A Decent Cafe with Hit-or-Miss Service

Hello everyone, thanks for taking the time to read my review! I just got back from a week in Uglich, a super historic city on the Volga River, and I'm still trying to process everything. I stayed at the Uspenskaya Hotel right in the heart of the city, and the hotel has a restaurant called Russian Cuisine that serves breakfast to guests - which was a nice perk, since it was included in the room rate.

The restaurant has a separate entrance from the street, but since we were hotel guests, we just walked right in without having to go out into the city. I kind of wish we'd used the street entrance, just to see what it was like.

The interior of the restaurant is pretty vintage, with wooden furniture that looks really solid and heavy-duty. The tables and chairs are a bit rough around the edges, but that's part of the charm - it's like a cozy little hideaway. I loved the wooden buffet cabinet, complete with a vintage-style teapot on top - it added a touch of elegance and authenticity to the space.

Wood plays a big role in the cafe's interior design, not just as a material for furniture, but also as decorative elements. The wooden planks used for the wall paneling really stand out, and the wooden slabs with birch inlays and appliques add a nice touch of warmth and coziness. I mean, who wouldn't want to dine in a place that feels like a piece of history?

The wooden pendant light fixture above the buffet cabinet is a real showstopper, with its Viking-style design or, as I like to think, a nod to ancient Russian sailing vessels. I snapped some photos of the cafe interior while we waited for our order. There's a TV on the wall near the entrance from the hotel, but it was showing some obscure music channel that didn't grab our attention at all.

The tables had those little stands with napkins, toothpicks, and containers for salt and pepper - it's the little things that make a big difference, right? The waitress offered us two breakfast options, and my son and I went with the scrambled eggs with sausage and pancakes with sour cream. My wife opted for oatmeal and a cheese pancake with sour cream - I thought the options were a bit uneven in terms of price and calorie count, but they were priced the same.

Both breakfast options came with tea, which we could choose between black and green. The tea was served with just hot water and a tea bag and sugar - we had to brew it ourselves, which was a bit of a bummer. I ordered a coffee as an extra, and my wife did the same, so we ended up with separate checks for the coffee. Yeah, it's a bit annoying when you have to pay extra for something that's not even included in the original order.

The breakfast options were listed separately on the check, even though they cost the same. My son and I went for option 1, while my wife had option 2 - both were called 'tourist breakfast', which sounded like a vintage fish in tomato sauce with barley porridge. We paid 1050 rubles for three breakfasts and an extra 200 rubles for the coffee.

The next day, we didn't go for breakfast at this cafe because we had leftover rolls and pastries from the night before and ate in our room. We came back the following day, and while we had one waitress on our first visit, there were two on the second day, but the service didn't improve - it actually got worse. Even the scrambled eggs looked a bit rough, and I'm not a fan of runny yolks, it just doesn't look appetizing.

I was surprised when they brought out only one batch of pancakes with the omelette, so I asked them to bring out another. But they disappeared for a pretty long time, and when they finally came back, they said they'd run out of pancakes and all they could offer us was a cheesecake. Yeah, that's just poor planning.

When we ordered, we specifically asked them not to add sugar to our tea, but of course, they brought it out with sugar anyway. We ended up having to remove the sugar from the cup, and I wish they'd packaged it individually so we could've taken it with us. It was a bit annoying, to be honest.

This time, my wife ordered coffee with her breakfast, so they just charged us for the whole thing in one go. At least that's one thing they got right.

While the staff were looking for the pancakes, I took a look at the menu, and it seemed like they had a lot more options for breakfast, but I'm pretty sure they're just there for show. We didn't see any of those options on either of our visits.

I've had breakfast here twice, and both times it coincided with my birthday. So, I decided to check out the menu for a small birthday dinner. But unfortunately, the menu didn't inspire me - despite the cafe being called 'Russian Cuisine', the menu was almost entirely lacking in Russian dishes, maybe just pancakes and beef stroganoff could be considered Russian, and the rest was either eclectic or dishes from other cuisines around the world. The appetizers did have more Russian options, but ordering only appetizers didn't feel right. But if the dishes are appetizing, it doesn't matter what cuisine they're from - and our appetites weren't exactly piqued by the mac and cheese or the lamb with pearl barley in a quince and orange sauce, so we ended up eating somewhere else that night.

Overall, the breakfasts here are pretty tasty and filling, but the service is lacking, which is why I'd give 'Russian Cuisine' cafe a 4 out of 5 with a big minus. As for the main menu, it's possible that some people might find these dishes appetizing and delicious, but my personal taste preferences are a bit different, and the combination of fish and pasta just doesn't work for me - it's like cod with boiled condensed milk, I guess it's edible, but I wouldn't want to try it.

Thanks to everyone for reading, I hope my review was helpful, even if it's just my subjective opinion.

I'd like to highlight a few things that stood out to me during my visits. Firstly, the interior design of the cafe is really unique and charming. The use of wood throughout the space creates a cozy and welcoming atmosphere that's perfect for a casual breakfast or brunch.

However, the service was a major letdown. On both of my visits, the staff seemed disorganized and inattentive. We had to ask multiple times for things like extra pancakes and coffee, and even then, it took a long time to arrive. It's a shame, because the food is actually pretty good, but the service is what really makes or breaks a dining experience.

Another thing that I noticed was that the menu options were a bit limited, especially for dinner. While they did have some Russian dishes, the majority of the menu was made up of international cuisine. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but it didn't really appeal to me.

Overall, I'd say that 'Russian Cuisine' cafe is a decent option for breakfast, but the service needs to improve. If you're looking for a unique and cozy dining experience, you might want to consider this place. But if you're looking for good service and a wide range of menu options, you might want to look elsewhere.