Lviv – Pravda Beer Theatre

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this bar, but the frontage was certainly rather impressive. There was also a friendly vibe from the customers hanging around outside and inside the entrance, so it felt a safe environment.

The whole impression of the bar was no less impressive once we’d entered. On the ground floor is a shop selling bottled beer and other related items, with drinkers welcome in a large bar area.

We went up to the first floor where there is a dining area which looks down onto the shop on the ground floor. The band is visible playing in the background.

I was slightly disappointed that given the size of the operation that the bar didn’t have any of their darker beers. However, they had the Red Eyes, which I’d had the previous day at another bar, and the taste of this was fine. It was served at the appropriate slightly chilled temperature and had a pleasant citrus taste.

Some of the internal advertising of the beer, some of which is quite brave to say the least.

I went for the half chicken and the fish balls, which were both served as bigger portions than I had expected. I had intended for the fish balls to come as a starter, but it didn’t make much difference to the whole proceedings.

The fish balls had a tender flavour with a crispy exterior, and the tartare sauce also tasted home-made. The chicken was excellent, the crispy onion added texture and the potato wedges had some flavour on the coating. The chicken was tender and moist, with some spice on the coating of the skin. The food was well presented and I felt represented really good value for money, coming to around £5 in total.

A view down onto the shop area. There was live music which started playing at 19:00 and we had an excellent view of that. I must admit that for my personal preferences I didn’t like the volume of the music, but the quality of the music was decent. I understand though that there’s a quieter part of the restaurant available for anyone who wants to eat away from the music.

All in all, I thought that there was real theatre to the whole location, which is rather what is promised in the bar’s name. The service was friendly, attentive and helpful, with the staff member speaking excellent English. The bar accepted both cash and card and I felt that the pricing was competitive given the quality of the experience.