Odessa Restaurant Tips by bilgeez

Restaurant Name: Kobe

Kobe is centrally located near the Opera House, Pushkin Park and Potemkin Stairs. It is near the Londonskaya and Mozart Hotels. (Pretty much in between them).
The restaurant has a modern/ pseudo- Japanese look. Has bright, open seating area. Sushi bar section where we ate was intimate and appealing, clean and bright.
Service was excellent, but we were only diners in Sushi bar at that time. Music being played over speakers was American Jazz! I liked the tunes, but they could have played traditional Japanese music to keep in theme.
The restaurant is not cheap, by any standards, but it is very good!

Favorite Dish: We chose to have California rolls, vegetable rolls and ahi rolls along with miso soup and a small serving of warmed sake. All was excellent. The miso soup, was superb! The most authentic Japanese food I've had outside of my friends' kitchen in Phoenix!
All was presented in authentic style and was a good value even though it was very expensive for Odessa and even for USA. The sushi servings were eight, eight and six, pieces of each type of sushi, respectively.
The miso was a generous portion with tiny button mushrooms in a light miso broth. They also served a small bento-style salad, and Japanese tea with the meal.

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Theme: Japanese/Sushi
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$31-40  » Currency Converter
Phone: 26-98-06
Address: 9 Lanjeronovskaya
Directions: Across from Opera House, near Puskin Park and Potemkin Stairs

Restaurant Name: Zara Pizzaria

Pleasant city centre, indoor-outdoor cafe, restaurant. Nice wicker furniture. Not on the busiest corner of Odessa but close to city centre and if one sits in the right spot of the outdoor seating area, one can view the Opera House.
Restaurant offers wide range of Italian cuisine and pizza. Has Italian desserts, such as tiramiso and Italian coffee drinks.
Not expensive, we had pizza and beers for less than $10 US for two people. But there are less expensive pizza places in Odessa, but I doubt quality and service is better.
Nice wine list, but short beer list, one can only order Beck's or Stella Artois beer there, surprisingly none of the fine local or CIS beers are offered. But prices for above are reasonable considering they are imports.
If one is used to American Pizza, they may be disappointed, the crust is very thin, like a cracker, almost, but if one has traveled in Europe, that is de riguer for pizza there. I thought it was very tasty and the 30 cm pizza we ordered filled us up and was satisfying.
Tatyana was an excellent server and seemed very motivated to make sure that we had the pleasant experience we did.

Favorite Dish: We ordered the good-old American staple, pepperoni and mozzarella pizza. I didn't get anything fancy because I wanted to see how they did a simple pizza. It was very good. Good quality pepperoni and lots of 'em and good, stringy mozzarella. Sauce was pleasant and not too spicy or sweet.
Most pizzas on menu were under about $7 US, so if one were to go with a date and have a half-litre of beer or a glass of wine with the pizza it wouldn't cost more than $15, total. Most expensive dish I noticed on the menu was a fish dish that was about $9 US. Not a big dent to the wallet. And in such a location as Zara is in, it is a real bargain!

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Theme: Italian
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Phone: 728-8888
Address: 5 Rishelevskaya
Directions: Up from the Opera House about a block
diagonally from corner of Wax Museum.

Restaurant Name: Buffalo 99

Buffalo 99 is the closest I've seen to an American-style bistro-restaurant in Odessa.
This bistro has a decent menu for what is Odessa's answer for the sports bar. It has American, German and Russo-Ukrainian fare on the menu. Read below for more detail.
The two times I was there, there were Premier League games, with Russian commentary, blaring from the several big screen TVs strategically located throughout, so one does not have to turn one's head to watch them, no matter where one sits, even at the bar.
It is similar to TGI Friday's or Applebee's, they even serve Miller Genuine Draft, but I didn't touch it! I drank Stella Artois, and they have Beck's and several other's on tap, as well. They seem to serve more tea than beer, however.
It is a clean, bright place and many families were there, it is not trashy or a dive by any means! It is not cheap, but not very expensive, either. I paid about $12 for myself the first time I was there and under $40 for three the second, and we pigged! Also, if one sits at the bar they get 20% off their total bill during the week! This incentive is given, I feel, to keep the tables free for more than one customer, as I noticed this place is pretty full both times I went there and whenever I passed by it.
Also, they have menus in English! Pasha, the bartender, speaks fairly good English, too.

Favorite Dish: Their American bistro fare is pretty good, the wings were a bit smallish, but were well done and had blue cheese and salsa dips to accompany. The potato skins, also were smallish, but very tasty, loaded with cheese and bacon,and come with sour cream. They also have hamburgers and steak on the menu, but I did not try these, from what I saw, however, they looked good! For more local fare, I had pork shashlik there, my first trip, and it was excellent! It came with fries and roasted green pepper and onion, of course. They also have other Russian-Ukrainian meals. Also, what seemed very good, is my friend's son had Wiener Schnitzel and it appeared very authentic, complete with fried egg on top! He said it was excellent. Knowing what a fussy eater he is, I would believe that it was. I'll have to try that next time I go!
This place has a wide variety of local and western cuisine, it seems all very well prepared and presented. I will go back when I go back to Odessa again!

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Theme: American
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 34 83 99
Address: Rishalevskaya 7
Directions: Buffalo 99 is located on the same street as Zara Pizzaria, about a block south of the Opera House, on Rishalevskaya Blvd.
Is not far from Potemkin Stairs, about three blocks or so.