Chicago's Russian Tea Time turns 30

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."