Ocean View Cafe Reviews

Unlike Manhattan rip-off's, Ocean View Cafe is an unpretentious small store front restaurant with bare Formica tables and a couple of TVs on the walls with Russian TV quietly setting the mood -- the food's the thing and who needs ambiance? And the cuisine is genuine according to my Russian wife. I particularly like the solyenka soup, stuffed cabbage and a variety of pelmeni. Ocean View has full, but tiny, bar so wash it al down with cold vodka! The prices are quite reasonable but BE WARNED, a 10% tip is included on your bill. If you don't read Russian, you won't know.

Had a wonderful lunch here when visiting New York early October.it was very clean. Food was delicious and reasonably priced. Also good sized portions . I had lamb and my husband had chicken stroganoff. The bread is apparently baked on the premises and was very good. Our waiter was pleasant and attentive. We are from uk and may not be back in NY but will certainly visit this restaurant if we do visit again. Thank you for a lovely meal

We loved our lunch at this authentic Russian diner at Brighton Beach. There is no ocean view, and the name suggests something other than the genuine Russian experience you will get here, but don't let this put you off. We would definitely return. I had the cabbage rolls - the most delicious I have ever tried. The others had things like mushroom soup and stroganoff and were equally happy. There were different drinks to try too - a tarragon lemonade and a pear lemonade, both great value so we were surprised when they came in lovely large bottles, all the way from Georgia, Russia. Little touches like a wine glass to drink our "lemonades" in, along with efficient service, clean restrooms and lots of locals - what more could we ask for?

Wow, authentic Russian food and it’s so so tasty. Our favorites were chicken soup with piroges - the broth was so tasty and the piroges (pelmeni) melt in your mouth; and lamb shish kebob - the meat was juicy and full of flavor. They also serve ham with their hot tea, which was a tasty cheery flavor. Will definitely be back when we are back in the city in the future. Oh and the service - impeccable, on time and very polite. It looks like that’s where Lord of War was filmed!

Despite the name this cafe does not have a view of the ocean - it is about a block away mind you. We stopped in here for a nibble rather than a meal. Ordered the calamari and mushroom varenyky (little perogies). The calamari was served with cocktail sauce rather than tzatziki. The calamari was cooked to perfection and delicious. The varenyky were swimming in butter - not used to that - but delicious as well. Service was excellent and the place was busy even in the mid-afternoon when we were there. Seats about 20-25.

Most of clients were speaking Russian- a good sign in a Russian restaurant. Broad menu with tasty dishes not seen often in US. On busy street next to “El” No problem communicating with waiterz

comming back from the beach we did lunch there. soup was great as well as lamb shank so did mashed potatoes with catlets

Food is tasty. Service without extra frills but fast and friendly. Outside look is rather run down, not at all linked to good quality of food. Recommend very much.

Best Russian food on Brighton hands down! The food tastes truly homemade, everything is fresh and delicious. I always get soup there-all of them are good! Chicken cutlets and chicken chops are excellent. Compot is the best drink. Atmosphere is casual and relax, and more importantly waiters are not annoying or rude. Definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for good Russian food.

My parents insist on going to Brighton Beach for Russian food every time we go to New York together, and we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch at the Ocean View Cafe on the last trip. We ordered a bit too much, but all of it was very tasty and authentic. I particularly enjoyed the borsch, and was very excited to have the tarragon soft drink (sounds weird - tastes great!) for the first time in years. Russian food isn't to everyone's taste and can be a little bland, but everything we had was well-seasoned and tasty. We stayed for a good, long time and washed lunch down with some Baltika beers. This is a good place to go for Russian food!

I live pretty far from Brighton Beach, but twice a year, I jump on the subway to visit this neighborhood and I always visit this place. I tried many places in the neighborhood and most of the places in the City, but I think this is best ‘feels like home-cooked’ Russian meal in New York. Everything that I tried on the menu is great and the service is excellent. I usually order frozen pelmeni to go afterwards. These are the best pelmeni that I tried both in Russia and US.

The setup is no frills, I would not recommend for romantic dinner or similar. Service is also without extra frills but fast and friendly. Quite a few very good choices if you feel like exploring eastern cuisine. We've ordered lobio ( Georgian bean dish ). It was quite unlike anything I've tried before, but quite tasty nevertheless. The bill includes 10% service charge, but you need to notice it.

Next to Coney Island in Brooklyn is a Russian neighborhood along Brighton Beach Ave. Somewhat at random we chose this cafe and had an excellent experience. Blinis as an appetizer seemed more suited as a dessert, but they tasted wonderful. My beef stroganoff and my wife's grilled vegetable plate were also excellent. My drink was a fruit drink known as compote - very popular in Russia. NOTE The cross-street given by Trip Advisor is not correct. The cafe is at the corner of 290 Brighton Beach Ave and Brighton Beach 3rd St, not 15th St.

On 25 August 2022, I visited this legendary restaurant for lunch with a friend. We were promptly seated and given menus. The man sitting at the table next to ours placed an order, quickly receiving a cold beverage with accompanying glass. His waiter [30's, Caucasian, thin, moustache] refused to take our lunch order as did the other waiter. The owner, who was seated at the last table by the kitchen, ignored this situation preferring to stare at his paperwork. After making repeated eye contact with the 2 waiters and the owner, we left after waiting 15+ minutes to place an order in a restaurant that was NOT busy. Summary 1. Discrimination against customers. 2. If you seek an unpleasant distasteful experience, dine here.

I remember food there as homey and hearty. Perhaps we came in too late in the evening, but service was very slow, even though the restaurant was emptying out. And the food was clearly warmed up the in the microwave.. :( Limited desserts remained. Food has gotten pricier. Still, memories of wonderful meals are still there - so we'll be back to give it another try before we write it off. A definite plus is you never need a reservation.

In short: Highly recommend, food as good as I remember Veselka on 2nd Ave in NYC, without the need to schlep over a bridge or a tunnel. After visiting the NY aquarium (Shark Exhibit) in the middle of winter, we drove a few blocks to Brighton Beach. Usually we are here in the summer and stick to boardwalk foods. In the middle of winter we wanted a good hearty meal. Driving along the avenue we spotted a different location that we wanted to check out. On the way from our parking spot we spotted this cafe and knew right away that we will enjoy it. The decor is mellow, and simple. a few TV screens were playing Russian pop, and each table had a screen that showed pictures of all the items on the menu. They had a few Russian specials (cow tongue, beef Stroganoff, etc.) and a few dishes that could be served anywhere like lamb kebab. You basically pick a main dish and a side, I took the roasted veggies and it was great. Most main dishes are $15 to $20 and a few over $20. The servers were very nice and friendly. Tip was included with the bill (10%) which we thought was fair. Highly recommended.

After a couple of hours in the hot sun on the beach we decided to call in here for cold drinks. However, we felt as if we were expected to order food too as the waiter seemed a little aloof when we insisted we only wanted drinks. Apart from that, the service was swift and the place was reasonably clean given the time of day. Would I return? Probably not, simply because I didn't feel my custom was valued.

I have only great things to say about Ocean View Cafe. I came here for a post-funeral lunch a few weeks ago as this was one my late father-in-law's favorite restaurants. After dining here, I knew why. For a small café of about 10 tables, they were able to serve a large party of about 15 people without any problems. The service was excellent and the waiters were very on top of serving us. I didn't think there was a single moment where anyone asked for something and waited for than a few minutes to get served. Since we did a banquet, we did a three course menu and dessert. The appetizers were the usual russian servings such as potatoes with herring, olevi, herring under coat, etc. The second round of hot appetizers were dumplings with potatoes and meat as well as potatoes with mushroom. For the main course, we were served with chicken, pork and lamb kebabs. Every course was very filling and well prepared. I also really liked how the food wasn't salty. For $55 dollars a person, this banquet seems unrealistic! In terms of alcohol, you can bring your own alcohol and I think you can buy beer. If you have a chance to come to Ocean view Cafe, do it!

My partner ordered frozen palmeni, not realising they do not have a mail order service. The business refused to cancel and refund the credit card. We live 5 hrs away and can’t pick up. $20. Is it so hard to be nice?

There are a few cons. There is not much ambiance, the incessant videos playing were annoying and no 'ocean view' despite it's name. Definitely not fancy. However,when all is said and done, it's all about the food and that was AMAZING! i've been here twice, once with adults and once with teens. Both times blew me away and even the kids loved it. From blintzes and soup to stuffed cabbage and fish. Delicious. I truly can't rave about it enough.

We loved our visit to this simple Russian restaurant in Brighton Beach. The food was tasty and reasonably priced and our waiter persuaded us to try Tarragon soda. I was somewhat dubious but wow what a drink. Be sure to visit this reataurant for a warm welcome and good food

After dipping in the ocean with the Polar Bear Club on New Years Day, we headed to Brighton Beach for lunch and this was one of the only Russian places open. Luckily we immediately got a seat just before a huge crowd headed in. Everyone liked what they ordered and I especially enjoyed the chicken soup (just a broth with dill which was delicious and just what I needed) and it came with what they called pierogi, but were different from the ones I'm used to in the Polish restaurants. These 2 pierogies were filled with delicious chicken and encased in a puffy filo pastry and so tasty that I ordered two additional pieroges! All of this for $8 ($6 for the soup and 2 pierogies and $2 for the extra). Nice way to start the New Year. I would definitely return to this restaurant when I am next in Brighton Beach!