Veselka’s Delicious Legacy, in Five Iconic Dishes
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There’s one thing that hasn’t changed since Wolodymry Darmochwal and his wife, Olha, opened Veselka on 2nd Avenue in 1954: All of their perfect, pudgy pierogi are still made by hand.
And even though there have been some significant evolutions over the last 70 years — for example, in the mid-70s, the menu expanded beyond Ukrainian recipes, adding burgers, grilled cheese, and chicken soup — third-generation owner Jason Birchard says Ukrainian classics are here to stay, thanks to the patronage of both loyalists and first-time patrons alike.
The original Veselka is a fixture of the East Village, welcoming famous diners like Anthony Bourdain, Julianne Moore, Graham Nash, Paul Giamatti, and Adam Sandler, but you should know there’s no special treatment given to any diner over the other. It’s still the kind of place that’s for everyone. “We’re not the type to take a photo with a celebrity and put it on the walls,” says Birchard. “Everyone is treated the same at Veselka.”
That same hospitality can be found across the East River, too, at the newer outpost of Veselka (Williamsburg), established in 2024 and located at the corner of Lorimer and Meeker, just below the Brooklyn Queens Expressway in Brooklyn. The menu is nearly a carbon copy of the East Village location — though, the Brooklyn location has a full liquor license — with golden-fried latkes, borscht, super satisfying stuffed cabbage and many other Eastern European stalwarts, like beef stroganoff and chicken paprikash.
Birchard, now 58 years old, began working in the East Village Veselka as a teenager. In 2020, he took over the business from his father, Tom. Alongside his first cousin, Justin Birchard, who’s 20 years his junior, the pair aims to bring Veselka into its next era without forgetting the details that have made it a classic all these years.
So, with that, here’s a closer look at Veselka’s most popular dishes — the ones no first timer should overlook, and the ones regulars can never get enough of.
The Resy Rundown
Veselka
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Why We Like It
We’ve likely all eaten here at an hour that could only be described as “wee” and “of the morning.” The food is worthy of all the hype and more at this classic restaurant that’s earned every one of its more than 70 years in business. -
Essential Dishes
Pierogi; borscht; latkes; holubsti; and medovyk. -
Must-Order Drinks
Soda fountain classics, e.g. milkshakes, egg creams, and cherry lime Rickeys, but if you’re into beer, Veselka’s very own Pilsner from Threes Brewing is always on tap at both locations. Polish import, Zywiec, a pale lager, is a good idea, too.
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Who and What It’s For
Everyone in or coming through the East Village or Williamsburg, day or night. -
How to Get In
Reservations for both Veselka East Village and Veselka Williamsburg drop 30 days in advance. -
Fun Fact
The original East Village location of Veselka has appeared in numerous TV shows, including Anthony Bourdain’s last episode of “Parts Unknown,” and movies like “Ocean’s Eight” (2018).
1. Pierogi
A 10-person, all-women crew has been hand-crimping Veselka’s iconic pierogi (varenyky in Ukrainian) ever since Birchard can remember. Adjacent to the Brooklyn restaurant is a 3,500-square-foot commissary kitchen that’s mostly used for pierogi prep for both restaurants, as well as for stands in Grand Central and Madison Square Garden, a thriving direct-to-consumer business — putting the potato-y pillows in reach by mail — and a soon-to-be freezer in your favorite local supermarket.
“My grandmother [Olha] would make them once a week as a treat, more than enough for the day (around 100), and would share with different family members. She didn’t believe in freezing anything, so we ate them fresh,” Birchard recalls. Between both restaurants, they’re currently making 5,000 to 6,000 pierogis a day, and that number only ramps up during the holiday season.
The classic preparation is boiled, but many patrons prefer them to be fried. “I grew up on them pan-fried,” says Birchard. “Depending on the time of day, you might want fried [dumplings] to soak things up.”
At all times of day, Veselka offers classic pierogi fillings like potato, short rib, or braised beef (which Birchard considers the ultimate luxury), as well as fresh, tangy farmer’s cheese, arugula and goat cheese, or sauerkraut with mushroom — all of which can be mixed and matched. They are not, however, precious about experimentation. In the past, there’s been a Katz’s Delicatessen crossover pastrami pierogi, aka “pastrogi,” a chocolate-filled dessert offering with Tony’s Chocolonely, and recently, a Ukrainian hot pocket à la Ace’s Pizza. Birchard says they’re working on a spicy chicken rendition with Heatonist next.
On weekends only, Veselka offers bacon, egg, and cheese pierogi, served with a savory chipotle ketchup mayo as opposed to the standard ramekins of sour cream and fried onions as toppings.
2. Borscht
Nothing is perhaps more symbolic of Ukrainian food culture than borscht; in 2022, the dish was added to UNESCO’s National Inventory of Elements of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Well worth the inevitability of beet-stained hands, borscht is served cold from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and hot during the cooler months, “It’s a meal in and of itself,” says Birchard.
The key element of Veselka’s borscht is the taproot of the beet plant. It also packs in potatoes, cabbage, lima beans and pork shoulder, as well as a dollop of sour cream on top and a slice of challah on the side.
“We make more than 500 gallons [of borscht] a week across the company now,” says Birchard. The soup, which is made twice a week, takes two days to prepare and, up until a few years ago, was made by one woman: Malgorcata Sibilski. Luckily, she mentored another member of the team, and now it’s a shared responsibility. In 2010 and in 2020, Veselka’s borscht was voted “Best Thing In A Bowl” by Food Network.
Look out for Veselka’s Christmas borscht post-Thanksgiving, which has a “clear,” brothy base, as opposed to their chunkier version. “The pierogi department makes a half-sized mushroom dumping called eushka, which means ‘little ear’ in Ukrainian,” for this bowl, Birchard explains.
3. Latkes
Veselka’s gleaming, half-foot-wide potato pancakes are handmade, shallow-fried, and found throughout their menu. And while they are ubiquitous, the process to make them is labor intensive.
At Brooklyn’s commissary kitchen, bulky bags of Idaho Russets are emptied out and put through a potato peeler machine. A big basket roughly grates much of the skin off the potatoes, and then the kitchen crew removes any black spots by hand. The tubers are then put through a food processor to be shredded, and eggs are added with salt and black pepper. “It’s a group effort,” Birchard says, pointing to the multi-step latke preparation. “It’s very labor intensive; people don’t understand why we charge $6; it might just be potatoes, but a lot of time is put into that.”
At Veselka, potato pancakes act as bread, taking the place of English muffins in the latke eggs Benedict — only available during weekend brunch — made with two poached eggs, Krakovska Polish ham, and a generous pour of hollandaise sauce. They’re the meat-alternative in a vegetarian version of a Reuben sandwich, made with housemade sauerkraut, Ukrainian dressing, and melted Swiss. Latkes also get tucked into the breakfast burrito as a filling, stuffed aside kielbasa, cheddar, and scrambled eggs rolled in a flour tortilla. A Veselka combo plate comes with a latke (of course), stew (beef stroganoff, veal goulash, or chicken paprikash) and a cup of soup on the side. But if you’re only in it for their beloved latkes, you can order singles with sour cream and applesauce.
4. Holubsti
These softened cabbage leaves are wrapped around fistfuls of either pork and rice, or rice with sauerkraut and mushrooms, before being baked in an aluminum foil-covered hotel pan for a couple hours. Diners get to choose their sauce: a glossy mushroom gravy or a tangy tomato. “The majority of orders are mushroom gravy,” says Birchard. “Savory tomato is mostly on meat.”
Veselka’s holubsti, like their other dishes, are quite the production. “Our produce guy knows very specifically to get us larger heads of green cabbage,” boasts Birchard. Each week, 500 pounds of cabbage are cooked both for this stuffed cabbage dish and borscht. For holubsti, the cabbage heads are first cored, with their outer leaves peeled away, frozen, and then thawed. “The elasticity is better, and then it’s easier to fill and roll,” Birchard explains about the process.
5. Medovyk
This honey cake is a fundamental dessert in Ukrainian culture, featuring a fluffy, buttery crumb, half a dozen layers of cake spread with smetana, aka sweetened sour cream (which will convert all you cream cheese frosting fanatics), and a sprinkling of walnuts. It’s then refrigerated, which lets its spongy layers soak in all the sweet and sour goodness. It’s also very involved, “if not meticulous work,” to make sure each layer is evenly distributed. Birchard notes this labor of love, and opts for medovyk over Veselka’s own apple crumb, carrot cake, or cheesecake any day.
“A multi-layered cake was at every special occasion,” Birchard recalls, who often celebrated with medovyk on birthdays, holidays and otherwise. “It was off the menu for years,” he says, “and we only reintroduced it five years ago”.
So, have a slice, or consider buying a whole cake, as it’s even better the next day and the day after. бу́дьмо (Cheers in Ukrainian).
Veselka East Village and Veselka Williamsburg are open daily.
Michael Harlan Turkell is a food photographer, writer, and cookbook author. He most recently hosted the Modernist Pizza Podcast, and continues to explore the art, history, and science of many foodways. Follow him on Instagram and X. Follow Resy, too.
