Situated outside the city’s Dominican Cathedral, this fun sculpture is of the artist Nikifor Krynicki. He was a quirky artist who painted over 40,000 pictures during his lifetime, despite no formal training. He lived from 1895 until 1968 and this sculpture was unveiled in 2006.
Some more parts of the sculpture.
After lots of church visiting I felt that it was time for coffee and cake….
Well, how tempting! As usual I never quite know where to order from, so I ordered at the counter and the food and drink was brought over promptly. I think it was probably table service, but either way, it was efficient and the staff were friendly and spoke excellent English.
The dining environment was comfortable with numerous customers sitting with their computers doing work (or looking at Facebook for all I know….) and the ambience was laid-back. It was all clean and well organised, with the staff member at the till finding my order promptly when I went to pay.
The coffee was well presented, at a drinkable temperature and with a pleasant flavour. The chocolate eclair was creamy and there was a generous amount of chocolate on top, all with a fresh taste. Reasonably priced, the drink and eclair cost around £2.
I have this habit of always visiting the best rated burger restaurant in any city, as they’re usually on-trend, customer service friendly and have a high quality product. So, in Lviv, that restaurant was Delicateka.
I couldn’t find the menu on-line, so here’s the English version for anyone who wants it. They hadn’t translated the drinks menu, but the staff member spoke excellent English, so it didn’t matter.
Some of the decor.
This is Red Eyes, a local beer made by Pravda Beer in Lviv. It was a very drinkable beer with a slight citrus flavour.
The bar area.
I ordered the Tex-Mex burger and managed to forget to order chips….. But, the burger was excellent, although it was slightly messy to eat because of the chilli. The beef was tender and rich in taste, and although it was cooked well done the meat was still soft and full of flavour. The tomato and sauce added extra taste and the bun was of a decent quality, with the bacon adding some texture. This was above average, one of the better burgers that I’ve tasted.
Jonathan went for the ramen, which looked rather decent.
The service was friendly, engaging and pro-active, with the environment being modern and on-trend. The food was reasonably priced, about £3 for the burger.
This restaurant is part of a small local chain where diners collect their food from a buffet counter which offers a wide choice of Ukrainian dishes.
Part of the salad section. The staff spoke only a limited amount of English, so it was a matter of pointing at the food to order. The portion size is strictly measured, so it’s either a certain number of a particular food item (such as three meatballs), or they weigh some of the other dishes to ensure consistency (such as the potatoes).
I have no idea what a lot of the items were, some looked rather more appetising than others. There were several of these counters all stocked up with food.
I went for meatballs, potatoes and a ham salad type thing. And that Ukrainian staple of Fanta. The meatballs and potatoes could have been hotter, but the meatballs were excellent and had a real depth of flavour. The presentation clearly isn’t great, but for the money it represented good value.
This selection cost just over £2, so it isn’t an expensive dining option. The temperature of the food does though appear to be a problem for the restaurant as it surfaces in quite a lot of reviews. Customers also have to wait in line with their food waiting to pay, which gives another opportunity for the food to cool down further.
After the main meal, I went back once more looking for desserts….
The apple pie, which cost 60p. Perhaps ideally this could have been served hot, but it again tasted of a good quality and the pastry was light, with lots of apple inside.
The dining environment was comfortable and was designed to have an historic and slightly elegant feel to it. Trays were collected promptly by staff and the restaurant seemed popular with locals, although it appears that it’s even busier at lunch-times.
Centrally located is this Varka, an on-trend bar specialising in craft beer. It’s just celebrated its second birthday and is one of the better reviewed bars in Lviv.
The menu board. I only needed to read down to imperial stout to know which I’d be having. But, an interesting selection.
The imperial stout cost around £1.50 for the large size, which is no doubt rather high for Lviv, but it’s a premium beer and would cost a lot more in the UK. Indeed, given my experiences of Brighton last week, it certainly cost a lot more in the UK.
Anyway, the stout was decent, a nice rich taste and it was at the appropriate slightly chilled temperature. Personally I think the head was served too high though. Although it didn’t affect the taste, it did impact a little negatively on the presentation.
The interior of the bar which was modern, whilst still reflecting the historic nature of the building that it’s in. The environment was comfortable with the music only noticeable in the background so that it didn’t dominate the proceedings.
The service was friendly and helpful, although the bar seemed quiet and numerous other reviews also noted that. Perhaps the bar is just a little ahead of its time, I’m sure that Lviv in a few years will have a lot of craft beer bars just like this one. Hopefully anyway….
