Mari Vanna

It?s places like this that give Russians a bad name. Fairly good RUS food, but terribly overpriced, with typical Brighton Beach-style service to match. If this place were anywhere in St Petersburg, in its current conflagration, it?d be out of business within a week. I suppose for those unaware of how wonderful RUS food and people can be, Mari Vanna is at least a start. But, neither the food, the overpriced drinks nor the burgeoning euro trash make a compelling argument for a second visit. more

drinks and food are excellent but EXPENSIVE! Great atmosphere, friendly service, it gets packed and very busy. Went there with my russian friends and they ordered some amazing appetizers. Overall great experience, worth checking it out! more

I was at Mari Vanna last night, I don't really like to do this internet thing but I thought you all should know, Besides the amazing food like Chicken Kiev, and Beef Stroganoff, Have I mentioned about the Cocktail list its filled with amazing drinks like the frog queen a house infused horseradish vodka martini. And Yes they make their own infused vodka. Its like coming to your really hip and cool Grandmother. and don't forget to try their Borscht its out of this world, first time i tried it it made me thing that my mom was in the kitchen truly unbelievable.. MUST TRY IT more

We were there with girls for a little corporotive party I m russian and I orderd herring under fur coat It was 12 dollars (in brooklyn its 4 dollars) For 6 girls we took 2 botles of ordinary wine and I remember that it was 1 pickle plate on the table When we shared the bill I realized that I have to pay 40 dollars for 1 little beet salad and 1 glass of wine Kind of too much The atmosphere isnt nice - I m not a big fan of soviet pop-music Looks like a place where russian girls on the giagentic hills hunting for rich guys Its very crowed and waitress always stand behind your back as they are spying Prefer to cook russian food by myself and go to a nice seafood restaurant downtown where you can eat for the same prise 3 dozens of oysters and nice wine more

We arrived early for our 7pm reservation to an empty restaurant. Let me emphasize that it was empty. It was a cold night, and the rude hostesses said that we had to sit at the table in front, right next to the entrance, where cold air was blowing every time someone opened the door. We asked to sit in the (empty) back of the restaurant, but were told that those folks had reservations. When I said that we'd made reservations too, she shrugged and walked away. This whole experience was made even worse by her snarky attitude; the hostess was condescending and rude, and said that the only alternative table was a 2-top (we were a group of 4) right behind the hostess podium. Then they left us standing there for 20 mins! We finally sucked it up and sat in the (cold) front table. The waitress was very nice, but the hostess had unfortunately already ruined our night. Food wasn't great; had the chicken kiev and beef stroganoff. Just say no to this temple to rudeness. I'd rather be interrogated by Putin's men than give them my money again. more

REALLY BAD experience. Food is beneath criticism and overpriced. Service really bad - you can wait half an hour to see a waitress. Before my visit there i had a white coat. Waitress spilled a red soup on it. Now I don?t have a white coat anymore. They told me that is my problem. Conclusion: BEWARE! more

Had a great time last night at Mari Vanna! Food was delicious- and VERY reasonable offer last night ( Tuesday) . Apparently they have Tuesday Special called Blini Night or smth. We had dinner and two people from our table ordered Blini Special -WOW-$35 with the Drink! we had a blast! They have a table set with blini's made right in front of you and u can select filling for it ( even Caviar)!! The atmosphere is great warm and cozy and the food does taste like ur Grandma is in the kitchen! Service was very good, professional and friendly staff! Definitely coming back and recommending to check out their Tuesday Nights especially! more

Being a native Russian with yearly traditions of home-made family dinners consisting of Granny's Zhema secret mouth-watering recipes, sets a pretty high bar for judgment. more

I went for lunch with a friend from Latvia hoping to get some good home cooked style Russian food. I got a large bill and was not at all satisfied. We had the Salat Olivier, which was the highlight of the meal. Then I had the sosiski with mashed potatos and peas, dreaming of sausages that I loved in Russia. I got two skinny hot dogs with no flavor at all. And I paid $15 for it!! The tea service was nice, but not extraordinary. Completely disappointing and I will be sticking to my old haunts instead of wasting money here. more

I first visited Vari Vanna June of 2009. Back then I can't say that my experience was great but it was mildly satisfactory. My last visit, on Saturday, July 17th was a complete disaster. We had to wait for a reserved table for half an hour. Then, after we were seated, and our order was taking, I had to wait for my order of Vareniki for nearly 2 hours. Those who ordered soup and/ or salad were very unhappy with their food so I wasn't holding my breath. My husband had svekol'nil which had absolutely no taste of real svekol'nik which you get get in any good Russian restaurant in Brooklyn. Golybczi that my husband ordered were actually disgusting. My vareniki were ok, but you can get a better tasting once in Glechik for fraction of a price. Service was OK and that was the only satisfactory part of the experience. Don't understand why would anybody go to this restaurant considering that drinks aren't any good either. Cons: Too expensive, bad food, bad drinks more

The restaurant is really nice, I feel like I'm back home at my dacha (coutry house). The prices are quite high for that kind of food. $10 borsch, come on! $11 salad with few plain green leaves, tomato & cucumber is just insulting! Chiken Kiev is far from what ti should be but that's probably due to customising it to Americans. But if you want to show your American friends what a cute Russian place looks like, it's perfect, just be ready to spend (an upscale restaurant amount) more

Had dinner at this quaint Russian restaurant the other night and absolutely loved it. I'm not an expert on Russian cuisine at all but the food was great - had a couple of salads and a cheese pie appetizer and then tried the Beef Stroganoff. It came with some mushroom truffle barley that is presented in a little Russian doll type warmer. Adorable! And if you do go, you can't leave without sampling one, or many, of their infused vodkas. I tried the beet and it was delish! more