The Review - RESTAURANTS Published: 28 February 2008
From left: Zorya chef Laszlo Szoboszlai, managers Drazen Koros, amd Zana Gramakova, and (standing at back) sous chef Marián Juhasz
Borscht and vodka cheers!
After finally realising that his granny was right about beetroot, Peter Gruner visits Zorya restaurant to try some first-rate eastern European cuisine
MY old Polish granny served up borscht – beetroot juice – when I was a kid and told me it would make me strong.
I didn’t believe her and refused to drink it. Well, it looks like she was right.
A study, by Barts and the London School of Medicine and the Peninsula Medical School, suggested last week that the red brew can lower high blood pressure.
Suddenly people can’t get enough eastern European food – whether it’s tasty pickled cucumbers, meaty Hungarian goulash or knedle – potato dumplings stuffed with plums.
This week marks Camden Town’s latest gastronomic offering, with the opening of Zorya, an Imperial Vodka Room and eastern European restaurant.
The restaurant in Chalk Farm Road serves a wide selection of delicious and delicately spiced food to suit the average jaded English palate.
But its name comes from the fact that it serves an incredible 220 different vodkas – apparently one of the largest selections in London – including one, Zubrowka, a specially decanted Polish variety, that costs £15 a shot.
East Europeans will often start their meal with a small nip of vodka to whet their appetite before the main course.
There’s also infused garlic vodka, chilli, cherry and even a Mars bar and a toffee vodka variety for those with a sweet tooth.
If you enjoy live music and you visit in the evening or at the weekend you may be entertained by a violinist or a balalaika band playing traditional folk tunes.
Croatian manager Drazen Koros said the restaurant takes its influences from all over eastern Europe.
“When I first came to Britain 11 years ago I tried English food, and I thought: I want to go back home,” he said.
“A lot more effort goes into east European food and we use more spices and seasoning. All our meat is marinated for days before it is cooked.
“But once you try our food, you’re hooked.”
I started with the Russian salad with crunchy lettuce and ham roulade seasoned with mustard and horseradish (£5). It was a dish that startled the taste buds and got the mouth watering for more.
Then came the Golabki – cabbage leaves stuffed with minced pork and rice – served on a bed of sauerkraut, and topped with grilled smoked sausage (£10.50). Absolutely delicious.
The finale was the Hungarian dessert: Flambeed Gundel pancakes, stuffed with walnut, raisin, rum and chocolate sauce (£4.50).
Hungarian Chef Laszlo Szoboszlai explained that this is a traditional dessert. “I would eat this as a child as treat. It is such a wonderful taste and there is nothing else like it.” How would he compare eastern European food with English? “It’s a difficult question,” he said. “Unlike many eastern countries we use spices for flavour rather than to make them hot.”
