Mari Vanna DC -Russian Restaurant near Dupont Circle

On Friday, I went to Mari Vanna DC, a Russian restaurant located between Dupont Circle and Farragut North. I enjoyed my first Russian restaurant experience there, so decided to share my review on Mari Vanna here.

The decor of the restaurant was very cute, food was awesome, even the drinks and cakes were so tasty.

Some of the reviews on the yelp say the service was not t good, but I found our server was nice and I was satisfied with the service. He always came to our table at the right timing, when it is about the time we should think for the next order. We were group of 6 and with lots to catch up and were busy talking, so it was helpful that server came to ask for the next order so that we could enjoy the food as well. (You know, when you are too busy chatting, sometimes you forget to enjoy the food…)

Only con I have about Mari Vanna is that everything was in a little pricy side.
Though the decor and the atmosphere was cute, it was not like upscaled fancy dining type, but rather a casual and cosy type, so I felt the price was little too high for the place.

We spent about $55 each person, with only one drink each and they weren’t even alcohol beverages.
If you are a drinker I assume the price would be much expensive since the food was too good you will feel like you wanna pair them with drinks. (Unfortunately I can’t drink because I am prego….)

 

Outside look of the Mari Vanna.
It looks like European bistro.

 

Inside the restaurant.
Lighting decor was pretty and photogenic.

 

Menu board. 

They have several unique flavored fresh lemonades. 
I tasted Blackcurrant & Mint Lemonade and Watermelon and Basil Lemonade. 
Both were very good. Not too sweet and refreshing.
Since I can not drink alcohol , I like if the restaurants that have this kind of good nonalcoholic choices. 

They also have fresh squeezed juices of Apple, Orange, Carrot, Grapefruits, Spring Mix. 

Lemonades are $8 for a glass, and the fresh squeezed juices are $10 for a glass. 

 

Appetizers we had.

Adjarski Khachapuri, a traditional Georgian hot pie stuffed with Cheese and topped with half baked egg. ($18)

You mix the egg and cheese inside the pie and eat.
If you love melting cheese, this was so cheesy and good. 

Blinis, Russian crepes with sour cream and salmon roe. ($21)

Salmon Roe!!! Wooo-Hoo! 
Yes, I’m from Japan, grown up eating sushi, so I LOVE salmon roe! I guess most Japanese people would be excited to eat salmon roe, especially if they are living in the states.

This was my first time eating salmon roe in this style, but it was pretty good. 
This really made me want to drink white wine……

 

Siberian Pelmeni, traditional hand-made Russian dumplings stuffed with pork and beef. ($18)
The meat dumpling and sour cream combination was good. 

Pirozhki. ($11/4)
You can choose different fillings from  Beef, Egg&Onion, Cabbage, Potato, Chicken, Spinach&Cheese, and Apple&Cinnamon.

We tried Beef and Potato Pirozhki.
Both are good. Everyone said the beef one tasted little like Chinese cha siu buns.
Bread has little sweet taste and that make the taste little like cha siu buns I guess. 
The potato filling had nice herb (dill?) twist. 

Entrees 1:  Half Roasted Duck. ($29)
This was my personal favorite!!! The duck’s taste was soooo good. 
I definitely order this again next time. 

The menu said it was marinated 24 hours before baked. It was very moist and flavorful.
It came with berry sauce (cranberry?) and cabbage side. 

 

Entrees 2: Beef Stroganoff ($27)
The taste was good, but it was my first time trying beef stroganoff, so I didn’t have expectation nor experience to compare with…..

It came with buckwheat as a side. The cream sauce of the beef stroganoff and the buckwheat combination was new for me, but I liked it. (only thing was the buckwheat was too filling. )

 

Entrees 3: Chicken Kiev ($24)

 Outside was so crispy and if you cut the chicken, the butter sauce floods out. Amazing how the sauce was trapped inside. 

The chicken itself was little too dry for me, but it was breast meat so it can’t be avoided I think. If you like chicken breast then it should be fine. I am just not a big fan of the breast meat. 

The side mushed potato had lemony flavor and interesting.

Homemade cakes for Desserts!

Medovik, traditional Russian honey layered cake ($10)
Napoleon, layers of puffy pastry, vanilla cream and roasted caramelized pecan on top ($10)
Kiev Cake, gluten free meringue with walnuts and chocolate cream ($10)

All the cakes were very good! 
Actually I was looking forward to have cakes here when I saw the photos online. 
They didn’t disappoint my expectation at all.
My favorite was the Medovik. 

They were not too sweet type of cake, if you like the buttery and sugary American style cakes….then this might not be your cup of tea. Otherwise these cakes are awesome.

 

 

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Mari Vanna 

Address:
 1141 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
(b/t N M St & N Desales St)

Website:
http://www.marivanna.ru/washington/

Yelp:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mari-vanna-washington-2

TEL: (202) 783-7777

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Hope you visit and enjoy the Mari Vanna experience! 

Eliza