Kyiv Diary

Restaurant

An Egyptian-themed restaurant has opened across the road from me, complete with shiny heiraglyphics and fairy lights. It's a strange location for a restaurant - quiet backstreet - and I'd never seen anyone go in or out. Finally I had to take a look.

Decor is wonderful. Sphinxes, felines, profile portraits and this strangely incongruous grotto. Maybe that's the River Styx. I'm guided past the empty top two rooms and downstairs. Live music tonight, promises my host.

My Cleopatra-style waitress directed me past the one page of Arabic food on to the eight pages of Georgian. There was Ukrainian there too and probably sushi. Every restaurant in Kyiv has sushi.

I noticed three other guests in the room, then two of them got up and turned out to be the band. Russian music, my waitress confided in me, as they launched in to a pan pipe rendition of James Last. It was something special.

At the end of the song the pan pipes were exchanged for a remote, to control the karaoke machine. The keyboardist made a vague attempt to look like he was playing some notes but it was pretty clear he was faking it. They both sang with gusto though.

And the food! Well, it was everything you could expect from an Egyptian-themed restaurant with Georgian menu, Polish beer and Russian band. I spent the rest of the evening trying to remove the taste with copious amounts of coke (unsuccessfully).

It's my new favourite place.