Russian Vodka Room

I am Russian and i find the food here is really good and authentic. Cold Borch is the best i ever tried! Just shockingly good. Just this soup alone is worth a visit. The place is kind of small but cozy, live piano, dimmed lights, friendly stuff and good food. What more would you want!

The vodka infusion was fine. The smoke trout was ok and the potato salad that came with it was very good. But as for the 3 dinner entres, omg, we're talking cafeteria food at best. My lamb "shank" was 2 lamb steaks that were tough as rubber. Seems like it was around for a while and then nuked. The veggies that came with it were mush, and the roasted potatos, while looking and tasting ok, were cold. I guess they forgot to nuke the potatos before bringing them out. My wife's fish and my son's duck didnt look any better. Come here for heavy drinking and some appetizers. Otherwise, forget it.

best russian food i've found in NYC

I think of RVR as $50 all-you-can-drink-eat Russian buffet with flows of flavored vodkas, delish russian snacks, and fun people around. Good place to start TGIFing or get tipsed-filled before hitting clubs on Thu night

So you want to be able to pick up the martini...your first one I'm talking about...go somewhere else. This place is the real deal. The martinis are not cheap but they are excellent and huge. The food is amazing. The gravlox, complete with hot peppers, onion, et al along with top rated potato pancakes, is one of the best light dinners in NYC, particularly suited for after the theatre dining. The Chicken Schnitzel...oozing butter along with a plate full of steamed vegetables and delicious brown bread, is a tasty meal. I had friends sharing the sausage platter; others had a number of appetizers and we all ended up sharing and all were very tasty. Kasha...omg I can't remember everything we had. And then there are the infused vodkas. We did a tasting sampler. All I can say is the dill and the horseradish both caused hair to grow in brand new places, while the strawberry and cranberry vodkas go down too smoothly. Before we knew it, the piano player (jazz to Russian standards and folk songs) was sharing his bench with one of my friends and the whole bar was singing along to Billy Joel songs. And you would miss this place why?

wend there for dinner with co-workers. The place was great! Food was GOOD and atmosphere was awesome! Everyone enjoyed flavored infusion vodka and main course meals. Its def. pretty good place for after work hang out time. highly Recommended. PS Make a reservation if you go with couple ppl not only to drink but to eat as well

This was my 2nd time at the RVR and I have to say I have mixed feelings about it this time around. I wanted my boyfriend to have a real Russian dining experience with me. Unfortunately we weren't that hungry and ordered the herring and potatoes along with the sour plate (pickles, peppers, cabbage etc). There was one or two potatoes on the plate, and two strips of herring (very disappointing. We did sample the flavored vodkas. The cranberry and horseradish were very good. Dill was a bit scary...Anyway, this place has a great atmosphere, great for drinks and a light snack. If you want real Russian food at a real Russian price, go to Brighton Beach.