Nikita’s Restaurant

I’ve been wanting to try Nikita’s for a while as I heard it’s really authentic Russian food and there’s a 50% offer using a tastecard. To test the authenticity, I went with 3 other Russians to test it out.
It doesn’t look that far on the map but it’s a bit of a walk from both Earl’s court or West Brompton. It feels a little weird as you’re walking through the neighborhood, really wouldn’t expect a restaurant in such a residential area. When you walk in, you really do feel like you’ve walked into Mother Russia!
My friends ordered the pirozhki (yum!), herring (okay, wasn’t a huge fan), pelmeni (yum! like dumplings), and vareniky (big dumplings!) to start. Received my Russian friends approval for authenticity. It took almost 30 minutes to prepare — so it must be quite freshly.
I had the Kotleti po ukrainski for my main upon my friends recommendation. It kind of reminded me of a Salisbury steak (you know what I mean if you had this in the US!) with a zesty sauce. It was quite good and probably the best out of all the mains we tried. A tried a bit of my friend’s beef stroganoff and it was a bit underwhelming and he said it wasn’t authentic at all. My friends chicken kiev was quite nice.
Towards the end of dinner, the waitress was hardly around. We were tempted to go upstairs and ask for it but waited quite patiently. It took even longer for them to take payment — if you’re paying by card, it might be easier to just go upstairs as its difficult for the machine to process it downstairs.
Overall, it was just okay. I think without the discount I don’t think it would’ve been worth it. I wouldn’t rush to go back.

Maybe 3.25 stars?
My girlfriend and I were in the mood for something a little different. A little off the beaten path in the middle of a residential neighborhood, Nikita’s was appropriately busy for a Saturday night, but we had no problem getting a table for a late-​ish dinner.
Service (4): The staff were attentive throughout our visit. One of our servers was either new or had difficulty with English, as she didn’t seem to understand our menu queries and brought my partner a double vodka when we clearly ordered a single, but her fellow server was usually there to help out. The new server accidentally spilled a small portion of vodka I had remaining in my glass when she brought my main; this was replaced with a full glass, which was a nice touch. The food arrived in a timely fashion.
Food (3.5): The stroganoff was meaty, if a little bland. My vareniky, which were supposed to consist of potato/​cheese/​parsley and cabbage/​carrot/​onion varieties, were missing the latter, but were ok on the whole. The pirozhki starters with minced beef and stilton/​spinach were very good; the spicy sausage was acceptable. Our desserts — the syrniki and strudel — were wonderful. The flavored vodkas were also delicious.
Atmosphere (3): The eating area was underground, down a flight of stairs. The red colors and candlelight were pretty and made for an intimate dining experience. The somewhat run-​down décor added to the charm of the place in a sense, but the restaurant is probably due for a reno in the near future. The bathrooms especially left much to be desired. The live music added to the overall immersive Eastern European feel, but was also a little too loud for conversation at times.
Overall, Nikita’s made for a nice evening. We are in no rush to go back, but, for £63 or so, I would say our money was well spent.

Looking at the review posted with 1 out of 5 stars… I am amazed that anyone can have a bad experience at Nikitas. My guess is that this person got out of control drunk and became a plain a$$H0l3.
I am going to put it this way. Having lived in Chelsea for 6 months. I keep coming back to this place. The atmosphere is always very welcoming and the service is top notch. From the Pelmini to the Filet steak, I have tried every dish served and I have loved every single one.
The selection of vodkas and the price|value are very well aligned. Do yourself a favor and try this place for yourself. I guarantee you that you will not be dissapointed.
Get the pear or peach flavored vodka if you are into sweet drinks, get the russian standard or better yet the Bisongrass vodka if you want to stay in the clear. The potato salad is first class as the are the Blinis. Another favorite is the Chicken Kiev or course or the Strogonov (both mushroom and beef)!
I am sadly moving now from London but this place leaves me with a positive of the otherwise rather cold and non-​personal attitude of London. I will come back to London just to come back here again.

We actually live just down the street from it but had held off going because we saw the high price category listing here on the Unilocal review. That’s totally wrong. The starters were all in the 4 – 8 range and meals were 9 – 15. I’d say this restaurant would be in the moderate range and is definitely good value for money.
Loved our visit to Nikita’s. When you go through the door you enter a small bar area. You need to walk down some narrow stairs and you’re in the lower ground floor restaurant area of Nikita’s. The walls are painted and mirrors ring the room making it appear larger.
The night we were there, there was an accordion player, named Roman who was fantastic. The food came in multiple courses with blinis and caviar first (the blinis were my least favorite thing about the meal — burnt and cold).
We also had the watermelon and apricot vodka shots. I highly recommend the apricot shots they were delicious!
For the appetizer I had the stew while my date had little tortellinis stuffed with meat with a broth to dip them in. Both starters were fantastic and could have been a meal in themselves. We followed that up with the stroganoff and pierogies.
The ambiance was fantastic, the waitstaff attentive we’ll be certain to go back soon.

Like stepping through time, back to Czarist Mother Russia!
Just walking in, you know that you’re heading into a fantasy… the color of the walls, that deep rich red, the swirl of gold here and there, everything is stage set to transport you to another time and place.
Go with it and you’ll have a great time.
The food is out of this world, so wonderful and flavorful and delightful.
The service is warm and welcoming, prompt and friendly.
The barmen know what’s what and how to serve it. Such vodkas!
The last time I came back, I brought someone whose palate I trust, and he was bowled over by the place. Looking forward to my next visit…