The Russian Tea Room is all about great food, culture, history, beauty, respect for tradition and art, love, and war. It is about historic Russia at its best, with its huge empire and more than a hundred ethnic groups once spanning from Europe’s borders, across Mongolia into China.
Members of Russia’s Imperial Ballet built The Russian Tea Room in 1927, ten years after the Bolshevik Revolution, to maintain the beauty and authenticity of the nation’s culture, history, and tradition. It soon became the gathering place for Russian celebrities and a meeting place for Russians expatriates.
Warner LeRoy spent millions of dollars to revitalize its image. He kept a lot of original pieces, such as paintings by Chagall, Kandinsky, and Picasso. He also added a few interesting features, the 15-foot revolving glass bear aquarium, a tree with Faberge-inspired Venetian glass eggs in the Bear Room on the second floor, and the second floor lounge.
The fourth floor, my favorite room, the Hearth Room, features walls of inlaid decorative wood paneling, a fireplace, and an active diorama of the Kremlin in every season. Each room offers a rich, warm, and elegant ambience ideal for private parties and weddings.
Different menu offerings at reasonable prices make for a memorable gastronomic experience. The focus is on sustainable, fresh-from-the-farm provisions. Executive chef Marc Taxiera said, “We use the green market and local farm products, a responsible move to use them, not only because it is grown with love but to also help the suppliers grow their business.”
Classics appetizers such as Traditional Tea Room Red Borscht ($18), Seafood Blinchik ($18), and Caviar Tasting ($28), served the traditional Russian way with buckwheat blini sour cream and chopped eggs, topped with salmon and white roe make a fine start.
Main courses include Boeuf a la Stroganoff ($39), Chicken Kiev ($38), and the very popular salmon dish Kulebiaka ($36). My friends and I always appreciate the three-course Express Lunch menu at $35.00, which changes according to season.
The service by knowledgeable and well-trained staff is excellent.
Taxiera took what the essence of the Russian Tea Room was, restored it, and made it into a new classic. His grandmother who prepared the Sunday feast for the whole family inspired him to become a food aficionado. Taxiera graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). He is a hands-on chef who spent years learning about Russian gastronomy and mentioned that the Russian Tea Room’s food is French-influenced. French chefs were cooks to the Russian czars.
The cocktail menu offers drinks with historical names. Russian dishes are often named for famous households, and it seems that applies to names of their cocktails, too. For example: Ivan The Terrible, the Rasputin, the Nureyev, and From Russia with Love consisting of champagne, Godiva chocolate liquor, and Chambord.
The restaurant also features an extensive selection of old and new wines, and a choice of 40 vodkas. In addition, available are “Specialty Flights,” such as the Regional Flight, a tasting of single malt Scotch highlighting the classic regions of their areas of production and the Vintage Flight, a tasting of some of the oldest and rarest Scotch produced. Each flight comes with one 3/4-ounce taste of fine spirits available from the menu at different prices, ranging from $24 to $100.
The Seafood Blinchik starter, a mixed seafood-filled crepe of lobster, crab, shrimp, and cheese, augmented by seafood reduction and a shaving of fennel bulb salad is a beautiful and colorful presentation showcasing contrasting flavors and textures of smooth and crunchy and sweet and salty.
Borscht, this iconic beet soup, can be served cold or warm, with a bit of sour cream in the center of the bowl. A “must” is always a sprig of fresh dill (or a sprinkling of dried dill weed if fresh is not in season). If it lacks dill, it is not Russian. The fluffy, with a light crisp piroshki made a fabulous accompaniment to the soup. There are as many preparations for borscht as there are dedicated cooks who prepare it.
Another traditional dish and one of my favorites is the Boeuf a la Stroganoff, done in the Russian Tea Room manner. It arrived beautifully layered, unlike any I have ever eaten, and is an example of mixing the new with the old. Unlike the traditional manner of preparation, the meat was not sliced, but was served in one piece—a sautéed filet of beef, with house-made buckwheat noodles, and a variety of wild mushrooms in red wine reduction, topped with sautéed foie gras that boosted the flavors and added exciting textures. This could become addicting!
My world traveler, food-loving friend much enjoyed these offerings.
For the grand finale, we had tea “al la Russki,” that is, Russian style—cherries in honey to dip into instead of sugar, which was exceptionally tasty. We luxuriated over tea with a serving of The Czar’s Gold and Caviar Parfait for ($23), made with nougat cream, toasted almonds, chocolate sauce, and yes, a 24-karat edible gold leaf. Why not indulge and experience yet another memorable time at this fine eatery.
Alas, we had to leave this timeless, rich experience that we wished would never end.
The Russian Tea Room is open seven days a week and offers special menus, including:
Business Express Lunch (3-courses for $35)Pre/Post Theater (3-courses for $55)
High Tea/Royal Tea (2-courses for $50/$85)
Children’s Tea (2-courses for $25)
Vodka Hour (Flight of 3 for $14)
Vodka & Caviar Tasting ($95)
150 W. 57th St.
New York, NY 10019
212-581-7100
Russiantearoomnyc.com
