Kalina

This is a great authentic Russian restaurant.
Home made food straight out of the old county

A Tucson Gem and Locally owned! This review may be long … but it’s worth it
Tucson actually has a great food scene — but to my knowledge, Kalina is the only Russian (Ukraine/​Belarus/​Jewish) restaurant in town. We were told the family is from the Ukraine, summers spent in Belarus, and they are also Jewish. Just let that settle for a moment … imagine the food you would experience and savor … I mean really? Just a party in your mouth, right!!! Right … Read on.
As such, if you are looking for authentic Russian cuisine, then Kalina should be on your list (there are no other options as far as I know). The food is nothing short of excellent and authentic, made from true family recipes. We are nothing short of LUCKY there is a person in our Old Pueblo with this culinary craft, skill, history and love! Kalina boasts an excellent variety of items to try, not to mention (the?) only place to have high tea; a wonderful selection of world class vodkas, Russian wines, Cognacs and Caviars.
Do not let the strip mall location alarm you! The atmosphere is warm, inviting, bright and cheerful. I detest this ‘dark’ trend in restaurants today, where it is so dark you need a flashlight to read the menu. Kalina has the right amount of light — and the right spatially placed tables. You will feel intimate without feeling crowded. Lovely music streams to you, providing a relaxing backdrop for your experience without being cloying or annoying. Authentic décor accentuates the shelves and walls, but is to a degree ‘homey’ which lends a very welcoming appeal. The bar (of which we — dammit! — did not partake this visit) is publicly visible so you can peruse and study the vodkas offered. An extensive wine menu for a small, family owned establishment is something to be noted. Kalina has taken the time and made the investment in a full dining experience. Service is prompt, timely, and friendly. We liked that the owner/​chef took the time to check in with us and chat us up for a few minutes. It was a hugely hospitable touch.
Now, on to the food … where to begin: Pelmeni dumplings were fresh, flavorful, served piping hot, and delicious with a side of sour cream & plenty of fresh dill. The savory taste and tender texture, along with the slight tartness added from the cream? Devoured in less than 2 minutes! The spinach/​salmon roll, equally delicious and just the right portion (4 pieces), perfectly rolled, incredibly tasty, and a lovely accompaniment to the gratis bread and butter selection featuring warm, bakery quality selections. I liked that the butter was not frozen/​hard but room temp allowing for a great spread. I highly recommend both of these starters.
Note: I LOVE the real china, patterned plates and that all are not the same. This is a stellar touch to the theme and décor.
Entrée Sides — (we did not have the prix fixe menu) are served with soup or salad: I had the barley mushroom soup and my date had the Russian Potato Salad. Both were excellent, with the right amount of seasoning, spice, and deep, hearty flavor one would expect from Russian fare. The soup broth was stout without being heavy, with a hearty portion of barley, potatoes and mushrooms. The potato salad was a divine mix of the starchy vegetable, cubed carrots, peas, eggs, pickles, dill, and a light, tangy, but not over-​powering dressing.
Entrees & Accompaniments: I had the beef stroganoff (as I always do). It is standardly excellent; a signature item. The beef is lean, flavorful, and tender. The spices are perfection, the sauce is incredible — not overly heavy and just the right ratio of noodles to meat and sauce. My date had the Chicken Kiev, which neither of us had tried before. It was TO DIE FOR!!! It was served also with a carrot and mushroom hash which was also divine and a side of pickled red cabbage. The cabbage was some of the best we have ever tasted … and we have BEEN to Russia! Not too tart, not mushy, not bland. It was crisp, perfectly prepared and a truly appropriate side for the Kiev. The Chicken Kiev is some of the best we have tasted. Excellently prepared, seasoned, tender, juicy and flavorful.
Because we live very far away/​are not close to the east side, we also ordered Vereniki dumplings which are mushroom, potato, carrot and caramelized onion on top … let me just say, my lunch the next day was the envy of the office. ;)
Take out is also available.
I hope you will give Kalina a whirl. Given the diversity in Tucson, Kalina seems a good addition and with the excellence of her food, you cannot go wrong. Cheers!

Wow! What a great place hidden away in this plaza! I didn’t know it was here but when I realized it was, we had to try it. I’ve never had Russian food and didn’t know what to expect. The food here seemed authentic and was delicious!
The restaurant itself is cute and the service is decent. The prices are very reasonable too. If you want to try Russian food or try their tea service, definitely check out this place :-)
Please note, they do prefer reservations, especially on Fridays and Saturdays.
I’m looking forward to my next visit here.

The food is excellent and incredibly authentic. Natasha was very sweet and took really great care of us. I was over the mood with their tea selection and beautiful tea seta. We will definitely be back.

My cousin and I loved coming to have afternoon tea here! We were sad when Chantilly closed, and sadly they weren’t able to take us before their final day for our annual back-​to-​school afternoon tea. I scoured Unilocal for a good alternative and found this place. I was in love at first photo! My cousin agreed to go on an adventure and we were off!
We only tried to call in a reservation the morning of, and we weren’t able to get through, so we just stopped by to see if they could take us. They mentioned that they usually prefer a reservation, but since it was not busy they were able to accommodate us! We were so excited.
We each had the «Tea with Catherine the Great» option, which included four savory dishes and three sweets. I got the coconut tea (which was not on the menu but our server mentioned that they had some in the back) and my cousin went with the vanilla bean.
Our savory dishes came out really quickly. It consisted of a light salad, a roasted red pepper and eggplant spread on yummy bread, a blue cheese walnut bite with a raspberry drizzle and a delicious dill scone.
Our desserts were a warm raspberry crumble, a Russian butter cookie with butter and jam and two cold little chocolates. We were in love! We also stayed for around 4 hours, and not once did they ask us to leave or try to rush us out. Even after we paid, long before we left, out server was still refilling our waters.
So then I had to go home and rant to my husband about how much I loved this place, how the tea really was a full mean, and how cute it was inside. We were in the area, and all I meant to do was drive by to show him where I had spent my afternoon, and we ended up having dinner here that night, too.
We each got the pre-​fixed menu; I went with the Beef Stroganoff option while he went with the Chicken Kiev. (I’m a pescatarian, but man oh man does Stroganoff call to me… it’s my weakness). Our appetizer courses were good, though we agreed mine was the best. Mine was like deviled eggs with onions and carrots, sprinkled with dill, and his was a tasty roll with spinach, cream cheese and smoked salmon.
Then came our salads, and we agreed his was better, though they were both awesome. Mine was a beet salad topped with dill, and his was a really unique potato salad, again with dill.
My Stroganoff was AMAZING. Holy goodness. I thought mine was good. Nope. It’s piddly trash next to this! It was creamy and tangy and beefy and, of course, topped with dill. You may be noticing that everything here is topped with dill. It is. And as weird as it is that literally everything comes out with this herb, it really does tie together all of the flavors. Some of them, like the hubs’ salad, would have tasted off without it. I can’t put my finger on it, and thank goodness I like dill so much, but everything was better with it.
Chicken Kiev was stuffed with… wait for it… dill! It WAS really good, and his sides were delicious!
I will totally be back next time I get a hankering for Stroganoff, or high tea! My husband has never been to high tea, and this seems like the best place to break that!

Just go… fabulous food, wonderful service, and honored to have this restaurant in Tucson, Az. Pure heart is put into the cultural experience we had here.

What a gem! My mom and I took a day trip to Summerhaven. The restaurant there was overcrowded so we decided to eat in Tucson. Pulled into a parking lot to search Unilocal for recommendations when my eye caught their sign. Boy are we glad that it did! We LOVED it. The service was great and the food was a delight. I am a vegetarian (mom is not) and there were so many options. We had the cold summer soup and 2 different types of dumplings. Although we live in Phoenix, I will be back. My husband will love this place. The owner/​chef even came out to chat with us for a whlie. We found out that many items are family recipes as she wants to keep it authentic. Great place.

Nice. Nice atmosphere. Clean with a old home style. Such as individual tea cups and side plates. Had the hot borscht, vareniki and chicken Kiev with dill potatoes. Along with hibiscus tea. The vareniki was nice and tender. What a nice treat. Potatoes were delicious. The chicken Kiev was ok. The hot borscht was good. Not overwhelming. But good. Service was genuine and good! We were treated very well. We will return.

Damn good. Be sure to keep it OG Russian. If you can, order the selyodka s kartoshkoi (herring & potatoes) as a starter. If you have the money, pair it with vodka. It’s what you’d eat before karate choppin’ some vory v zakone in the nude. The hot borsch is amazing. The vareniki with smetana, all of it, just… WOW. Make sure to drink that OG Baltika stuff. We had Nos. 2 & 9. Bit pricey at $ 5, seeing as you can get 2 liters of similar quality beer for like a buck in Russia. But if you’ve ever slummed it through Russia, you’ll feel nostalgic quaffing one of those.
This is a high-​brow place, for my blood. Décor feels a bit pre-​Communist Imperial and Hermitage-​y, or something. I was half hoping we’d get waited on by a gopnik in a track suit with a glinty smile. Krovostok jamming over the stereo, or something. No avail. This is definitely a place you can take your mom. The cute babushka in the back is totally, obviously the genius behind the operation. The people who run the place evidently take great pride in what they do. It certainly comes through. Definitely worth a visit.

What a fantastic place to eat! The staff is so incredibly friendly and the food was delicious! A great local restaurant that everyone should try! I had the cold summer soup (red beet borscht) and the beef stroganoff. So filling. I also tried the herring and the lemon drop cake, as well as Russian beer. All so good! Give it a try!

Excellent food, Clean restaurant from front to back, beautiful ambiance, very relaxing. The service was perfect, and the food, did I already say excellent… They have a great drinks & dessert too. I’ve been here a couple times previously and went tonight with my Mom and she just loved it too…
will be back…

Absolutely stunning. We had my brother’s birthday dinner there, and the food was memorably remarkable. We started with caviar for the group, which was delicious. I had the option 2 three course meal, which started with the salmon and spinach rolls, which were fresh and perfectly balanced. My brother’s shared the blue cheese bites, which they really liked. Two of us had the Russian potato salad for second course, which again, was delicious. I love the crisp apples. Finally, I had the chicken Kiev, which was cooked perfectly, and tasted great. Everyone else enjoyed their entrees, which included the Russian Ribeye, that they said was a perfect cook. We also had white russians and a perfect port wine.
We had to share dessert, because it was all so filling, but the Russian lemon drop, again, was the spot-​on balance of sweet and tart.
This resteraunt is absolutely a hidden gem in Tucson. The price is fine dining, but you absolutely get what you pay for. Their chef obviously knows what he’s doing, and all the food came together at the right temperature. You owe it to yourself to give this amazing place a try.

I feel like I may be missing something, but my experience does not jive with the other reviews out there.
My husband and I were excited to try Kalina since we both have a deep love for eastern european cuisine. After seeing all of the excellent reviews, we thought it would be a no-​brainer!
The venue is indeed cozy and the food does seem to be authentic, but it just didn’t meet my taste buds’ expectations, unfortunately. The beef stroganoff, borscht, and barley soup were all just ehhh and the quality didn’t measure up to the price tag. I mean, you would expect a $ 21 beef stroganoff to be AMAZING, right? Not so. :(
We really wanted to love it for several reasons, but are bummed that it doesn’t look like we found a new local favorite.

Delicious authentic fare from Russia and Ukraine. The Ukrainian Borscht was very tasty as were the Vareniki, which were served with a dollop of sour cream and a sweet, yet slightly tart cherry sauce drizzled over the top. It was absolutely wonderful. My wife had the chicken Pelmeni and enjoyed it, although she preferred the flavor of my Vareninki.
The restaurant staff seemed to all be family and were so friendly that they made us feel like family, too. Natasha was our server. She was informative and friendly as she answered our questions about the menu and the food. Her mother, Tatyana, was the cook. She came out to our table, and we enjoyed a pleasant visit with her. The entire staff was accommodating to our infant, engaging with her as they would pass by.
The restaurant is quaint, with about 10 or 12 tables, so the staff could keep a close eye on everyone. We watched them serve a custom birthday cake to a large party behind us, where everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. All in all, it was a delightful experience. Highly recommended!

The quality and detail of the food were excellent. The wood finishes added a lot of warm elegance to our meal. Tea, appetizers, and desserts were served on beautiful tea ware and plates, and we never had to wait. The owner was delightful to talk to and very generous with her time.
We celebrated my friend’s birthday here. My friend loved it so much that we ended up staying for a few hours. (To everyone at Kalina, thanks for making me look good and for being so welcoming).
The appetizers and desserts served during tea service were so unique and delicious that now we’re both convinced we must bring our families here! Thank you so much for the wonderful afternoon.

Kalina is hidden in a strip mall behind the Kirk-​Bear Canyon Library, but its tapestries and matryoshkas will sweep you away from the hot Tucson weather and off to a colder, more sour cream-​filled Europe.
I ordered the pelmeni — lamb dumplings — with the red beets borscht. There are a lot of things that sound incredible on the menu, and I have no regrets about the few I got to choose.
The red beets borscht tasted so fresh that I thought they must have slaughtered the borscht right there in the store! It had a light, bright flavor and perfect crunch, plus a dollop of sour cream that set the whole thing off. I don’t usually eat cold soups, but I would if this is what they tasted like.
The pelmeni — tons of tiny dumplings — came piled in a clear glass bowl on top of a white plate, with a small cup of sour cream and vinegar. I tasted one, carefully, and then dipped a second in the sour cream. The simple, plain, white appearance is meant to trick you into thinking the flavor will be small, flat, and weak. Nothing could be further from the truth. I ate pelmen after pelmen after pelmen, until I was beyond full. I love wontons, ravioli, mochi — anything wrapped in dough. But these were really something special.
I was completely stuffed from the borscht and pelmeni, but Kalina is the sort of place I only go on special occasions, and it would have been a shame to skip dessert. I might come back just for tea and desserts some time, because I wanted to order everything off the dessert menu. In the end, I picked the apple fondant. It turned out to be like a little apple soufflé — light, fluffy, amazing. It reminded me of bread pudding, but not so heavy.
It was great to finally try Kalina, and I know I’ll be back to try more from their menu. If I had one real complaint, it’s that everything sounds too good and you can’t try it all at once. Well, that and the service moved slower than I like. But I just assumed they were on European time.

We love this place if it was not so far, we would be there all the time. Great food, great service. Also great gluten free options.

First time for me and my friend. We went on a Friday, high tea Russian style. you can definitely bank on me coming back and bringing the gals over for lunch!
We were greeted by a very friendly server, Vladamir. As a starter, he suggested that we try his sampler, named after him. You can go online and check out the menu. Boy was it a treat!!! Then in was time for our tea time. There were a total of 4 items, not pieces but 4 items on their High tea package. (again, check out their menu) for the price I paid, and the way my belly felt, this is not your typical ENGLISH tea party… it was good and Savory and I didn’t leave hungry!!!
My meal, yes meal, NOT SNACK… had the option of soup or salad, I chose the mushroom barley soup. Delish!!! and yes it was a bowl… not a measly little cup, but a hefty bowl matching my appetite. My friends ordered the egg salmon sandwich and the other ordered the roast beef on rye, and they had the whole, WHOLE sandwich cut in fours… typical tea would only give you half of it… Her garden salad was abundant complete with berries and nuts.
Great selection of Tea. I ordered the citrus ginger, while my friends ordered the cinnamon mixed berry and cherry tea. they were all wonderful.
I chose the raspberry tea cake and if it wasn’t for my table mates, I would have licked the plate it was that good. I’m glad they only served you a small bite size because you would be in a food coma afterwards.
Cons (of my experience)…forgot to give Vlad my Groupon… yeah its the best deal ever!!!
See ya next time…
Menu link:

Totally Yum!
We purchased the LS Deal for Sunday brunch… made reservations about 2 months in advance because they were booked (so they claimed). They then called us to explain that there was not enough interest in this offer and would we like to exchange the voucher for dinner for 4. Yes, please!
This is one of the more interesting and fun meals that I’ve had in a while. The interior of the place is clean with traditional Russian items used as décor (think Babuska nesting dolls), and while it does have an open floor plan, the acoustics were fine and we could easily hear each other (and not the other table’s conversations). They have a large table sectioned off for groups– I think it sat about 12?
We were greeted right away by a staff member when we arrived and then when seated our waiter Carlos (Russian name: Vladamir) came to explain the menu promptly.
He suggested the Vladamir platter which had a selection of 4 appetizers. We think he suggested this because it had his name on it ;) This included Piroshki (one set with braised cabbage, the other with mushrooms). This was very good. If I had to choose one to order, the mushroom ones were better than that cabbage. We also had eggs stuffed with mushrooms, carrots and onions– this was something like the Russian version of Deviled eggs. Very good. The platter also came with really nicely done spinach, dill and cheese salmon rolls. Pretty to look at and full of flavor. The last item, ‘Herring wearing a fur coat’ was interesting. This was a layered item with pickled herring, carrots, beets, apples, potatoes and mayo. Spread it on some brown bread and you/​re good to go. If you are not a fish lover, do not order. I like fish, but I could only handle about 4 bites. It was good, just powerful.
We all go choice of soup or salads– we all chose soup– we had the mushroom barley (good) and the Borscht (you can’t eat Russian without enjoying a bowl of this soup! That would just be wrong).
For mains we had the St. Petersburg Beef Straganoff, and Moscovite Pork Chops, and the Siberian Pelemni. I loved them all — but I think the star of the show were the pork chops. These came breaded (lightly), with wonderful sides of sweet dried plum rice, fried mushrooms, carrots and onions, and marinated red cabbage. So good! I also fell in love with the Siberian Pelemni. I want to eat it again, right now, this second. The plate looks deceiving– when it arrives you’re sat looking at a bowl of pale dumplings with a side of sour cream, but when you bite into one you are smacked with flavor. I would have demolished the entire plate, but we had dessert coming. The Beef Straganoff was nice, but not for me as I don’t enjoy heavy creamy dishes.
Dessert was really nice– the deal came with 2 desserts, but they were rock stars and brought us each something to try. A member of our party really wanted the specialty dessert (which does not come with the LS deal).but they brought it to us anyways. We sampled the lemon custard mini tarts, Russian Day and Night cake, and two other items (specials) not on the menu. One was a pastry with a sweet nut filling and the other was a spiced poached pear with spiced cakes on the side. If this pear item is offered, grab it! Very good. The Russian Day and Night cake was very pretty (as was everything, actually) but it was super sweet.
The prices are very reasonable– mails between 10 and 12 $. They are also offering a traditional Hanukkah set meal as well as a Thanksgiving set meal.
Also– This place is BYOB! No corkage charge! We brought wine for each course of the meal… but that’s just how we roll. Take advantage of this.
The owner came out at the end to make sure we enjoyed our meal– we did. Grandma also came out and played the piano for everyone which was really cute. She’s very talented.
In the end we got a meal for 4 worth about 120 $ for the price of the LS deal. Wow! Loved every minute of the meal :)

Drum rolls Unilocalers, The very first Russian restaurant had opened the door. I was kind of disappointed when Huffman’s closed but I had learned about their connection back in Summer. So my friends and I tried Kalina at «Tucson Eat Yourself» my food radar was on full alert!
Since I live less than 10min away. I think I drove over there once a week just to see if they’re open or not? Desperation? not likely! Dedication? HA! Thats how Unilocalers roll!
Now lets get to the food, Since I was dinning by myself (I am very spontaneous when comes to eating out) that limited the amount of dishes that I can order. Base on my server’s recommendations I got the Borscht soup, Beef Stroganoff, Strawberry jam cake and Kiev delight and yes I got two different desserts since I don’t really like dessert that much just wanted to increase my chances to get one I like… not convinced? Well ~ thats my story and I sticking to it!
The Borscht was mixed with all the usual vegetables (carrots, cabbages, beets, tomatoes) with beef (I think.) and sour cream on top. I think I ordered the cup and its a BIG cup. the veges was still little crunchy (its a good thing), and broth with full flavor. After half way I mixed all the sour cream with the soup that makes a good combination. I like it but it wont makes you jump off the chair, its the fresh ingredients that gave the soup a nice balance flavors. Especially its 50 degree out side… brr!
They ran out of the noodles for the Beef Straganoff so I got mesh potato instead. Since I have no ideal what kind of noodles I will get but the mesh potato was super creamy… yum yum! I think they should put that as option (or secret menu just for Joe).
Beef was little dry but its well marinated with flavor inside. Is that how Ukrainian cook their beef?
Lets hurry up get to the desserts. My server recommended the tea jam cake since its their tradition dessert but the Kiev delight was chef’s own creation that means what? I have to try it… duh? One thing about European desserts is they don’t covered with the sugar frosting (another good thing). My jam cake has a layer of the strawberry jam (little less than quarter inch thick) sits on top of the «cake» I used the quotation marks because it was between cracker and cake kind of consistency. That layer of the jam gives it a nice fresh fruity taste and it was very good with the cake.
Its time for the finally… Kiev delight was made with 2 little soft meringue cookies that had browned with a little sweetness at the bottom, with butter cream in between and on top, please referring the photo by me…:) They were pretty small so I suggesting take your time enjoy that three layers of the flavors… don’t eat them like the Fry’s yellow cake.
So next time if you are in the area and want to give this little place a try, make sure you give me a call so I can bring my fork to try what’s on your plate.
Oh almost forgot the most important… you can BYOB!!!