Veselka

The food here is basically only good if you are on a budget. Its plain simple and anyone could make a simple meal like theirs.

Pros: Cheap

Posted 10/08/09

As far as Eastern European diners go, Veselka is great for a casual breakfast with friends or family. With a broad range of delicious breakfast options, Veselka has everything from Challah French Toast, Mediterranean Feta & Tomato Omelettes and Cheese Blintzes With Raspberry Sauce! Can you say yum?

Pros: Causal, reasonably priced, great breakfast!

Posted 07/09/09

best 24/7 place in the hood. little bit of everything. great dill dressing. yummy sweet potato fries. perogies are very good. highly recommended.

Pros: 24/7

Posted 05/26/09

Me and my husband got severely sick after eating bortsch at Veselka. Stay away from this place at all costs.

Posted 03/10/09

I live two blocks away from Veselka and love the buckwheat pancakes. It's simple food and the place has great history in NYC but the service is terrible.
I realize this place is busy but there's a way to be treated as a person not just number. I feel rushed every time I order to go food and the guy at the cash register could care less whether or not you come back or not. Three out of four times they messed up my order specifically leaving the bananas out of my pancakes or forgetting my eggs, etc. Last Saturday really was the final straw for me as when I went to pay I asked for a description of the stuffed cabbage and he looked at me like I had three heads saying, 'Well it's cabbage stuffed.' Not wanting to make a big deal I just smiled and nodded and watched after he rang me up with his dirty hands finger every muffin for a customer to eat/ buy. I most likely will not be returning until I get over this and I start craving the meatballs again.

Posted 02/25/09

I have been wanting to eat Russian food for a long time and was finally able to work it into a NYC vacation. I chose this restaurant based on the the number of people that had reviewed it so highly. However, the ratings still do not give it justice. The food was incredibly good and the service was excellent.

We got there around 6:30pm and it was jam packed with people. However, we were told that it would only be a 10-15min wait and it ended up being about 5 minutes. Our server explained anything that we didn't understand and made suggestions that complimented our order.

Definitely make sure you get a bowl of borscht if you go!

Posted 01/05/09

I am confused by the few negative reviews. Perhaps they had one bad experience and gave up on the place, which is too bad. Having been born in Ukraine I judge Ukrainian food by the way I know it should taste--as if I'm eating it at home, and Veselka delivers on that. The borsh isn't the best, but I chalk that up to being made differently than the way I like it--there are over 100 varieties of borsch and maybe theirs isn't my favorite. The bigos is by far my favorite meal but everything else that I've had I've enjoyed quite a bit. Maybe if there were 500 other Ukrainian restaurants in the city, I would judge Veselka more critically, but there aren't, and from what I have available to me Veselka is my favorite.

Pros: Great food, fair prices, especially in manhattan

Cons: service isn't spectacular (but not bad)

Posted 12/17/08

Just because place survives long enough to boast itself as a "landmark"-does not make its food good. Living in NYC long enough to learn that those "famous" ones should be avoided by all means, because places like Veselka no longer care ( do they eat that stuff themselves?) for what and how they serve- tourists will come anyway.
I knew Veselka is going to be bad, because i grew up in Ukraine and know how good it should taste, and in America , you get authentic food only in ghettos- those places run by first generations, speaking exotic languages to each other, fairly cheap and unpretentious, with basic interior design .
Indeed, it was spectacularly bad. Service was brisk and un charming- fine with me.Borsch was very sweet( and no, not because of beets- because of sugar), with prominent taste of vinegar in it. Then came the "meat deluxe" plate with "mushroom" gravy on a side. I don't know where were the mushrooms, but it was a mere tasteless lump of boiled potato starch with water.Another shapeless something on the plate happened to be some mix of cabbage,rice and minced meat- trust me on this one , it had nothing to do with stuffed cabbages.To add to my confusion what looked like "vareniki" to me (stuffed dough dumplings- always boiled) was called here "pierogi'- but that is just Polish name for them , I guess.Potatoes did not have fried onions in them( not even taking of smaltz!)- think how boiled dough would taste with mashed potatoes from the box- yes, that bland.The worst of all were pirogi, or whatever, with "meat". I think that meat was already eaten by somebody before it was stuffed in that dough- it was super dry,processed looking,tasteless. As condiment there were caramelized( and i wish they really were!) onions- pale and sad they swam in plenty of oil.
And to finish up the experience- i woke up in the middle of the night with an acute stomach pain!
We left,my friend apologized for 2 days bringing us there. Never again.

Pros: Max Brenner chocolate across it

Cons: Everything

Posted 10/04/08

Have you ever noticed all the sticky fly traps lining the restaurant? That makes me want to eat about as much as seeing the ones that haven't been caught yet landing on my fork .

Pros: Pirogis!

Cons: Flies!

Posted 06/29/08

The raspberry blintzes and pierogies (especially the sweet potato ones!) are very good. The service is not. You shouldn't have to keep asking for water, and the waitresses are on the ditzy side. But the food is really good, and the location can't be beat. It's also pretty inexpensive, which is nice. Don't let the bad service discourage you from the good meal you will have here. If you can put up with the flaky waitstaff, you will enjoy it a lot and come back for more pierogies, blintzes, and more!

Pros: good food, inexpensive

Cons: too much of a wait sometimes, lousy service

Posted 04/24/08

I just don't understand some of the previous reviews. If you want fancy Eastern Block food (as if there is such a thing)--go some place else. If you want hearty fare, at 2 in the morning, served by hard core veteran Ukranian waitresses, in a place that is buzzing with energy--step right in! Who in their right mind orders delivery from Veselka's? That's like asking the guys at McSorley's to deliver some of their ale to your door. Do people really expect a short order cook who barely speaks english (and who's been manning the grill for the last twelve hours) to give you service like at Jean George's? Keep it simple-- order the boiled pierogi sampler, a bowl of the HOT (not the cold) borscht which has huge chunks of meat in it, a plate of Bigos (their version of sauerkraut-kielbasa hunter's stew), some wonderful blintzes, a few Uki beers, and you will be very happy. In a world full of Starbucks, Bennigan's, and McDonald's, I thank God for a place like Veselka. It plays a special role in the East Village scene, and it's no mistake that it stays packed 24/7/365.

Pros: hearty, unpretentious food, unmistakeable vibe, cheap

Cons: none

Posted 01/01/08

What happened to this East Village institution? Service at Veselka has always been extremely slow and ridiculously inattentive, but one could rely on the good food and 24-hour convenience. No one would give us menus; okay, we?ll get them ourselves. No one would take our order; okay, shall we input it on the POS computer ourselves too? Challah bread arrived hard and crumbled; perhaps, those New York pigeons sent them back as inedible and we got them instead. The cold borscht arrived hot and the hot cabbage roll arrived cold. And the beer never arrived at all. This place is definitely resting?make that sleeping? nah, they?re just plain comatose!?on its precarious reputation. Guess if a business is making their nut, they don?t feel compelled to do any better. But please, at the very least be decent.

Pros: East Village Location and Open 24/7

Cons: Terrible Food and Even Worse Service

Posted 09/03/07

I go to Veselka every so often-mostly cause I am nearby- the food is okay- not great but if you're in the mood for a heap of carbs it works. The counter man was very rude on my last visit- I ordered a soup that I didn't expect to be cream laden. When it arrived I asked him what was in it. After telling me it had no cream- and me asking why it looked creamy-he said it was buttermilk. I told him I did not want to eat something so creamy so he took it back and rather rudely said good-bye. I guess I will take my business elsewhere!

Posted 07/09/07

veselka is my favorite non-trendy place to eat in the city. i am always seated quickly and served quickly. the food is delicious - the mac 'n' cheese is my favorite, and i also love the pierogies, grilled cheese, burgers and fries.

Pros: everything

Cons: none!

Posted 06/01/07

I sat at the counter FOREVER!! waiting for someone to take my order. Instead I just asked the soup guy, standing there filling orders, for a cup. It was not a busy afternoon. I asked for the bill repeatedly and just figured out the total myself. I clearly showed a hostess standing by me that i was leaving money on the counter for whomever (here, you don't pay the cashier directly). As soon as I left, a waitress ran after me asking why i didn't pay. I will never come back here again.

Posted 05/29/07

This place has nothing Ukranian about it. As far as diners go, far below average. Went there for some good comfort food and ended up having to grab dinner elsewhere afterwards. Meat pierogies stuffed with some strange, overcooked and not easily recognizable kind of meat. Tuna melt had terrible orange-colored cheese and was not even warm. The grilled kielbasa was really just a frankfurter. I love hearty Ukranian food and this isn't it. If you're hungry for diner food, go to a real diner!

Pros: Very nice and polite waitstaff, fun location

Cons: very bad food

Posted 05/03/07

The blintzes are amazing---- breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert or as a snack. I eat them all the time. I highly recommend them. The service is quick and the waitresses/waiters are always pleasant. Of course, since I eat there multiple times a week, they make me feel like family. Open 24/7 so I also visit on occasion during the wee hours of the morning.

Pros: Blintzes are divine

Posted 12/01/06

Great burgers, soups, grilled cheese and perogis (of course). Have been there many times, and at the end of the day, it's just a really really good diner.

Posted 11/13/06

I love that they have your sauerkraut, meat, mushroom, potato and cheese pierogies and then sometimes they'll add a special pumpkin or spinach pierogie to make it that much more difficult to decide. They are really great here, so is their matzoh ball soup. However, the service is consistently bad. The waitstaff is is rude and apathetic and don't seem to care about the customer at all.

Pros: Good pierogies

Cons: Bad service

Posted 11/12/06

2 hours later the cold food arrived. Was once my favorite place to eat in the east village until this experience. Don't offer delivery if you can't back it up. Bad experience.

Posted 10/29/06

Absolutely fabulous Raspberry/Cheese Blintzes! The food was great. We sat outside on the 'patio' area to the side of the buildling, it's better there than in front where there's a lot of traffic. Service was a little lacking - but I've found that's pretty normal for NYC in general.

Posted 09/17/06

Stopped by here for late night snack and had a great time for food and atmosphere. Def try their mushroom soup

Pros: Good soup

Cons: Sometimes a wait for a table

Posted 08/17/06

This place is one of my favorites and I have brought many friends there. None of whom were less than thrilled. Great pirogies, the best I have ever had this side of Poland. It's fairly popular so be prepared for a wait at peak times. Open 24 hours and a real New York feel to it. Service is good in general sometimes great depending on whom you get. I have never ordered anything I was not happy with, all homemade and place is clean. Great value for the money.
Can't go wrong.

Pros: Great homemade slavic fare

Cons: Nothing's perfect. Parking is murder but that's the neighborhood. Place is small.

Posted 07/15/06

I'll admit it:
The food is pretty good...in fact, when I moved to the neighborhood, I found myself ordering from Veselka several times per week...ordered the same thing every time: chicken salad, chicken noodle soup, a soda. Three times the order was incorrect when I got to my home...today was the last straw: called and ordered the same thing as always, had them put it on my credit card they had on file, got my delivery and discovered they sent me potato salad instead of chicken salad. I called to ask for the chicken salad, and the order-taker argued with me, saying I ordered potato salad for dinner, not chicken salad. He finally said he'd send it over, then called me back 20 minutes later saying that they couldn't send it because they were "too busy". He also said AGAIN that I ordered potato salad. He was so nasty and rude and unhelpful that I decided on the spot that I'd never go there OR order from there again.

Veselka: the customer is always right.
Keep that in mind so you stop losing customers due to rude service and stupid mistakes.

Pros: food's okay

Cons: terrible service

Posted 07/08/06

Finally, a place that makes pierogi and holupki like my Baba used to make! Everything was delicious. The borscht was top notch, the kielbasa was lean, and the fruit was very fresh. For dessert, both the cheese blintzes and the kutya were delightful. There are a variety of sampler plates available to those who want to try everything (including a vegetarian plate), but there are also traditional diner dishes on the menu as well. It's a great place to go to for Sunday brunch.

Pros: Great Food, Inexpensive, Open 24 Hours

Posted 05/10/06

They do have the regular breaka stuff but come here for the Eastern European fare. The pierogies are melt-in-your-mouth, but better boiled than fried. I'm not crazy about blintzes but my boyfriend swears by them and I see they are very popular here. Great fresh squeezed juice too. I plan to dig into some borscht, meatloaf and stuffed cabbage next time. Save room for dessert- the baked chocolate custard is addictive. Its always crowded (for good reason!) so you may have to wait 15-20mins.

Pros: good comfort food

Cons: crowded, service may be spotty

Posted 02/15/06

When you need that something comforting at midnight, this is the place - yeah the service is a little slow, but sometimes I LIKE that!

Pros: Late Night Opening, Relaxed

Cons: Service

Posted 01/08/06

Good: old school Ukranian borscht, chicken soup, pork and beef meatloaf, potatoes, plain dip in your soup sweet bread, poppy cake, kutya, fresh lemonade. Not so much: overdone potato pancakes fried in old grease. Service was very good, but we sat at the counter. Not much of an atmosphere, but what do you expect?

Pros: nice big windows

Posted 11/02/05

How good are their potato pancakes with sour cream, and applesauce? At 4am on Friday night, I walked from 10th Ave to 2nd Ave in stilettos to get them. 'Nuff said.

Pros: Potato Pancakes, Kielbasa, Peirogies

Cons: Loud, grumpy people

Posted 09/05/05

Went here today and the service was hideous! Usually spot on with food, service and prices, but our waitress was terrible! She was rude and nasty and disappeared for the longest time.........we waited for over a half hour while she chatted and gossiped with her little buddies in order to get our check! Needless to say, no tip!

Pros: Food, Prices

Cons: SERVICE

Posted 08/19/05

My boyfriend and I ate brunch here on Easter and although we did have to wait 45 mins., the service was prompt and friendly. The porogies were amazing, especially the spinich and cheese. The kielbasa, the potato pancakes, the coffee, all hit the spot. And our whole easter brunch only cost us about $40. We will definitely be back to Veselka soon!

Pros: Service, Dish Choices, Price

Cons: Wait Time, Close dining

Posted 03/27/05

Veselka is a quality diner and serves up fairly authentic Ukranian grub. My hunter's stew--chicken, sausage, and saukraute were good, as was the mushroom and barley soup; my friends' pierogies were also quality. This place is comfortable and has a homey feeling. And as a bonus, open 24/7.

Pros: Food, Open Late Night

Posted 01/19/05

excellent deserts, great atmosphere - great place to stay for a while and people watch

Posted 01/14/05

Really good pasteries and the service was fast and couteous. Only problem is that the wait was long but definitely worth it! Even though they were crowded we were not rushed.

Pros: excellent desserts, good service, clean

Posted 12/11/04

always a classic place to go with out of town guests or friends. busy but in a fun way. i love this place-one of my absolute favorites!

Posted 10/20/04

Velselka has really good pierogies. The rest of their food is standard diner fare. If you are hungry and you want polish accented diner food then go here. Definitely not a place to eat if you are looking for any more than that. Service is also really slow and semi unattentive.

Pros: Good pierogies

Posted 08/17/04

you must get the meatballs!!! i'm not even a fan of meat, but they were delicious. unlimited coffee refills. but beware of the staff. some are very moody and ignore you until it's time to tip them.

Pros: great value food, prompt seating, late-nite

Cons: slow service

Posted 11/22/03

I visited Veselka seven times during a three week visit to New York and never left dissatisfied. The service was very good though they tended to be a little slow with the check. On the other hand, I never felt rushed to vacate the place at the end of my meal. Sit near the back and enjoy the wonderful original mural painted on the back walls. I was only a little disappointed in the stuffed cabbage and pierogies but only because the Ukrainian recipes were somewhat different than the Croatian/Slovak recipes I grew up with. The borscht and split pea soups were outstanding, as was Ola's veal goulash. The raspberry blintzes alone were worth the ten hour flight from my end of the rainbow in Honolulu to the other end, Veselka (rainbow), in the East Village. For the tourist: this is a fascinating, dynamic and safe neighborhood.

Pros: Delicious Food, Hours, Neighborhood

Posted 10/18/03

The best place for hot soup on a cold day, great pierogies and borscht. Be sure to visit J. Bacynsky's across the street for Babka afterward.

Posted 07/20/03

If you are Eastern Eurpoean, Ukranian, and so on, this place will bring you back to time when grandma was rolling out the pierogi dough in her kitchen and frying the onions in tons of butter. I usually come in the colder months for takeout soup (try the mushroom barley) after paying a visit to the butcher across the street for some kielbasa, but last night some friends and I hopped in a cab late night, some 40 blocks to get some cold borscht, blintzes, pierogis, and stuffed cabbage. What a treat! Tourists you say? I think not, maybe you are thinking of the 2nd Avenue Deli. All I saw here were LESiders enjoying some great food.

Pros: Cheap, Open 24 hrs, Great Food

Posted 06/26/03

The great thing about NYC is that there are so many restaurants that you only have to visit the bad ones once. Not that Veselka is horrible, it is just VERY average. Unfortunately it poses as a far above-average spot and people are being fooled. Watch the lines on any given weekend. The food is only mediocre at best. The coffee is atrocious. If you want a good deal on Polish or Ukranian food, go over to 1st ave to one of the diners between 10th and 14th Street -- Neptune or similar. Lots of good food for a very reasonable price and lovely back yard seating. Leave Veselka for the unsuspecting tourists. They will be duped into eating their lame brunches.

Pros: ehhh. . dunno

Cons: price, crowds, food

Posted 06/08/03

Have only been here once. You know those places where you sit down and look at the menu and you can't decide what to order because so many things sound good? This is one of those places. A good mix of tradional diner offerings mixed in with great-sounding Ukrainian options. Opted for the "Deluxe Meat Combo Plate" - portions weren't huge...but enough to fill me up. Everything was good. I now only feel the need to go back to try all the other things I didn't order the first time.

Pros: Fast Service, Good Food, Decent Value

Posted 04/30/03

My grandma used to take me here when I was little...she used to tell me that they were the only people in the world that make pierogis like hers. And it's true. Maybe I'm biased, but this is a great dive-y type place to go on the LES with a couple of friends before a big night of drinking. Try the beet salad, yum! The pierogis, of course, the borscht with sour cream, and if you're really daring, give the kasha varnishkes a shot. One bad thing - the Ukrainian beer - tastes like Shlitz. The servers ARE weird, but nice. I freakin' love Veselka. (That means 'rainbow,' by the way...like the pot of gold at the end of it!)

Pros: Food, Atmosphere, Hours

Posted 04/23/03

If you're looking for great comfort food in a slightly funky, very busy setting, this is the place to go. This is a solid diner, but a diner nonetheless. Veselka's does offer one of the best cups of coffee in the city (when the brew is fresh). If you're going for weekend brunch, try the raspberry pancakes. The desserts are also solidly respectable, if you still have room after all those pierogi.

Pros: inexpensive, open 24 hours, friendly service

Cons: crowded prime times

Posted 03/17/03

It's amazing how many restaurants there are in New York City that rate mediocre at best. Given the number of great establishments you can eat at on every type of budget, mediocrity is not something that should be tolerated in New York. Veselka perhaps slips under the radar because of their eclectic menu -- I can't think of too many places where I can choose between pierogies, chili, mac and cheese, and borscht -- to name a few. But sadly, everything I've tried here is just ok; fine if you're passing by and need a quick bite. But for those people who tolerate the long lines, especially for weekend brunch -- move on. There's plenty of other much better eats in the area.

Posted 03/11/03