Uncle Vanya
315 W. 54th St. (8th & 9th Aves.)
Midtown 212.262.0542
Named after a Chekhov play, this ex-pat hangout instantly makes you feel at home. With its stacks of papers, Russian theater posters, and a wooden piano, it resembles the apartment of a member of the Russian intelligentsia in exile. Hang out in either of the two adjacent spaces, a casual cafe or a bar with a sofa. Russian folk music takes you back to a time before Eurovision. The usual food-and-drink suspects are here, and they’re pretty affordable: Baltika (the Russian beer), flavored vodkas, home-style
pelmeni (small dumplings, $5.95-$7.95),
shashlik (barbeque) and borscht ($5.50).
Russian Samovar
256 W. 52nd St. (8th Ave. & Broadway)
Midtown West 212.757.0168
Alright, so on a scale from “extremely authentic” to “not so much,” the Samovar tips toward the latter, but this is the place to be if you want to dine/down vodka shots where the “New Russians” (the oil-rich Russkis in leather jackets) do. The real draw here is the 20 flavors of house-infused vodkas, including dill, ginger, cherry, peach, pear and cranberry-lemon. Bottoms up! And don’t forget the Russian tradition of drinking as many shots as it is degrees below zero. (Russians use Celsius, and it can get down to –20 there.) Food is tarted-up Russian fare, like foie gras
pelmeni with white truffle sauce ($14). They also host private parties for up to 175.
www.russiansamovar.com
Russian Vodka Room
265 W. 52nd St (8th Ave. & Broadway)
Midtown West 212.307.5835
Yup, it’s across the street from Russian Samovar—the Russians have colonized the West 50s, so get your bomb-shelter bunker ready. Open late, this dim lounge with dark wood accents is where you pop in after dinner at Samovar—it’s more young and relaxed than its neighbor. They, too, serve plenty of varieties of flavored and infused vodkas (about 60), like ginger, strawberry and pineapple (Russia in the tropics?). If you don’t want to get completely pyany (sloshed), snack on some
zakuski (appetizers) like eggplant caviar, smoked salmon,
selyodka (herring) and pickles. The piano man provides a nostalgic, intimate touch.
