Understaffed, under the train, and overwhelmingly good. Light green walls and basic interior, some outside tables. Harried waiters, and you may have to wait for the table (though the food came quickly). Authentic noodle offerings, delicious sauces (including the mushroom), good borsht (red, and try the green!)

Absolutely loved this place! Quick and super friendly service, even while packed with local clientele on a Saturday afternoon. Such a great spot for authentic Russian food. My boyfriend said the food reminded him of his childhood.

Best Russian restaurant outside of Russia. Pricing is very good. Everything we ordered was delicious! Love that staff is wearing cute uniform. SUPER clean inside and we know why, because we saw the owner and he looked so neat and cute

An unassuming location by the bustling train station and brisk walking pedestrians. Who cares about the chaos and noise outside when you escape from all that in the comfortable and inviting Oceanview Cafe. After reading mixed reviews my guard was up and I was fault seeking. Honestly I really had a hard time finding something I didn't like. It's a very casual set up/ambiance with a few flat screens dispersed playing soccer at the time. This place feels like a hangout where the locals eat. I very much prefer food over ambiance if I had to choose. Sergei our waiter was attentive, friendly and down to earth. We ordered the popular dishes we read about in Yelp including the Ukrainian borscht, lamb soup (kharcho), meat vareniki, beef stroganoff and for drinks: tarragon soda, pear soda and cherry compot. To start off with, two pairs of soft sandwich style bread with butter were served in a little basket - white and pumpernickel. That was a nice touch and felt homey. Then we were presented with the soups - nice and hot. My spouse loved the lamb soup and even though he's not Eastern European he said it tasted very much like what grandma made for him as a child growing up. His eyes were basically rolling to the back of his head as he savored each spoonful. I was ok with the borscht - I guess I prefer it to be heartier and thicker in texture and more flavorful. The borscht was served with sour cream which complemented it well. Everything served was homemade, fresh out of the kitchen. The meat vareniki was presented in a small soup crock with a generous pile of sautéed onions on top and sour cream on the side. The little bowl seemed bottomless as we kept eating dumpling after dumpling to no end! It tasted really good. The beef stroganoff did not disappoint either. The beef was seasoned well and not chewy. The mashed potatoes were on point. We appreciated that nothing was salty - well maybe the kharcho a bit. This suited our taste better and it's healthier too for the customers. They have salt and pepper on each table - so add to your liking! Everything was made with TLC. You can tell the chef (s) takes his/her food seriously. The drinks - a bit disappointed with the artificial bright green color of the tarragon soda. The pear soda was alright. The two sodas came in large bottles with wine glasses which was a nice presentation but the sodas have the typical syrupy sweetness. The cherry "fruit punch" was the winner for us as far as the drink. It's simple - maybe a tad too diluted -just water and sugar added to a bunch of sour cherries which settled on the bottom of the glass. Tasted the best though and was the heather option! We were ready to explode after eating so much and we can't wait to return and explore the other recommended menu items next time!

This is one of my favorite places! I have been going here for over 15 years with my family and cannot get enough. The restaurant is small and gets busy quickly so you know the food is delicious! Some of my favorite things to order are the fried flounder, tabaka, kebabs, pelmini, and the salads. Don't forget to wash it down with kompot! Everything is so fresh and cooked with care. The waitstaff are always on the go and very attentive. Will continue to come here for years.

TL;DR: An unassuming, authentic Russian restaurant that is borscht & pierogies/vareniki first, easily in my top 3 Eastern European dining arsenal. Highly recommend. While this place is brass tacks--a very casual food spot w less focus on service/ambiance--the chefs pour all that surplus effort into the food. It has the appeal of grandma cooking w/o the occasional pretentiousness of the NYC food scene. We went there for the first time on Saturday for lunch & had: Borchst: A light soup that somehow still holds a bunch of FLAVOR. Tastes very healthy, but has good depth and a nice "vegetable" taste. Handily the best borscht I have EVER had. Meat Ravioli: Smaller than pierogis, but equally flavorful, almost soup dumpling-like with some liquid and meat inside. Stroganoff: This was the middling dish. Not particularly flavorful, but a good option if you want a lot of protein. The meat is well-cooked meat, but dunked in a typical rich cream sauce that doesn't have much seasoning. Overall, this place was AMAZING & I would definitely go back.

Came on a weekend afternoon and the place was slowly getting crowded but staff were friendly, efficient and detailed. Overall great meal, it was my first time having Ukrainian food and definitely looking forward to trying more. The stuffed cabbage and the blintzes were quite filling. Had some the following day and they were even tastier.

An unassuming Russian diner with great lunch. My boyfriend and I chose this place on Yelp as we didn't know we were in an area with a large Russian population. A 2pm lunch on a Saturday it was relatively empty but it looked like the locals were keeping them busy - I feel like full days are spent here for some. The waiters were friendly and brought us a basket of simple sliced bread. We ordered the borscht, beef stroganoff, and the meat vareniki because that is what everyone raved about on here. The borscht was delicious - perfect temperature and balance of flavors. It looks like it would taste only of beats but it is quite flavorful. It is great with the sour cream too. The beef stroganoff was like the best comfort food - the gravy and beef for plentiful as well as potatoes. The meat was so tender too. The meat vareniki was filled with a pork and topped with sweet caramelized onions. The salty pork with the sweet onions along with a dab of sour cream blended together so nicely. Service could be slow at times, but it is worth it if the food. Authenticity seems to run here. I'll be happy to return.

This was my first time trying Ukrainian Borscht, so I was not sure what to expect, especially as I have never tried soup with sour cream before, but this was one of the best foods I had in NY and I had tried a huge variety of different NY foods during my vacation here. The soup was very flavorful with a variety of veggies and beets and was not too heavy or salty. The sour cream also compliments the soup's flavor nicely as well. I also had the meat ravioli/pelmeni, which also came with sour cream. These had a heavier meat flavor and the flour was soft and not too thick. Overall tasted pretty good but it's definitely the borscht which is the star of the show. Meal also comes with complementary bread and butter. Service was great as well, the waiters were very respectful.