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| - I am not a big fan of Russian restaurants, but this is a great place to go. As others said, reasonably priced for the amount of food you get and if you don't mind louder than usual music, it's well worth it.
We had a party of about 15 people and everyone left very satisfied with the meal. To start off, the table is covered with plates of food to the point that you can barely see the table. Always a good thing (this is a Russian tradition, by the way).
There were several delicious salads, some with seafood, some vegetarian (beet salad, really good!), as well as some marinated vegetables and smoked fish, which to me was the highlight of the table. Really nice, not too salty, fresh and melt in your mouth. I don't think I even tried everything on the table but it was really nice. There was a liver pate (house made, of course), which left a good impression on several of my friends.
After that, the food just kept on coming. There were puff pastries filled with potatoes, chicken and I believe cottage cheese. Light, flaky and again, fresh. There was a fish in a creamy sauce that was also flavourful, flaky and tasty (not sure what fish it was, possibly haddock or cod). There were some potatoes and rice as sides and then there were really tasty kebobs and I believe there was some lamb (at that point I was so full of food and wine I didn't even try it but the others seemed pleased).
The music was, as I said, a bit loud but overall pleasant and the musicians/singer are usually open to suggestions (if they are within their repertoire). They sing a variety of Russian and English (and possibly Italian, I'm not entirely sure) songs. There is a decently sized dance floor and the decor, though a bit old fashioned, is nice.
Washrooms were clean, well stocked with toilet paper and paper towels (many reviewers omit this information, but I think it's a very good sign if those are clean and well maintained).
The hostess (?) was very attentive and pleasant, she was on top of bringing us fresh pitchers of water and coke the whole night long.
As mentioned before, you can bring your own wine (not sure about other drinks) and it's usually a good idea.
So, good experience, overall and though I don't live in the area, if someone I know wants to experience a fairly traditional Russian-Canadian restaurant, I'd say give it a try!
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