In Zhytomyr you are already known before people get acquainted with you.
At least that’s how Zhytomyr citizens contend. So if you meet somebody you know in a dinner time, you can easily go to “Pleasantville” what we’ve done with gastro expert, Svetlana Seiko.
When owners of a restaurant wanted to create a small café, e.g. usual American burger café, they haven’t expected such success. The only thing they didn’t want to possess in advance is greyness and clichés, that’s why the restaurant’s name is unusual and an interior design, made by in-service designer is simple but bright and clear.
It’s very comfortable to commute to “Pleasantville”. You’re driving from Kiev – go straight. Everyone can show where “Ukraina” cinema is, so that is the main orienting point. Would you like to get from the western side? Go to Peremohy Square and then to the left, right before old church (by the way, one of the oldest historical constructions in the city) and then again to the left. You won’t pass it by, because there are always a lot of cars on a parking lot. Despite getting there by public transport, what is also comfortable, I’d recommend to use the main advantage of Zhytomyr – small distances, so I am ready to run through Mykhailivska Street for pedestrians on foot.
You are warmly welcomed here with smile and offered a menu straightaway. I can’t tell that it’s cozy here: even during workday it’s very crowded, almost fully-packed. It’s clear because the place is very comfortable for business meetings or just dinner. Everybody values your time here: there is a waiter call-button (there is more than one call-button on several tables: for orders and paying bills.)
Places are located in a way which gives various opportunities for client: there are places near windows, where you can stare at strangers on the street or you can sit in a special zone further from street noise. Personally, switching from noisiness to relaxing near an open fire it is the very rest I like. There are also table and kids zone where your child can draw or play under parents’ control.
The “cherry on the cake” is meat and dishes with it. All the dishes, e.g. sausages or cutlets are grilled and made of quality raw materials. The demand is high here so vegetarians are not forgotten: there are vegan-burgers and vegetarian soups.
The top dish for meat lovers is a veal steak with top round. It’s very difficult to compete with a quality of meat here, because it’s perfectly-made. On chef’s opinion, who’s been working here since opening, you can’t work miracles from bad piece of meat. Although, at the very beginning steaks of different temperatures haven’t always evoked understanding of visitors, various culinary shows did their bit: order any kind of meat with any temperature and you’ll be feasted with well-grilled meat.
Burgers here are …. Yummy! You’d like a huge burger – order “Grizzly”, smaller one – “Teddy” burger. Trust me, it’s worth trying: a taste of cheese, special bun and own-made cutlet will widen your cognition of American food. Some people say that our life consists of small details. The same with burgers: packing is kind of mere detail but it’s disgusting to eat from busted paper.
In “Pleasant”, as locals say, everyone is careful about details and pack burgers in a cling wrap which doesn’t melt down from juicy cutlet. The team constantly works on everything – starting from interior design to offering new services. For example, without leaving home you can try comfy system of food delivery “Salad”. You may also take part in “Mystery Shopper” program which helps to evaluate staff, service and improve the level of maintenance. Everyone mindfully pay attention to staff recruitment with the main requirement of knowing foreign languages. There also is an English-language menu so it’s a great idea to advice “Pleasant” to foreign visitors.
Let’s talk about perspectives in details – screened-in patio is soon will be opened in “Pleasantville”, where in a cool evening customers will be offered blankets, which are ready to be used in a special cabinet with transparent doors. As well as blankets, seasonal dishes will also appear in a menu, although I am happy here all over the year – here is my lovely hot corn, the same as in August. I don’t know how do they manage to make it, but in winter it is as tasty as on a hot summer day (everybody has recalled in their minds tasty food from sea shores?). Additionally, there are live concerts, regular movies or other interesting events, e.g. culinary master-classes in a foreign language.
The best thing here is a chef. Viktor Beliak, who can always be asked to come into hall and to tell about a dish or there is a chance to see how he does his best with a grill. He is the thing that makes us who we are, because he worries about everything. If he was a different person, there wouldn’t be any “Pleasantville”.
Average purchase size is UAH 130-150, but tea, soups and sausages could be hardly eaten by one person. So don’t be shy to come here with your friends, Zhytomyr citizens are happy to have guests.
Address: 13, Kyivska Str., Zhytomyr
Telephone: +38 (0412) 422 269
Opening hours: 9 am-01 am
Translated by Aliona Matushevich
