New Anelya Brunch Experience

Anelya is offering brunch now and we’ve been excited to try it. Today the stars aligned and we were able to get up there! Overall, impressed with the flavors they bring and there were some real standouts, but including a couple of points of criticism as well.

1. Anelya’s Morning Smashburger: wow! This was like a breakfast Reuben?! A unique offering as far as brunch burgers go and addicting. The housemade sausage smash patty and the cabbage egg blended beautifully with the melty cheese and special sauce; this isn’t going to feel very burgery to you but it certainly will make you happy.

2. Big Ukrainian Breakfast Plate: my wife called this girl brunch but I’d venture to say this is enjoyable for any gender, any time of day (although it is only available for brunch lol). The beets were really great and all of the other odds and ends, but the perfect bite was really the PQ bread slathered in the housemade porcini butter and topped with a marinate sprat. This plate could sprat me in the face any time. I’d bathe in the porcini butter, too.

3. Chicken Shawarma: while there was good flavor and eye individual ingredients were good, something felt a bit imbalanced here. In particular, there was a component that was a bit overpoweringly smoky – not sure if it was the chicken itself, the adjika, or the labneh sauce. Either way, a bit more chicken might’ve helped too. It wasn’t bad but I probably wouldn’t order it again. They did mention it was the last chicken shawarma they had so that may have played a role.

4. Vatrushka: this cream cheese filled pastry bun was delectable. We actually wished we had ordered 2 instead of having to share one.

5. Beet Chai Latte: again, a pretty unique offering that was surprising, fun, and delicious.

Other notes:

1. The dining room was sadly empty for the last hour or so of brunch service. I can’t speak for how busy it was earlier in the morning but I hope they do well now that they’re offering it.
2. We were really looking forward to trying one of the farmers cheese pancakes called syrnyky but they said they hadn’t gotten the cheese in today. This was disappointing and we’ll definitely be back another day to try it.
3. Since we were basically closing out brunch service, they gave us some cookies on the house on our way out. This was a super nice gesture! The staff here are always top notch.

If you’re looking for another unique twist on Ukrainian brunch, Anelya is worth adding to the rotation. Similar to Tryzub, you’re going to get some of the comfort fundamentals you’re looking for with subtle surprises and creativity that delight you. Enjoy!