Chicago's Russian Tea Time turns 30
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A beet-infused mushroom crepe at Russian Tea Time. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios
When Russian Tea Time opened in 1993, it was under the name Russian Tea Room, which drew complaints from a certain New York fine dining restaurant.
- Decades later, the Chicago restaurant is facing controversy over a different R word in its name.
What they're saying: "We got a lot of backlash and cancellations — people saying 'Oh, you support Putin. Why don't you change the name?'" co-owner Enesh Mantyyeva tells Axios.
- "But we thought that changing it would just be giving into ignorance" that Russian food equals support for Russian aggression in the war with Ukraine.
Driving the news: Mantyyeva and her sister and co-owner Altyn — both from Turkmenistan — are celebrating the restaurant's 30th anniversary this week, five years after buying it from Ukrainian-born founder Klara Muchnik. (Muchnik came to Chicago from Uzbekistan.)
Zoom out: Throughout the years, the restaurant has offered an oasis of calm elegance and a place for Art Institute and Symphony Center-goers to enjoy fragrant currant tea, plump varenyky, and rich beef stroganoff before shows.
The latest: While older arts patrons still fill the dining rooms, Enesh says she's seeing younger guests too — like one who celebrated her high school graduation there and then later, her wedding. "For many diners, they have strong memory ties."
Enesh's recs: Tea service of sweet and savory housemade sandwiches and pastries, which we devoured on a recent visit.
- But also "the beet-infused crepe with gourmet mushrooms. It's light but also very filling," Mantyyeva says. "And, of course, the beef stroganoff."
