Eating like home in London: 16 addresses checked against the hygiene register

Lists of "Russian restaurants in London" all look the same: twenty names, no phone numbers, half of them closed a year ago. We did it differently — checked every address against the government's food hygiene register, read what each venue says about itself, and put the things such lists never mention right at the top.

Two honest findings, one of them bad.

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The first. Not one of the venues we checked says on its own website that Russian is spoken. Not one. There are indirect signs — a Russian version of the site, a Ukrainian language toggle, reviews mentioning Georgian-speaking staff — but no direct promise anywhere. So we do not make one either: ask by phone.

The second. Live music in Russian has all but disappeared from London. The genre's main venue, Erebuni on Carthusian Street, has closed: its own site displays "Apologies we are CLOSED", and there is no entry under that name in the hygiene register at all. What is left is below, and it is honestly not much.

How to read the hygiene ratings

For each venue we give the Food Standards Agency rating and the date it was awarded. The scale runs 0 to 5, where 5 is "very good". The date matters as much as the number: a 5 from 2022 describes how things stood four years ago.

You can check any venue yourself at ratings.food.gov.uk, free, by name or address.

Russian

ZIMA — Soho

• 45 Frith Street, W1D 4SD · Tottenham Court Road / Leicester Square
• 020 7494 9111 · zima.restaurant
• Mon–Thu 12:00–22:00, Fri–Sun 12:00–22:30
• Hygiene: 5, awarded 19 August 2024

And karaoke, the only regular scheduled entertainment on this list. ZIMA Bar & Karaoke runs in the basement, entered through the side door: Friday and Saturday, 18:00–01:00, £10 entry. The venue promises "a wide selection of our modern Russian cuisine just what's needed for those vodka shots".

There is a first-floor room for private events, a terrace, off-site catering and group menus.

Separately: the Notting Hill branch no longer appears on ZIMA's own site — only Soho remains.

Mari Vanna — Knightsbridge

• 116 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7PJ · Knightsbridge
• 020 8050 5534, WhatsApp +44 7417 460287 · marivannalondon.co.uk
• Hygiene: 5, awarded 12 March 2026 — the most recent among the Russian venues

The restaurant is trading: both its published hours and the March inspection confirm it. But one thing is worth knowing. At Companies House, MARI VANNA LIMITED is recorded as in administration, with the registered office moved to an administrator's address and accounts to 31 March 2024 overdue.

That does not mean it will close tomorrow — companies in administration continue to trade. But if you are booking a function with a deposit, ask which legal entity the contract is with. Incidentally the old marivanna.co.uk domain now leads to an unfinished online shop; the working site is marivannalondon.co.uk.

Ukrainian

OLE KYIV — Old Street

• Unit 1, 145 City Road, EC1V 1LP · Old Street
• +44 7417 490766 · olekyiv.uk · Ukrainian version of the site available
• Hygiene: 5, awarded 28 October 2025

The only venue on this list with regular concerts in a native language. Its own events page advertises touring Ukrainian artists: Arsen Mirzoyan, KRISTONKO, DOMIY, Nikita Kiselev, and Natalia Valevska on 8 November 2026.

There is a dedicated banquets page, private dining and a full separate vegan menu. Opening hours are not published — call.

Mriya Neo Bistro — Earl's Court

• 275 Old Brompton Road, SW5 9JA · West Brompton / Earl's Court
• mriyaneobistro.com (the .co.uk domain does not work — do not confuse them)
• Hygiene: 5, awarded 14 October 2025

Modern Ukrainian cooking: open fire, borsch, varenyky, a garden. Hours are not published; booking via SevenRooms.

Georgian — the largest group

Little Georgia — two addresses

• Islington: 14 Barnsbury Road, N1 0HB · Angel — 020 7278 6100 — Tue–Sun 18:00–22:00. Hygiene: 5, 29 April 2025
• Hackney: 87 Goldsmith Row, E2 8QR · Cambridge Heath — 020 7739 8154 — Tue–Fri 18:00–22:00, Sat–Sun 13:00–22:00, BYO with £5 corkage. Hygiene: 5, 1 February 2025
• littlegeorgia.co.uk · mains £11–£19.75

A family place of more than fifteen years, Soviet-era retro interior, Georgian wines and chacha.

Kartuli — East Dulwich

• 65 Lordship Lane, SE22 8EP · East Dulwich rail, 9 minutes' walk
• 020 8299 4989 · kartuli.co.uk
• Hygiene: 5, awarded 1 May 2025

There is a wine shop attached — by its own account "one of the most extensive ranges of Georgian wines and spirits available in the UK". It runs a tasting club: Saperavi Saturdays, Wine Wednesdays, and dinners by region — eastern Georgia, western, Apkhazian, Tbilisian.

Geamos — St John's Wood

• 122 Boundary Road, NW8 0RH · Swiss Cottage
• +44 7540 477982 · geamos.co.uk
• Mon closed; Tue–Fri 18:00–23:00; Sat 12:00–23:00; Sun 12:00–22:00
• Hygiene: 5, awarded 8 August 2026 — the most recent inspection on the list
• Starters £12–17, mains £22–26

Tbilisi — Holloway

• 91 Holloway Road, N7 8LT · Highbury & Islington
• 020 7607 2536 · the website does not load
• Hygiene: 5, but awarded 4 August 2022 — the oldest on this list, four years ago
• Around £25 a head

A listing reports live traditional Georgian music on the last Saturday of the month. To be clear: that comes from a directory rather than from the venue, and the restaurant's own website is down. Call and confirm — the phone works.

Uzbek and Central Asian

Samarkand — Dalston

• 30–32 Stoke Newington Road, N16 7XJ · Dalston Kingsland
• 020 7916 0460 · samarkandlondon.co.uk
• Daily 11:00–23:30
• Hygiene: 5, awarded 1 November 2025

HMC-certified halal. There is a traditional charpoy — a low platform seating up to eight. Private events accepted.

Marokand — Bow

• 431 Roman Road, E3 5LX · Bethnal Green / Mile End
• 07999 899377 — bookings by WhatsApp · marokand.co.uk
• Hygiene: 5, awarded 14 July 2026

Plov (osh), samsa, shashlik, lagman, manti and tandoor bread. Halal; private dining available.

OshPaz — Regent Street

• 7 Regent Street, SW1Y 4LR · Piccadilly Circus
• +44 7833 540306 · oshpaz.co.uk
• Hygiene: 5, awarded 22 January 2024

Uzbek cooking in the centre of town. The same team runs OshPaz Dumplings at Seven Dials Market, 35 Earlham Street, WC2H 9LX (hygiene 5, January 2025).

Uzbek Corner — two addresses

• Bayswater: Queensway Market, 23–25 Queensway, W2 3RR. Hygiene: 4, 20 July 2025
• Streatham: 2 Central Parade, Streatham High Road, SW16 1HT. Hygiene: 5, 1 December 2025

Both premises are trading — the register confirms it. But uzbekcorner.co.uk opens on an empty splash page: no hours, no phone, no menu. Turn up, or find a number on site.

Baltic, Caucasus, Moldova

Bernelių Užeiga (Shepherd's Inn) — Lithuanian, Beckton

• Beckton Tavern, 16 Mary Rose Mall, E6 5LX · Beckton (DLR)
• 020 8127 7080 · berneliaiuk.co.uk
• Hygiene: 5, awarded 3 September 2024 (registered as a pub/bar)

Cepelinai, šaltibarščiai, potato pancakes. There is a regular DJ night — the monthly "ZAMOK". Banquets, weddings, private parties and community events are a core part of the business.

Lusin Mayfair — Armenian

• 16–17 Hay Hill, W1J 8NY · Green Park / Bond Street
• +44 7768 447398 · lusinrestaurant.com/mayfair
• Daily 12:00–00:00
• Hygiene: 5, awarded 12 March 2024

Live music every Friday, 20:00–00:00: a saxophonist in two sets, plus DJs and live vocals. The venue warns that seats are limited and asks you to book.

Land of Fire — Azerbaijani, King's Cross

• 95 Caledonian Road, N1 9BT · King's Cross St Pancras
• 020 7278 0206 · landoffirerestaurant.com (landoffire.co.uk does not resolve)
• Mon closed; Tue–Thu 17:00–22:00; Fri 17:00–23:00; Sat 12:00–23:00; Sun 12:00–22:00
• Hygiene: 5, awarded 16 April 2026

Yaprak dolma, levengi — chicken with walnuts and onions. Halal.

Restaurant Moldova — Gants Hill

• 391 Eastern Avenue, Gants Hill, Ilford IG2 6LR · Gants Hill
• 07533 045257, 07946 830648 · restaurantmoldova.co.uk
• Mon closed; Tue–Thu 12:00–23:00; Fri and Sun 12:00–23:30; Sat 12:00–01:00
• Hygiene: 4, awarded 22 April 2026

The site is published in Romanian and English, and the restaurant describes itself as a gathering point for London's Romanian community. Sarmale, mici, papanași. Banquets are a core business — weddings, christenings and birthdays with bespoke menus. The 1am Saturday close speaks for itself.

What is not on the list, and why

Closed:

• Erebuni (Armenian-Russian, Carthusian Street) — its own site says "Apologies we are CLOSED" and there are no entries under that name in the hygiene register. This was London's main venue for live music in Russian.
• Baltic (74 Blackfriars Road) — the site is dead, the register shows nothing at that postcode, and another business occupies the premises.
• ZIMA Notting Hill — gone from the chain's own website.

Excluded on hygiene. One Georgian café in Haringey that still appears in "best Georgian" roundups holds a rating of 2 from an inspection on 12 March 2026. It is trading, we make no accusation and we do not name it — but it does not belong on a list people read as a recommendation.

Could not confirm. One Georgian group advertises a Pimlico branch on its own site, but there is no hygiene register entry at that address. Its Kensington branch is properly registered (rating 4, April 2026).

How to use this

1. Call ahead and ask directly: does anyone on the staff speak Russian, and when do they work? A Russian version of the website does not answer that.
2. Check the hygiene rating yourself at ratings.food.gov.uk. Look at the date as well as the number.
3. Live music: ZIMA (karaoke, Fri–Sat, £10), Lusin (Fridays 20:00–00:00), Bernelių Užeiga (a monthly DJ night), OLE KYIV (Ukrainian artists on a schedule). Everything else needs a phone call.
4. Booking a function with a deposit? Ask for the legal entity and check it at Companies House. Five minutes.
5. Do not trust the first domain a search engine offers: for four venues on this list, the working site is not the one that comes up first.

If you know a place that is not here, tell us. We will check the registers and add it — or explain why we did not.