After the Tears

Who could ask for more? With a Vodka list like this? Can highly recommend the drinks list and the food. Is a little noisy so if you’re looking for a romantic evening, perhaps not the right choice. But if you’re looking for something fun, loud and a great night out… you’ve found the perfect spot. I had the Kiss in Kraków cranberry cocktail and it was superb! A must try place.

I’ve been here once and absolutely loved it. Been hanging to go back ever since.
My favourite parts — Selection of Polish food was delicious. We had share plates and everything was great.
The service was friendly and very helpful, particularly when it came to the VERY large and overwhelming cocktail list. My favourite was the Andy Warhol.
The décor is rustic and had Billie Holiday playing to top it off! It really transported me off the streets of Elsternwick.

Cons: Loud. Slow service. Frequently incorrect service. No obvious area to go and order a drink directly from the bar.
Pros: They have real absinthe and the serviing dance is awesome. A lot of the food on the menu looked interesting. Huge choice of vodka.

I have been here twice so far. The food is excellent. My wife is into all the vodkas but im not so much into vodka but beer, and there were some delicious polish and other eastern european beers to choose from.

This place offers pretty delicious food. It’s a good mix of Eastern European, but mostly Polish. I came here for my birthday and had a fun feast that my ancestors would have been proud of.
Most memorable from the table: veal goulash (as delectable as grandma makes it!), pierogies (loved the potato/​cheese, but also enjoyed the spice that came out of the chicken), potato blintz (with dill and sour cream, always with sour cream!). We also enjoyed a few vodka tastings, which is a flight of about 1.5 shots total. I think the star of the tasting was the ginger infused vodka.
What I thought was moderately tasty from the table: veal golabki (this was a fave of mine growing up, but it was a tad bit too dry to love). We had a few other things (schabowy, lamb croquettes, dessert of poppyseed cake) that were delicious, but not incredibly memorable.
The only dislike I had about this place was the price. I think it is pretty overpriced for the portion sizes, but I guess that’s what you get with tapas. I would definitely come back here for the food, but I will always feel guilty spending the money.

After the Tears is the sister restaurant of Chapel Street’s Borsch, Vodka and Tears, and like the latter, it specialises in vodka. Lots and LOTS of vodka. Naturally, I started with vodka. A tasting tray of them in fact; orange and walnut, caramel and burnt caramel. All sweet. All tasty.
After wading through the drinks menu (which, of course, starts with three pages of vodkas followed by seven pages of cocktails!) I found — almost like an afterthought — the food. The menu here is more comprehensive than BVT’s but along a similar vein with a good selection of share plates. I started with the potato blinzes served with sour cream, smoked salmon and caviar, with no intention of sharing it with anyone I should point out.
Having demolished the vodka platter in about 20 seconds I ordered another drink to keep me amused until my meal arrived — a glass of Baczewski which the menu touts as «the best vodka in the world». It was indeed very good and tasted exactly as described: «buttery, caramel and citrusy, mineral and slight hint of banana». Amazing they can get that many flavours into one little shot glass!
Lunch arrived moments after my drink. The blinzes were a little stodgy (I was hoping for something a little lighter and crisper like a roesti), but in combination with the accompaniments they worked a treat.
After the Tears is located right next door to the Classic Cinema in Elsternwick (there’s even a door linking the two, though my waitress assured me they were totally unrelated). The food is good and the service is fast and friendly. Every bit as good as it’s big sister.

Shocking menu with about 1000 items too many. Worst borscht i’ve had and a schnitzel that was fat and gristly with high-​end prices. What’s the deal?

The sister restaurant to Borsch, Vodka and Tears, this place offers hearty fare and drinks. Cosy place during winter.

Love this place!
HUGE selection of drinks, especially vodkas. They make mean martinis, my faves are Furious Hippo and Espresso Martini. Kosel dark beer is another favorite:)
As for their food, this is Eastern European cuisine at it’s best.

Unbelievably good food!!! Pricey but a great spot for a special occasion!

Freaking delicious. Massive vodka list and fun cocktail list. Food is delicious and warms the soul. Décor and cutlery are super fun and add a real warmth to the place!

I really enjoyed my first experience at ‘After the Tears’. We booked and were seated out in the back more secluded area which I found was perfect. The Drinks list was amazing, it goes on & on forever — so many different vodkas to choose from!
The food we ordered was delicious, tasty & just enough. We decided on sharing which is more my style these days. Stuffed cabbage rolls, Vodka prawns & Saganyaki :)
The décor and atmosphere of this venue was very nice and warming & I will certainly visit again.

There are two things I really like about this venue — the food and the extensive list of vodkas. There is a big emphasis on the vodka list, such that the menu lists all the drinks available in the restaurant before it lists any of the food. On the food front there are a number of options that are great for sharing in groups — blintzes, farmer’s plates, goulash, and all of it very tasty. I don’t know how authentic the meals are (not having ever been to Poland) but it is tasty and that has to count for something.
The venue itself is quite large, and looks a bit Eastern-​European Medieval which I don’t really think is that great. Also it gets incredibly loud inside due to all the hard surfaces.

I’m pretty sure this place used to be an awkward Italian restaurant named after Frank Sinatra so by comparison this place is the fricken bomb. Out of context, there is a little bit missing.
I know After the Tears as the restaurant owned by the popular Borsch, Vodka and Tears. If your eyebrows just perked then lower them right now. After the Tears doesn’t reflect a very similar vibe to BVT. I think it’s tailored to an older crowd, more specifically to people going to see a movie at the classic.
As far as nibbles go, it’s the same kind of menu and you’ll eat happily if you’re in the mood of Polish tapas. Drinks are also great, with a similar dedication to vodka and its many uses. I suppose the only let down is the atmosphere, which isn’t helped too much by opening directly onto a cinema. The place feels like it’s missing a bit of soul, but I still recommend it if you’re in the area.

After The Tears is the second chapter to the Borsch, Vodka and Tears situated on Chapel St in Windsor. Being right next to the Cinema means it’s a great place to have an after film chat with an Espresso Martini. This restaurant specializes in cocktails and there are plenty to choose from. It’s a lot of reading as you go through the lists and lists of different concoctions on offer. This is the fun and choosing is extremely hard but they give you the excitement you want when you’re out to spend that little bit extra. I actually went there for my own birthday one year and it was a fantastic night.
The waiters were very approachable and were great at helping out with choosing options. The place has a great feel with a slight buzz and excitement where the décor is that simple European look with low light but works a treat. The food is good but people go there for the drink where I would love to give a recommendation but all the cocktails kept out doing the last one. It turned out to be a great idea to have my birthday there and will definitely visit again.

Perfection. There are only a few places in Melbourne that I can say satisfy all of my needs when I go out, this is one of those places. As soon as you feel the wooden floor boards under your feet and see the décor you know that you have just found a hidden treasure. The ambiance is enough to keep you there all night, then you see the menu and you realised that with so many different types of vodka you will be back here time and time again.
The other day I had the duck ragout which was very good, however the sausages for main and the perogie for entrée is a combination that will satisfy every time.