Odessa Restaurant
“Open 24 hours on Thurs-Sat nights, you can get breakfast food anytime, particularly after bar hours.”
“But I actually go here for the blintzes and pierogis because I love Ukrainian grub.”
“The brunch is only $11 and I believe is cheaper than Veselka but not worse.”
Odessa Restaurant
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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Odessa is a traditional diner with all the standard menus like omelets, pancakes, burgers, and sandwiches, as well as Ukrainian treats like pierogies, stuffed cabbage, and kielbasa.
I got the Chef's Combo (4 pierogies + 1 blintz + 1 potato pancake) and have a mixed review about all three items, thus the 3 star rating reflected in this Yelp review.
You get a choice of pierogies (potato, cheese, meat, etc.) and blintz (strawberry, blueberry, cheese, etc.). I really like the mix + match option because I love trying different types of food. I got 4 boiled pierogies of potato, sweet potato, sauerkraut + mushroom, and spinach) and opted for the cheese blintz. My boyfriend got the Lumberjack, which included three stacks of buttermilk pancakes, sausage, bacon, ham, and two eggs any style.
The food took a bit long to arrive, especially for a diner. The pierogies deserve ONE star – they were super dry, both the interior and the exterior. The skin was also very doughy and too thick… The inside was disappointing as well. There were not much filling to really taste the flavors. My least favorites were a tie between potato and sweet potato – the fillings tasted like dry sand. The spinach and the sauerkraut + mushroom were slightly better, but I still would not order pierogies from Odessa ever again.
The potato pancake/latke was THREE stars. The exterior was nice and crispy, but maybe a bit too greasy. It tasted similar to hash brown. Nothing too exciting, but the potato pancake was definitely more edible than the pierogies.
Finally, I loved the blintz, which is definitely a five-star treat! The blintz was filled with generous amount of sweetened cottage cheese. The crepe also tasted either lightly deep fried or pan-fried. It was perfectly crispy! I think one blintz is enough to satisfy my craving because it was very sweet. I would probably get a side of blintz next time I come, but skip the pierogies and the potato pancake.
My boyfriend enjoyed the Lumberjack, but the buttermilk pancakes were a little too doughy and bland. The meat selection was definitely filling.
I have to be completely honest I mostly order from this place when I'm really craving something not too healthy at night. I usually go for the BLT with fries or the fried potato and garlic peirogis. It's a great diner! I just haven't really walked in there myself. I'm judging based on the food I order online from them and I can give them 5 stars just for that! Very sufficient, very fast delivery!
Ordered from here last night. I used the new yelp delivery function. The delivery guy delivered my order to the wrong address despite there being no mistake on the order form. I called the restaurant and the manager said he would tell the delivery boy to come back. I waited 30 minutes and nothing happened. I called the restaurant again and the manager said that the delivery boy left it with the doorman. I let him know that this was impossible as this was a hospital and I have no doorman. I'm not really sure if there was a language barrier between the manager and me or if it was between the manager and the delivery boy. Either way, he was nice enough to remake my order and have it delivered again to the correct address.
Now onto the food. I ordered 2 appetizers: stuffed cabbage and fried mushrooms.
Meat Stuffed Cabbage with tomato sauce – this was pretty decent. I wish it came with more than one roll. $6 for one cabbage roll is pretty steep. The filling was meatloaf like with bits of visible rice for filler. The flavor of the meat was good when eaten with the tangy tomato sauce.
Fried Mushrooms – pretty disappointing dish. The fried mushrooms were soggy and the flavor of the batter was nonexistent, unless you count grease as a flavor. I've had great fried mushrooms before, but these were not it. Would not get these again.
The manager guy seemed nice so I feel bad about giving this place 2 stars but it just wasn't that great.
I've been to Odessa three times so far, and each time for the pierogies! Not a typical item on a menu, and it's one of my favorite foods so of course this is my go-to spot if I want some. I highly recommend the combination of pierogies – you can either get 5 or 8 so I get 8: 2 potato, 2 meat, 2 spinach, and 2 cheese. My favorites are the potato and meat ones. You can get apple sauce, sour cream, and onions on the side. I'm not a fan of apple sauce, but I suggest sour cream on the side since they're a little dry without it. You can also get them fried or boiled… can't go wrong either way. The service is eh, they took awhile to come ask if we wanted the check or to get food wrapped up. However, very spacious diner always able to get a seat, and pretty reasonable prices as well.
Ordered via seamless for delivery at 1:30am, and mind you- they close at 2!
Was a bit worried that they might've forgotten about our order being so close to closing time and all but impressed that food was prepared and delivered from Alphabet city to the east village by 2 on the dot. Awesome!
I was in the mood for pierogies + fries and he wanted something light- so we opted for the Mediterranean salad, disco fries, borscht soup, and pierogies.
Pierogies were ok- I'm a bigger fan of Veselka when it comes to pierogies. They weren't delivering so late though, and we were on a time crunch with late night packing and all so decided to forego the trek out of the apt. Plus it only came with applesauce. I missed my sour cream and onions.
Disco fries totally hit the spot. I'm a fry monster but even he agreed that it was tasty 🙂 did wish I specified to put the sauce on the side so it wouldn't be too soggy- or at least it could've be saved in the toaster oven.
Mediterranean Salad was solid. Didn't like or dislike it. He wanted his greens so there it was. Lol
borscht soup was flavorful- a bit salty for my liking but a good choice.
Omg best diner and polish dishes..Honestly best chicken soup around. They also have some pretty awesome peirogis. I usually get the roast turkey platter which is an opened faced roast turkey sandwich over thick white bread with gravy and mashed potatoes…hmm Soooo good! They also have very good prices. They do seem to have a weird open and closing schedule, its random….Best bet is to going during the day, even though this is a great late night munchie spot..or at least it used to be.
The Odessa combination dinner is so good! When I want some stick to your ribs basic Polish/Ukrainian food I come here. I usually make 2 meals out of it because it's a lot of food. You get stuffed cabbage, polish kielbasa and sauerkraut, potato pancake, and 4 pierogi for $12.50. I like to have a cup of hot borscht with it and you must request some of their challah bread and butter to go with the soup 😉 On a 19°F winter day you want this! The bf has had many of the brunch dishes, the benedict is good, eggs and omlets good standard diner fare. Generous portions and it's pretty cheap. The one thing that knocks it down a star is for service. Once you order and your food is served you kinda get forgotten about… you will sit for a long time ignored unless you basically throw yourself at passing by staff. This place has been around for a long time (50 years), not many like it left in the east village (oh how I miss Kiev on 7th st and 2nd ave..)
After being an avid user for years, I finally created a Yelp account for the express purpose of writing a review of this wonderful establishment.
I would say that Odessa is a strong representation of the Ukrainian culture, but I have been to Odessa in Ukraine, and the city has friendly people, delicious food, and a charming atmosphere. Let me put it this way – Vladimir Putin would want nothing to do with this restaurant.
It started when our party of three was shown to our table through a series of exasperated grunts and impatient pointing gestures. We only received two sets of silverware; looking back, I wish they hadn't brought the third set so I wouldn't have had to eat the "food" (more on that later).
After about 5 minutes of perusing the menu to see what we want, and another 40 minutes of thinking about where the server might be, the server arrived and took our order, but talking to her was kind of like talking to a cat that had been locked outside in the rain. Meow.
After another 45 minutes, we got our "food" at various different times – we were worried about things getting cold, but let's be real, it was cold already. One item was a burnt burger on a burnt bun that may or may not have been cooked a couple of weeks ago, and limp, greasy fries that were definitely cooked a couple of weeks ago. Another item was either chocolate chip pancakes or rat pellet pancakes…it was hard to differentiate. The third item was a combination of cold eggs, dry bacon, and burnt toast. To be fair, the Orange Juice was excellent.
After we placed our order with the server, we never saw her again, so don't think about sending food back or, god forbid, asking for refills of your water. Ration, ration, ration, because if you don't have any water to wash down what you're eating, you're screwed.
We finally got the bill which was cool and cheap just like the food, paid, and fled the location, confused as to how there were so many others waiting in line to eat here.
Go to Veselka if you're in a hurry, or Tompkins Square Bagels if you have a half hour to wait in line.