• A patron must ask for check in a restaurant,
• Servers tend not to check back with clientel once food is delivered.
• In restaurants, it is expected of foreigners to tip 10%. Ukrainians themselves tend to tip significantly less.
• Many items are often on the menu but not available.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union the number of resturaunts has increased a hundred fold,
even though the average Ukranian can rarely afford a restaraunt.

Many nightclubs and hotels also have their own resturants.

A few warnings from the Kiev Post about dining in Ukraine:

First, dishes, usually meat may be priced and measured in grams.

For example:You expect to pay Hr 10 for an order of shashlyk only to receive a nasty
shock upon receiving the bill and realize you’ve been charged Hr 40 or more.

The reason: In most cases, you haven’t been taken for a ride but the shashlyk may be
priced at Hr 10 per 100 gram serving. Since a typical shashlyk serving is 200 grams,
that immediately doubles the price. The simple way to avoid a nasty surprise is to specify
that you want one portion only or an approproximate number in grams.

Second, Cocktails are new to Ukraine.There’s rarely a standard alcohol or size,
and therefore standard price for a gin-tonic, or rum-, whiskey- or any mixed drink or
multiple-liqueur cocktail. There’s also no such thing as a “bar whiskey” --a reasonable,
non premium brand to be used in all drinks requiring whiskey unless you stipulate otherwise.

The result: Prices for something as simple as a vodka-tonic can vary wildly – even in the
same bar and even on the same night. It all depends on who’s taking the order and who’s pouring it.