Hammer & Sickle

Our server Leslie was fantastic. She had great recommendations from the pierogies to the lamb skewer. It was all incredible.
Our drinks came out quick and the vibe in the booths was relaxed and easy going.
They have a very extensive higher end vodka list, along with some great Moscow mules.
It wasn’t too busy for a Thursday night around 7. Thought we might need reservations but it wasn’t needed.
I will be going back and would recommend to a lot of people.

Great food and cocktails. Even better staff! if you’re ever in uptown, definitely check this place out.

Nice getaway spot from the douchey packed uptown bars. The pickle shots are delish. Moscow mules? Sign me up. Usually a good bar hopping spot to take shots.

As a Russian I have to say there is nothing russian about this place.
The food was bad.
The waitress could not understand the russian names of the dishes on the menu. Shashluk, hello?
The dessert was served on a wooden cutting board instead of a plate. When in Russia, chop the wood and use it as a plate?
They have vodka, but avoid the food.

Let me start by saying, I didn’t even get the opportunity to eat or drink here (aside from water). I walked in, was sat by a hostess. It was half-​full at most. I perused the menu and made eye contact with the bartender (s), along with server (s) and the girl who sat me at my table. My menu was on the table and I was poised to order. 15 minutes go by and nobody has taken my order. Needless to say, this place needs some help. I hear there is a proper Russian style restaurant in St. Paul. Looks like I will be headed there.

While I’m no expert on Russian food, I’ve been to enough legit Russian restaurants, including ones actually in Russia and Ukraine, to know there is very little authenticity in the food served here, let alone the atmosphere. A walk by the open kitchen confirms that it’s not Russians in the kitchen. The food wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t what I was expecting from a «Russian» restaurant. This place is really more of a vodka bar that seems like it had to figure out some kind of food to serve to get a liquor license.
One part that didn’t sit that well with me was that I expressed that I was vegetarian, but they served me borscht with some kind of meat in it. I’ve never heard of meat in borscht and the menu said nothing about it, so I didn’t expressly ask for a non-​meat version, but saying I was vegetarian should have been enough of a clue. My 15-​year-​old self would have let loose some vegan rage at this mistake (since I actually consumed a couple meat chunks), but my older self is willing to view it with less contempt. Nonetheless, serving meat to vegetarians is a major faux pas.

Went here on a whim with some friends the other night and had a great time! Loved the atmosphere and the staff were friendly and outgoing. We went on a Wednesday when they had their weekly drago (bingo) night and that made the whole night a blast. They give away free shots, drinks, good, and gift cards. Definitely worth it!
The food was decent enough. The drinks were sadly weak.
I would recommend if you’re looking for a good time not if you’re looking to get drunk (unless you want to get many, many drinks). Rails were $ 5.50 and the other vodka drinks were $ 10 – 12.

Only stopped in for some white Russians with a friend but they were some well made whiteys. Not too heavy on the dairy! I also had a stubborn mule which is a Moscow mule but with Jameson. Solid cocktails. Curious about the food. next time I guess. Also noticed the staff is really good looking… so ya know… a bonus!

This is my first time trying Russian. So I can’t speak for how authentic it is. But I has take out and the lobster skewer and the veggie side which includes a healthy portion of Brussel sprout and mushrooms were such a treat. Will def order again. And gee this restaurant make me very interested in trying more Russian food.

Came here the other night because me and the bf wanted to try something new. We ordered the peirogies and they were really good. I forget the exact one we ordered but it was the ghost chilli one (not spicy at all but still good).
For our mains we shared the beef stroganoff and a chicken dish. I think we ordered the wrong things cause it was filled with sour cream, which im not a big fan of. The chicken was meh — nothing special.
I would come back again and try other non creamy items.

I had heard good things about this place for a while but didn’t try it until recently. I love Beef Stroganoff and heard they made a good one. I ordered it and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a little different than the stroganoff I’ve had in the past but in a good way. On a chilly fall night, it hit the spot. The place has a cool vibe and staff was friendly. It would probably be a good place to start a date night and then head next door to The Fremont or down the block to Cowboy Slims or Williams for drinks.

Dealing with mixed feelings on this one.
The pierogis were delicious and just like my grandma used to make. Dare I say, even better? The caramelized onion and bacon one was my fav. I didn’t get to try the lobster skewed app before it was inhaled, but my dad gave it the thumbs up.
The highlight was playing the Russian Roulette drinking game. You buy one of their two specialty shots to play, and they load up a cap gun. Then it’s just going around the table playing. The first round was premature — the shot went off on the first try. The second round was more sexy. We got around almost three anxiety-​inducing times before it went off and my mom had to take the shot.
One star here for the stroganoff over spätzle. Maybe my palate has been corrupted by Americanized, creamy stroganoff (shout out to you, Noodles & Co.), but it tasted like they out a giant scoop of sour cream with Hamburger Helper stroganoff powder and dry, freezer-​burned beef. It was sour and tangy and pretty unappetizing and completely masked the spätzle, which probably would’ve been decent by itself. I’m glad my fiancé and I split an order, cuz I would’ve been pissed spending that much money on two. If that was «authentic» Russian stroganoff, I’m proud to be an American.

This place is great! We got a booth right away after watching a movie nearby on a Friday night, and our waitress was super friendly and nice. Plus they have a late happy hour starting at 10! (2 for 1 well drinks/​beers/​some cocktails). We got their pickled sampler which was interesting and tart and beautifully presented, and pirogies (without bacon on top so they would be veg) — those were delicious. Yummy cocktails and buzzy vibe. I’d go back.

Purchased a groupon so decided to head on over and check out this place in uptown that may go unnoticed with all the sparkly lights of the other eateries lurking nearby. It is dark and cozy and little red shaded lamps on the tables. I felt a little like I was in a James Bond movie… loved it. They have an extensive list of Vodkas. They are all served with a pickle which i love. Our table ordered up two different types of pierogies and both were delicious. I recommend the comrade flavored ones. We had a beet salad which was unexpected and unusual AND absolutely delicious. Double battered fingerling potatoes with homemade ketchup and some type of Siberian dumpling that are like Russian raviolis. My entire table enjoyed the meal and the atmosphere. hammer and sickle i’ll be baaaackkk.

I was unaware of what a pierogi was before I came here and boy was I missing out! I came here on a Friday night for their late night happy hour. We sat outside and even though it is not much of a patio, it is nice to have an outdoor option. During happy hour is the pierogies are $ 2 off and their moscow mules are 2 for 1! (As well as draft and rails). I thought this was a great deal.
I ordered the Polish pierogi that comes with potato, ground beef, kraut and comes with a creamy horseradish sauce — it was SO good! The sauce added a nice light taste to the heavy potato and meat and they were so filling! I ordered the classic moscow mule, which was very good. I would love to try some of their other kinds. With the happy hour specials it came out to be pretty affordable, especially since we were there for snacks and not a meal.

This has been on my list for a while, and finally stopped in with a friend. We chose seats by the window. I guess it’s a seat-​yourself joint. A server came over with menus after a couple minutes and we ordered moscow mules right away. The mules were good but didn’t seem overly strong.
We also got the lobster skewer and the spicy pierogies to share. Both were delicious. The service was pretty slow but I liked the little place and the food was good. I’d come back for the pierogies and to try some of the other plates.

This place is so wonderful!
We were greeted when we entered and were told we could sit wherever we liked. We chose to sit at the bar and just order some drinks and apps. They have a fun drink menu with a lot to offer, and if you’re feeling adventurous you can try a vodka flight or ask the bartender to play roulette where you either get horseradish vodka with jagermeister and caviar, ghost pepper and jalapeño vodka, or the better of them all a honey vodka with sweet & sour.
For food we got pierogis! Holy smokes they were good. I’ve still been thinking about them. We tried two kinds. The first is called the comrade which is filled with potato and cheese, then topped with caramelized onions, sour cream and bacon! The second kind we tried was called the yankee which was filled with cheddar, bacon, and ground beef which was topped off with pickles. They were both so good! I want to go back and try more! We got russian fries (potato wedges) on the side which were seasoned and honestly, the pierogis were so filling we didn’t need them with three of us!
I hear they have a stellar happy hour (and late night happy hour too!) that has some good drink specials and $ 2 off pierogis (maybe on other foods too!).
They have bingo (Drago) on Wednesday nights that I want to try! Prizes include gift cards that I am aware of.

The first thing I noticed when I came here was the nice red accent they’ve added to the entrance of the restaurant. The next thing I noticed after I entered was that all the tables on the left and right side were 2-​tops, which makes it a little hard when you have more than 2 people. Behind the bar, next to the kitchen where you can see where they make your food though, were booths where you can fit 4 – 6 people. The place has a nice atmosphere but I don’t recommend it if you’re going with more than 4 people.
Service wise-​There was no host at all, the bartender basically told us to seat ourselves, which is fine but no one ever came around to give us menus. My friend had to go up to grab menus for us. I don’t even think we had a specific server? No one ever introduced themselves as our server. We had a different person take our order, bring our drinks, and check us out; I’m a little confused on that part. Point is, I have no idea who our server was.
Food wise, we ordered the yankee peirogi, chicken kiev, and cabbage rolls. The peirogis did not have that little crunch on the outside that they were suppose to, they were kind of soggy. :/​the chicken kiev was good! I recommend this dish out of everything we got. The outside was super crispy, &the inside was juicy. The vegetable on this dish was the best part of the meal and it all comes on top of a bed of mash potatoes.

Came here on a Friday night with some friends for vodka and pierogies. Surprisingly empty for an Uptown bar on a weekend night… but maybe that’s just this time of the year in Minnesota. The atmosphere is in one word, cool. From the lack of any glaring sign outside to the hammer and sickle door knob to the Soviet-​crimson light permeating out onto the street, this bar oozes hipness from the time you walk up to it on Lagoon.
The food and drinks almost live up to the atmosphere. Late-​night happy hour specials are good — 2 for 1’s on Mules, wells, and beer, as well as $ 2 off pierogies. Now, my mother is part Russian, and I grew up eating all kinds of homemade pierogies. These aren’t quite your Russian mother’s pierogies (and really, does anything ever touch your mom’s cooking?), but they’re still pretty impressive, especially for a cuisine not readily available in the Cities. I tried three different ones: The Sputnik, The Latin, and The Polish.
Sputnik — Potato, ground beef, and most importantly the 3-​chili relish. This thing is HOT but absolutely bursting with flavor. You will cry, and you will be happy about it because you will be delirious from the super spicy deliciousness. You will also use the sour cream. A lot. Fortunately, it goes really well with the rest of the flavors. Top notch. This isn’t your typical Minnesota spice. Also, eat this one last, as your taste buds will be burnt out after devouring it.
Latin — Another pierogi with great flavor. Chorizo, jalapeño, and potato mix to concoct what tastes like a potato taco, complete with surprisingly good salsa.
Polish — My least favorite of the three pierogies I tried. Just felt like something was missing here or wasn’t balanced, or they just missed on the flavor mixing. The idea is good… a Polish/​German medley with ground beef and kraut, served with horseradish on the side. I think it needed more kraut, as the taste wasn’t brought out to it’s potential. The horseradish wasn’t the greatest combination with the rest of the flavor profile. I think it would be better served with more kraut and possibly a hollandaise or some kind of mushroom, white wine sauce to go with the German theme.
The two different Mules I tried were tasty but not very strong. I wasn’t even slightly buzzed after finishing off two of my Moscows and trying out one of my friend’s Milanese. A little more alcohol kick wouldn’t hurt here at $ 10 a pop!
Overall, the atmosphere is great, the drinks are tasty (though not strong enough), and the pierogies are legit and unique. If you want exceptional Russian cuisine, hit up Moscow on the Hill in St. Paul, but if you’re looking for something a little different with a great ambiance in Uptown Minneapolis, check this place out!

Vodka. you had me at vodka bar. This Russian vodka restaurant is so punny I love it. Not only do they have awesome Pierogis, their drink menu is AWESOME. They have an awesome honey vodka drink with cider mixed it, their s’more martini actually comes with a big marshmallow in it, and their mules are great! If you like Jamison they have the best Jamison mule.
Happy hour is two for ones on mules, rail drinks and beers. It used to be on the martinis and specialty drinks which makes me sad.
This venue is small so try not to plan big groups of more than 6, unless you get there really early.
Lastly, they have Russian roulette. They give you a toy gun with one more bullet/​load noise left and whoever gets it has to take a shot! Very very fun time.