There were a couple of places that once I told people I was going to Lviv, Ukraine- I was instantly recommended. Kryivka was one of them. It’s not just a restaurant, it’s a cultural re-enactment that only people with the secret password can enter, and oh! You can shoot Putin in the back for 100 Hryvnia (which is about $2.26).

So if you’re going to Lviv, let me jump on that bandwagon and say that you absolutely need to go 110%!

Getting to Kryivka
Kryivka is located down an alleyway close to the city center in Lviv. When you knock on the door, you have to say, “Slava Ukraini” to enter, which in Ukrainian, means “Glory to Ukraine.” Once they open the door, they use a metal detector to make sure you’re not carrying any weapons, is this part of the act or literal security? Honestly not sure. There will be a costumed guard at the door dressed as a World War II-era Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) soldier to give you a shot. I believe there are a few places you can go after this, but we had decided to go right downstairs.

The Atmosphere
Kryivka is a bunker-style World War II Restaurant, everything replicates what a bunker may have looked like. There are images on the walls of the history and once, they went around with a mock air siren and had a sort of public “meeting.” I couldn’t understand what they were saying but it sounded like some sort of military motivational or pep talk. It was really cool!

Ironically, the bathroom was pretty fancy, if I’m recalling the correct restaurant and next to it is a holding cell, I suppose? It was too dark to take a photo, as are most of the photos I took (it’s the vibe! Ya know?) But it was a small stone room with little tallies carved in to the wall, with what looked like a dog bowl chained to the wall. I was asking where the bathroom was and they pointed down this hallway and I quickly realized it was the other door, haha!

The Food
Before we get into the food portion of this blog, one thing I do want to say is that they will only split the check into 2; I came with a pretty large group- four people from Florida, USA (I don’t know what’s up with Florida, HA!), a man from Romania, one from Norway and a woman from Sweden and many restaurants will let us split the check into however many people are there, but the waiter said he could only split it into two. I ended up paying and people paid me back. No biggie!

The food itself was typical Ukrainian food, they had a decent size menu as well. The fun part was that the food was served in plates/bowls that you may have seen at the time. They weren’t fancy, but they were characteristic of the time, which I thought was fun!

Apologies again for the horrendous lighting poor photos! Just one more reason to actually go and not rely on my crappy pictures! I promise it’s worth it!!

After we were done, they had done their military meeting pep talk thing; it was one man doing it, and others responding in what is probably Ukrainian’s version of saluting and “yes ‘sir!” We had to wait until that was finished and when it was, some of us decided to shoot Putin (a photo… unfortunately…. I didn’t say that- shhh!) and others who already had done this, left and met us back up at the bar later on.

Personally, I’ve never used a gun besides a water pistol when I was a child so when I held it initially, one of the other people behind me said, “That is not how you hold it” in a sort of joking humorous way. (Like it wasn’t rude, it was just like, wow- I’ve never seen someone try and hold a rifle like that) LOL. He eventually showed me and… well, let’s just say, it’s a good thing I’m not in the military! The first shot hit the wall (not even close to Putin), the next was next to the piece of paper and eventually I hit the paper and then the bullseye! I can’t remember, I think each person was allowed 5 shots. Then, you get to keep the paper, which was a nice souvenir, ha!

The Souvenir Store
At the end, you walk down a tunnel and are met with a souvenir store. I didn’t get anything, but if it’s one thing I know for sure, people who are in a war for 12 years (or people with trauma) need humor to cope… and thus… I introduce to you… a grenade lollipop LOL. I have no idea what it tasted like, but I thought the concept was really funny. The souvenir store had magnets, bottles of homemade drinks, honey (I think), candy, clothing and more. It’s a great place, if you don’t go to Kram (another souvenir store in the area) to get some keepsakes to bring back to your folks.

Do I Recommend Kryivka?

I absolutely do! I agree that it is a must-see if you visit Lviv. The food is authentic and fresh and the environment is almost like half-show/performance, and half food. The atmosphere is surreal and they really do a good job making it feel like you’re in a bunker. I wouldn’t say the environment is “heavy” necessarily, but it’s not “light” like Deruny, so I probably wouldn’t go here multiple times a week, but it’s a great place to visit, explore and experience the culture and feel what it may have been like in World War II! Highly, highly recommend.

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Address: Venetsiysʹka Kam’yanytsya, пл. Ринок, 14 (підвал), Rynok Square, 14, Lviv, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine, 79000
Hours: Mon-Fri (11:00-22:45/10:45pm), Saturday & Sunday (10:00-22:45/10:45pm)

Cheers friends & Travelers!
~Sho, Founder of Backroad Butterflies ~

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