Ruta Ukrainian Restaurant

Eastern European food is usually a miss for me, but Ruta came through! The Varenyky was absolutely fantastic and full of fresh ingredients. The Pickled Herring on rye bread was also decent and the best I've had in the states so far. Our server was attentive and friendly, and the atmosphere was lively yet quiet enough for easy conversation.

Wandered in here for dinner on a cold night and glad we finally did. The place was fairly empty on a Friday night so we did not need a reservation. My husband and I shared an order of 8 varenyky (or pierogi as my Polish fam would call them) and the Lokshyna. We ended up with just the potato varenyky, which we enjoyed but not the best I have ever had (if you're in the neighborhood there is a polish pierogi stand on the weekend that kills it) - they weren't the most flavorful and I prefer them to be fried than just boiled. The Lokshyna, a dish I had never had before, was what stole the show - the past was delightfully thick which some delicious mushrooms and it just really hit the spot on a cold evening.

I was very happy to find this restaurant. 1. Reservation: A must! This establishment is small (see picture) and you want to make sure you have one by reserving by calling them or through their own website only. Opentable, resy, yelp etc all do NOT work! 2. Food: 4.5 /5 Borscht: very good, delicious, has lots of beef Vareniki: I was not fond of it, It had this animal fat taste, which I really could not get over. Normally this is my favorite food, but not in this restaurantBeef tongue: It is wrapped in a crepe (blini) and very small amount. I assumed it would be like all other russian places: slices beef tongue. It wasn't. tasted good but hardly any. Luckily the blini is good 3. Drinks: 4/5Strong! They use Ukrainian vodka as base and it is quite unique. The one I had jam in it and do not recommend. It is like you dropped your jam by mistake and does not go well. I drank it anywayMartini: good 4. Service: 4/5we were seated at the bar after waiting for 20 mins although there were enough tables empty. This made no sense to me. Bartender was our server in a sense that he took our order. Can't really speak of service considering there was no specific waiter going back and forth. I still like this place and like the fact that we have a different cuisine we can try and adding variety to the DC food scene.

I really like the place and the customer service was great. It's very homey and great food for a cold night. I do think the prices are a little bit on the high side for the portions, but that might be just Washington DC. it is a small restaurant so I recommend reservations.

Food - 4/5Service - 5/5Ambiance - 5/5Price - 4/5Service was phenomenal, and the staff were so friendly, helping us guide what to eat. The spot is on Capitol Hill's Eastern Market and had a surprisingly short wait, so a group of 6 of us stopped by. The food is regularly portioned but a little overpriced. I also didn't find the brunch to be particularly Ukrainian (more so middle eastern influenced). However the ambiance and service were perfect. The interior is beautiful, spacious, and modern. The staff were also extremely friendly.

This place is fabulous! It was too hot to be on the patio so we sat inside, but once we cooled down I kind of wished we were outside with the puppies and people watching!We came for brunch on a Saturday and it was busy but not packed. The service was great and the food was amazing and presented so well. I would definitely come back for brunch but really want to come for lunch or dinner now!

I had an absolutely fantastic meal here. My parents were in town and we were looking for a spot last minute. Despite being packed, they managed to squeeze us in on the patio and even brought us blankets to help warm us up. The service was phenomenal throughout the night. We tried the varenyky mix as a starter, and when we mentioned wishing there was an extra short rib so we could split them three ways they surprised us with one free of charge. We also tried few items off their fall menu (the blackcurrant cocktail and the beef tongue nalesnyky), both of which were excellent. The jam on the rim of the cocktail was such a great touch. The mushroom holubtsi was very flavorful and had a lovely texture. Our favorite of the night was the creamy mushroom pasta, which we all thought might honestly be the best pasta we've ever eaten in our lives, and we've eaten a lot of pasta! I can't overstate how rich the flavor was. If you love mushrooms, you have to get this dish! They were sold out of quite a few others, which shows you how popular they are, and deservedly so. We tried two cakes: honey cake and their house special Ruta cake. My mom loved the Ruta cake (poppyseed, jam, farmer's cheese) because it wasn't too sweet. My dad and I really liked the honey cake with its tangy frosting! The only thing that didn't blow me away were the varenyky, which weren't quite as flavorful as everything else, but the sauerkraut one was still very good. For me, the entrees and the cocktail were the star! I was so impressed by the food and service, and I'll have to return for brunch now!

FYI, Ruta uses the Toast platform to book reservations. The atmosphere is casual with an old school restaurant style decor with Ukrainian paintings on the walls and the TV on a loop of Ukrainian landscapes. The food was excellent, and don't be afraid of trying this cuisine, because I think the flavors and spices are very familiar. We started with an assortment of Ukrainian dumplings (4 flavors: short rib, potato, sauerkraut, and my least favorite the buffalo chicken) , which are not too different from pierogies. We ordered the Tsvikli next, which is a cold dish of shredded beet with horseradish (gives it a nice kick), and good for getting in your vegetables. For entrees, I had the meat holubtsi, which brought to my mind meatballs in marinara sauce... it was an ultimate comfort food for me! My husband had the beef stroganoff (which, again, can be a familiar dish to some people). We finished off with delicious honey cake!I have an Ukrainian friend, and I would come back and take her here.

This spot is a gem in DC! I was checking out the Library of Congress and noticed this location was ~20 min away by walking. Given how great DC is as a walking city, I took the opportunity to walk over - also I was enticed by the fact that I wanted to try Ukranian cuisine for the first time!Ruta is the first Ukranian restaurant to open in DC, and I was excited to dine right in. I wanted to eat as much as my stomach could allow. I started with a small order of potato dumplings (4 pieces), and my goodness, it's as delicious as one could imagine. The dumplings were light and flavorful, and the cream complimented the dumplings so well. My only regret is not ordering more, but I blame my stomach for not being able to eat more!I then opted to order some pasta (Lokshyna) for my main entree. The pasta had the right chew with every bite. The sauce was incredibly creamy and rich throughout. I was stuffed after eating this, which is unfortunate because I had my eye on the honey cake (next time, if I'm back in DC!). The staff was friendly throughout and made this experience absolutely worthwhile! If you find yourself in DC and wanting to try Ukranian cuisine, this is the spot to go!

My rating = 81 (food 62/75, ambiance 9/10, service 10/15). New-ish Ukranian restaurant in downtown Bethesda. Great food, fun environment. Beer and liquor were quite limited when we went (Oct. '24) and they were out of several menu items -- I think they're still working out some kinks. We will be back though. We had:1. Varenyky assortment (basically pierogies) - the sauerkraut one is the best, even if you hate sauerkraut! 2. Chicken Kyiv3. A very good beef stroganoff served over buckwheat4. "Patriot" cocktail (a monstrosity with horilka, pineapple, and blue curacao, fun to look at)