Kachka

A truly wonderful dining experience that I would recommend for all when they are in Portland. Russian food is not a cuisine you see as frequently as others but the experience here was fantastic.

I went with a group of four so we were able to try many different plates which was awesome as I love trying a variety of dishes. The service was excellent all evening as well.

For drinks we got vodka as they have lots of house infused vodka. We tried four kinds and my favorite was the horseradish which is their most popular but everyone else at the table preferred the cacao nib one.

For food everything was delicious but there were definitely some standouts that I recommend others order especially if it is your first time here. In my opinion the best dishes we had were the fish board as it had five different types of fish and it was so tasty. And the dumplings are amazing. You need to try at least one type of the dumplings here as they are the star. The Siberian Pelmeni which was a savory meat dumpling with beef, pork and veal was my favorite and others at my table loved the Cherry Vareniki most which was a sweeter dumpling with cherries. Honorable mention for my third favorite dish of the night was the Qitsibi which was a flavor explosion. We also tried all their pickles, the Brindza Pashtet, the Golubtsi and the Fenugreek Plombir Sundae for dessert. You really can't go wrong with what you order but the dishes I emphasized were our personal favorites.

If you eat here I feel confident you will leave happy.

This is a fun place with pretty interior and generally good vibes. I have some tips though.

1. Don't order the pickle sampler. It comes in extremely small quantities, bland, and zero presentation. So, not really sure what we paid for on this one. The fish sampler was better.

2. The vodka infusions are fun. The horseradish vodka is a crowd pleaser.

3. I think focus on the dumplings and the mains. The kebab was pretty good and all the dumplings were tasty.

This is one of the more unique culinary experiences I have been to. This restaurant is labeled as Russian but it is actually a restaurant that serves the former Soviet Union regional foods, consisting of a multitude of countries. We made an 8pm reservation for 3 people for a Friday dinner about a week in advance just in case, as this place can be fairly popular so a prime time dinner spot can be hard to get if you are a last minute planner.

We tried the following dishes family style, and all of them were fairly delicious:
- Cod Liver Buterbrodi - they say it is like foie gras but the texture is not that similar. This is a fairly sharp tasting dish due to the horseradish, but it was not overwhelming
- Herring Under a Fur Coat - a fairly common Eastern European dish but this is the first time I tried it. I love the beet and herring combination, with a play of textures through the various layers (potatoes, carrots, eggs, etc)
- Baltic Sprat Buterbrodi - love this one! Very flavorful and buttery
- Sour Cherry Vareniki - tangy cherry inside with a broth that is slightly acidic, but it has sweet afternotes so that could be a dessert (it was a dessert item too)
- Rabbit in a Clay Pot - rabbit is usually dry and tough but the sauce was creamy and smooth and softens up the rabbit meat. It is served with some draniki (potato pancakes). The server's recommendation of adding the rabbit meat on top of the potato pancakes made another nice experience
- Golubtsi - cabbage rolls, but it is slightly different from what I have been used to eating. These cabbage are cooked nicely so they are easy to consume, and the inside is more concentrated like a meatball as opposed to a looser filling. They use beef, lamb, and pork, so there is more going on compared to a standard cabbage roll.
- Sea Buckthorn Berry - infused vodka shot. $5 for a shot is pretty good price and this is a fairly unique drink

From before entering the restaurant to exiting the restaurant, service has been excellent. We were driving from Seattle to Portland to start our Portland weekend trip and they were very accommodating and flexible to various changes to arrival time and promptly seated us regardless. Water refills were there, despite giving a large pitcher of water that we managed to actually finish. Price is fair at around $45 per person, which for a somewhat fancy experience is well worth it.

Loved coming to this mini grocery and deli. We stopped by for happy hour bites before our flight home. We ordered the Siberian Pelmeni and Tvorog Vareniki, which was definitely enough for two people. The service was quick and friendly, which I've found is common here in Oregon. I also got a grapefruit sparkling soda from somewhere in Eastern Europe. Our dumplings were delicious and fresh, and we enjoyed them as we watched over the restaurant below, buzzing with music and laughter. One thing to note is to that there is a good amount of butter on the bottom of the plate, so ask for light butter if that's not your thing.
Note that this is different than the main downstairs restaurant, with a totally different menu. And that service charges are included on all bills to ensure a fair wage - nice!

When coming to Kachka would recommend getting a reservation as seems to get pretty busy as the day goes on.

Kachka offers an authentic eastern Europe vibe with the menu having such a wide range of Russian dishes that allows guests to explore and try different items. My suggestion is best to come as a group to be able to order multiple items to taste. The food itself was flavorful with the highlight being the dumplings and roe. The service was friendly and helpful for ordering for a large group with giving suggestions based on each persons dietary needs, but be warned the dishes do take time to come out.

It is worth a visit if you are in the mood for something different and does offer a unique dinning experience.

I came to Kachka to enjoy the taste of my childhood as I was born in Poland. The food is quite good and accurately represents my sentiments.
HOWEVER
A quick look at the service quality as well as the entire restaurant reveals an awful experience me and my husband had.
When we got greeted, the person responsible for seating made us know that they only have this one table available. Apparently that was their first lie, because even after we finished our food, the restaurant was still not packed. Furthermore, our server was not attentive at all. We got some strange looks from the staff as we just wanted to enjoy our time and conversation. They changed our server with no explaination.
I am suspicious over the place as they push for the mandatory upcharge of 22% and explain it as if it were the "tip". They say that it provides a "living wage" to all their staff including the servers. Well, the service was entirely devoid of quality and consideration.
I'm also very suspicious over where the money is actually going. It seems to me that the owners have to do something with it if you ask me. Perhaps EVERYTHING is going into their POCKETS.
AVOID AVOID AVOID
This was our second time at Kachka.

Overall Thoughts: Kachka is a cool, unique spot for elevated Russian tapas-- it's an experience unlike anything I've had before. Though pricey, it's well worth the splurge. The food is excellent (some misses, but the hits REALLY hit), the service is quick and attentive, and the vibes are fun and lively. It's not too crowded for happy hour on a weekday night, so you can probably get a spot just walking in then. However, it gets considerably more crowded and louder after 6pm, so definitely make a reservation if you're planning to go post-6pm. Although I came here by myself, this would be such a fun spot to come to with friends-- trying multiple infused vodka shots and eating here during happy hour is a truly solid deal.

Food I tried:
- Assorted Pickles (Happy Hour)- Sauerkraut, Maosolnye Cucumber, Tumeric Pickled Cauliflower, Pickled Beets (4.1/5): I liked how each item had a sharp, biting texture and sour flavor, but it was my least favorite dish out of everything I ordered. The cucumbers had inconsistent flavor with some pieces nice/slightly sweet and others lacking flavor. Surprisingly, I loved the pickled beets despite not liking normal beets.

- Cod Liver Buterbrodi (4.9/5): This was so delicious-- despite being small in quantity, you could distinctly taste the cod liver which was so delicious and literally melts in the mouth. The toasted bread was really tasty and fresh, and the puree flavor was mild but tasted great. The horseradish added the perfect spicy kick to everything.

- Tvorog Vereniki (4.9/5): Has to be the best vareniki I've ever had. The skin is incredibly fresh, soft, and supple, and the cheese is so soft, and slightly sweet and sour. The buttery cream on the bottom was slightly acidic, and overall, the textures were to die for-- so lush and buttery. Although the pieces are small and bite-sized, it comes with a lot and is pretty filling too.

- Herring "under a fur coat" (4.4/5): This had a nice mix of neutral and intense flavors and textures. The herring was salty, soft, and literally melts in the mouth. The potatoes tasted plain and neutral, the mayo was slightly sweet, and the eggs were light and neutral too, while the beets offered a stronger kick of flavor. However, because it's a pretty hefty/filling dish, the flavors got monotonous kind of quickly.

- Horseradish infused vodka shot (4.5/5): Glad I tried this unique shot. It had a super sharp, spicy kick to it. Apparently, the horseradish is infused at the root, which is why the flavor is so robust.
--

Price (relative to peers): 4.3/5
Food: 4.6/5
Ambience: 4.9/5
Service: 4.9/5
Overall Value: 4.7/5

Russian/Eastern European cuisine was not one that I had previously considered as particularly flavorful but my visit here changed my mind on that. The first time we went during lunch time only the small upstairs deli was open, not the main restaurant. They still had a few sandwiches and small plates which we tried. We got the borscht which was light, cool and refreshing. They also sell some cured deli meats and a bunch of pastries and breads. We took home some delicious fluffy brown bread (wish I could tell you more than that).

The restaurant was closed but they let us sit downstairs and eat in the dining room. We also had a delicious little crepe and the goat cheese dumplings. We added the garlic broth which turned it into a soup which was ok but I think we would just do them plain next time. there was still much we had left to try so came back for dinner a while later. This time we tried more dishes:
- Baltic Sprout Butterbrodi: I would liken to a Russian bruschetta. Tiny salty smoked fish on fluffy brown bread slices w/ egg and some other stuff. I really liked this
- Rabbit in Clay Pot: tasty stew & tender rabbit, tasted like denser darker chicken meat. It came w/ a side of some kind of buttery toasted hash brown sort of things, which were very good w/ the broth.
- Pork neck Shashlik: pork skewers w/ applesauce essentially. Pretty good but my least favorite as it was kind of plain.

I only regret we were too full to try the cabbage rolls.

Service was helpful and warm. Food was unique and intimidating but everything was absolutely delicious. The Russian ice cream sundae was one of the best things I've ever eaten. The dumplings a must try.

This was a wonderful culinary experience.

We made a reservation (which I recommend). Parking garage is free!

It was a very busy restaurant but the service was excellent. They made sure that you were well cared for. They are happy to help you with recommendations.

We ordered the most common and recommended items.

1. Horseradish vodka - in a cocktail - it was like a extra unique martini.
2. Fish board - choose from a variety of fish, which are are beautifully presented.
3. Rabbit - so delicious
4. Sour cherry dumplings - creamy and a favorite.
5. Herring under the fur coat

This has bene one of my favorite restaurants in Portland and will most certainly going back.