There is not a great deal of fine dining available in Vitebsk, nor a great deal of variety. The best regarded restaurant for both atmosphere and food quality but not portion sizes is a newly-opened "Usad'ba", located in close proximity to city concert hall, and provides a portion of its menu in English. "Traktir" - is another famous dining venue, yet with arguable quality of food. There is also a good Chinese restaurant "Zolotoy Drakon" the Golden Dragon, another few short blocks away, which also issues its menu in English. "Cafe Teatralnoye," underneath the Yakub Kolas Theatre, has a fairly extensive menu and reasonably attractive dining area. Closer to midnight, the cafe hosts show-girls performances. Take a short stroll from "Ratusha" towards "Philharmonia" and on your right side you will find a stylish, cosy cafe "Melody" Lenina street, 65 with live music every weekday. There are numerous other smaller cafes around. Kiosks sell fast foods like hot dogs, "home-style" pizza slices, and 'Tchebureks', a student favorite of meat in fried crust. For some time, there was only one dedicated pizza restaurant, of middling quality but with a wide variety of toppings, sitting near the pedagogical and technological universities on Moskovski Prospekt. A new pizza restaurant, Arena, has opened in the center of the city. It is spotlessly clean, popular with locals and serves decent pizzas for around 10,000 rubles, including a vegetarian option. Late night dining is normally available only in dancing clubs.
Belarusian food is normally of the "meat and potatoes" variety. The best known Belarusian dish is "draniki," which are fried potato pancakes, frequently filled with meat, that are best served with sour cream. "Draniki" is a common specialty in Slavic countries like Russia, Ukraine or Poland. "Kotlety" or pork cutlets, are also a regional favorite. Mushrooms from the local forests add a rich flavor to many local dishes, and fresh fish from the regions lakes also make for delicious entrees. Soups are absolutely not to be missed. Salads will typically throw the typical out-of-towner off. Leafy greens are extremely far and few between. Instead, Belarusian salads are normally some combination of rice, mayonnaise, mushrooms, chopped boiled eggs, and other flavorings. The best comparison, in texture and flavor, would be to American potato or chicken salads. The closest to a purely vegan salad to be found would be chopped cucumber and tomatoes in oil. Vitebsk's proximity to Russia has had an impact on the variety of dishes served. For authentic Belarusian cuisine it would be advisable to go to Minsk or a nearby agro-tourist community. More information could be found at (http://eng.belarustourism.by/)
