Little Europe

Sharing a strip mall with the Turkish grocery called Nazar, the Ukrainian-owned venue known as Little Europe Restaurant presents a taste of the former Soviet Union without having to venture to Leetsdale & Oneida.

Little Europe serves as both restaurant and lounge. They have live music there some nights, and really, you haven't lived until you've heard a middle-aged Ukrainian man sing "All my Exes Live in Texas".

But let's get back to the food shall we? Possible starters include the hearty beet soup called Borscht, or even some Vareniki (pillowy potato dumplings). Then try their Beef Stroganoff - I know, it's clichéd, but when a dish is this creamy and savory, you've got to taste it right? You could also order the flattened-and-fried Chicken Tabaka, or even the butter-stuffed wonder you may be familiar with as Chicken Kiev. The menu also features representatives from Italy, Hungary and elsewhere.

During one of my meals, I wondered why people kept going back and forth to a curtain-covered room in front of me. I asked about it, thinking it was some special, secret party space. It turned out to be the bathroom. Oh, the waitress and I laughed and laughed about that one. But as bathrooms go it was pretty clean.

Anyway, enough outhouse talk. Get thee to Little Europe!

I spent a good part of last year traveling around Russia & a bit of Ukraine. This place felt right out of those countries. The decor particularly hits you: despite being in a nondescript strip mall like many ethnic restaurants, this interior is incredibly, almost gaudily over the top, but in an extremely authentic way.

The food is a great value and focuses on Ukrainian/Russian basics with a few Italian surprises to try to please everyone. It's not high cuisine but the staples you find in just about every Russian restaurant. The differences are that this place actually has everything listed on their menu, and the waiter was very nice & helpful -- if a bit Euro-casual for the American temperament, so don't plan to be in-and-out in less than 90 minutes minimum.

We went on a random weeknight, so only a couple tables were occupied, but I'm sure the vibe is very different when there's live music.

I can't even give this place one star. It was empty. Service was slow and the food was horrible. I ordered the chicken kiev. Cut into it and it didn't look like chicken. Still raw and not recognizable. The appetizer had hair. The soda was flat. When I said it was flat I was brought another flat soda.
I will never forget this place. Not very friendly. No one was in there but my family and when two ladies did show up they didn't stay long.
My kids ordered the stroganoff. Their faces said it all...yuck! No stars wasn't available.

Subpar food, inconsistent pricing policies (went on two different occassions - once I got a free refill, another time I didn't), dead atmosphere, and not exactly a pretty restaurant. I used their bathroom and it was clean, but there was an unattended burning scented candle. Ummm... dangerous a bit?

They close on a Friday night if they don't get enough business. They close when they have parties or a wedding or any function and turn you away at the door. I once called and they said they were open, 45 minute drive later they were closed. I don't see myself ever going back and I sure don't know how they can afford to stay open.

The Boy and I took our buddy Joe here for his birthday this evening. The place was completely empty save for us and the incredibly kind young Eastern European man who was our host/server/chef. The cool thing about Little Europe is that it the good was good and the bad had a way of making itself endearing. Case in point: the space appears to be a converted Chinese Cafe complete with cheap laminate tables and those ubiquitous metal-and-padding chairs you see in all greasy spoon establishments. But the proprietors of Little Europe put fine white table cloths down over the tables, pretty slip covers over all chairs, and even hung little chandeliers from the dropped-tile ceiling! Too cute!

The service was slow but i'm pretty sure that was due to the one man staff and that fact that he was making everything fresh. The potato dumplings were a bit bland, but the entrees (chicken kiev, beef stroganoff, and chicken parmiagiana) more than made up for that. The portion size was very generous, especially when it came to the two chicken plates. The chicken on both dishes was perfectly breaded and moist; the beef in the stroganoff was fall-off-the-bone tender. Everyone agreed that the big winner of the evening was the garlic and dill seasoned potato fritters (a.k.a. steak fries) that came as a side dish with my Chicken Kiev: that seasoning was TO DIE FOR!! The birthday boy ate about half the fritters off of my plate and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he came in and just ordered a plateful one of these days.

Bottom line: it's got its quirks, but all and all definitely worth a try and a good value for the price.

I went to Little Europe with my husband's family on his birthday. There were six of us, and we were having a late night. We called the restaurant at 8:45 and asked if it would be ok for us to come in right around 9:00, which is when they close, and the woman was so gracious about it, it caught me completely off-guard. When we got there, her graciousness combined with inviting enthusiasm was absolutely charming. The restaurant is not very large, but it seems like it turns into quite the party venue... stocked with an awesome bar (which includes great European beers I had never seen elsewhere) and a rockin DJ booth. The decor was mainly deep red, which, combined with the intimacy of the place (we were the only ones there!) definitely adds to a quaint, romantic atmosphere. I never got the name of our server (who I think is also the owner), but she was a joy! She was very helpful with her recommendations, and her smile certainly eased our minds, as far as us getting there so late. After we left the restuarant, our family lingered in the shopping plaza for a minute looking at all of the other ethnic stores there (a Russian Banya, a Turkish grocery store, a Thai place, etc)

Now, on to the food...
For appetizers, we ordered the Sicilian Bay Prawns, Potato Latkes, and Russian Meat Dumplings. Everything tasted amazing! I would definitely order ALL of the above again and recommend them to all my friends.

For dinner, My husband and I ordered the Chicken Kiev and Lulya Kebab and split both. The kabob entree was amazing-- we both agreed we'd definitely order it next time we ate at the restaurant. The Chicken Kiev was also good, but I prefer saucy dishes, and am not a huge fan of chicken breast... so it was a tad dry for my taste. The kabob was a 10/10, whereas the chicken would be a 7/10.
The rest of the family loved everything they ordered, as well. I can't remember it all, but there was goulash (which smelled amazing!), chicken kabob (also looked great... it came with veggies and seemed very appetizing. My husband had a bite of the chicken and loved it as well), and shrimp in spinach sauce. I had a bit of the latter, and it was good, but I'm glad it's not what I ordered; the sauce was a bit bland compared to other items on the menu (I like things spicy!).

Dessert was spectacular! We shared Baklava (phenomenal!) and cappucino mousse cake with whipped cream, which the owner brought out with a candle on top (so sweet!).

So, as a quick overview, for those who didn't want to hear my whole schpiel:

Service- 5/5
Venue- 4.5/5
Food- 4.5/5

The restaurant was the meeting place for a single professional dating group called "La Clef d'Or". The group was supposed to be meeting for a swing jazz concert from "Gypsy Swing Revue". The playbill advertised a meal/cover combination for $15.

An unidentified man told me to sit down anywhere after I had been standing near the front for several minutes. He didn't seem to have any knowledge of the group that I was supposedly meeting and had an evasive demeanor. I recognized the organizer of "La Clef d'Or", Lidia Widgery, working around the restaurant. She only spoke to me to ask if I had ordered and made no mention of the dating group, which is why I think it was a front to make money for the restaurant.

My salad was served promptly by the timid young waitress, but I waited almost an hour for my main course; shrimp and scallop stroganoff. The noodles were only partially cooked, the sauce was watery, and the overall flavor was vapid. The unidentified man leaned over my shoulder several time during my dinner and had alcohol on his breath. The bill that was delivered to me amounted to the menu price of the meal. The man claimed that I had not reserved properly and refused to grant the price advertised on the bulletin. He motioned furtively for me to follow him while I was paying the bill and produced a half-full bottle of Jameson and offered me a shot. I don't drink and politely declined although I was very offended at that point. I will never return to this restaurant and will be posting a similar review for "La Clef d'Or".

What a quirky little place. We were waited on by the owner. Only a couple of tables were full. I ordered the Hugarian Gulyash with potatoes. It was really very good. It had a nice taste and was well prepared.

The owner was nice and she seemed saddened when I told her she had overall good reviews on Yelp - but a couple of bad ones. In retrospect I wish I wouldn't have told her.

Apparently there is Gypsy music on Friday or Saturday nights.

But it's worth a try if you want something unique in an out of the way spot.

I found this place by "accident" a couple of years ago.
Am i glad i did.
I have gotten there right before closing at noon and the owner still took the time to serve me.
After she served me, she sat down and had lunch with me.
Where to start...
The Latkes and Pelmini are to die for.
The Bortsch is also awesome, and i normally don't like Beets.
The Gulyash with Potatoes,
Beef Stroganoff with Pasta,
Chicken Parmagiano with Pasta,
Those were some of the dishes that i have there in the past,
and they all were approved by picky taste buds,
including the russian Soda KVAS.
Since i found this place, i've been back several times.
i've even brought other friends with me and they love this place.
i've made several new life long friends since coming here.
I highly recommend this place.

I really enjoyed this place. It's tiny but the food is delicious. It was just my fiancé and I in the entire resturaunt so that was nice. I recommend the dumplings!