Completely unpretentious in both interior design and menu, Nigora offers simple but deliciously cooked traditional meals like lagman soup, dolma, and pilaf. Nigora doesn’t serve coffee, but you can always have a cup of tea with baklava of fig jam.
Maccheroni comprises two beautifully designed floors, where you can have your perfect pasta with a perfect view of Lenin Avenue. The popular Italian restaurant is known for its celebrated young chef, open kitchen and original dishes. The regulars come for delicious build-your-own-pasta, beetroot and ricotta ravioli and the best Pavlova cake in the city.
As you enter Pivovodymnogoedy (translating as ‘BeerDrinksTonsOfFood’) through the red phone booth, you immediately fall under the spell of this atmospheric little café and want to just stay here for a while. Whether it’s the chic design of its interiors, with a bicycle hanging over the bar, or the hefty home-style food, Pivovodymnogoedy will leave you wanting more.
Opened by a Vietnamese-born entrepreneur, Vietmon restaurant serves traditional food from the north of Vietnam, which is neither too spicy nor too sweet, according to the owner. The simple interiors and the fantastic food (classic spring rolls, pho soup and fried noodles with beef and lemongrass) has made Vietmon a go-to place for lovers of Vietnamese food in Yekaterinburg.
Arguably the best vegetarian quick-service café in the city, Rada boasts delicious food that draws crowds at lunch. Other reasons to visit this place are its joyful orange and green interiors, friendly service and great eco-shop, selling everything a vegetarian might need.
If you want to eat some authentic Russian food at an affordable price, then this quick-service restaurant is just what you’re looking for. Located in the iconic building of the former Iset hotel, where the legendary Soviet restaurant Uralskye Pelmeni was once located, the Factory Kitchen is favoured for its eclectic atmosphere and an impressive variety of dumplings on the menu, including the ones with cherry.
