Set in historic Herndon, the Russia House Restaurant offers Russian hospitality and culinary excellence in all its details. The restaurant opened in July of 1992 by the friendly owners Ali and Homeyra Darugar, and together they created an atmosphere of aristocratic dining with classic cuisine, with the warm feeling that you are dining at your aristocratic grandmother’s table. Mrs. Darugar moved from Russia with her grandparents to Switzerland, where she learned to cook in her grandmother’s kitchen. She brought her great culinary talents here to the United States and created the exquisite menu and served as the head chef in the first few years the restaurant was opened. The restaurant features Russian, Continental and Georgian cuisine with a French flair.

"Awarded 5 Star Rating for superb cuisine, exemplary service and we recognize it as our #1 Northern Virginia Restaurant."  -- The Millfield Travel Club 2005

• Private Parties For 10-100 People
• Catering For Daytime & Evening Affairs
• Holiday Parties On & Off Premises
• Graduation Party
• Engagement & Bridal Showers
• Any Special Occasion Parties
• Live Strolling Musicians on Friday & Saturday Evenings
  

The amount of effort that the owners put into the culinary details is apparent from their ability to create a seemingly endless variety of tangy cream sauces, to the influence of French cuisine that is present in the use of herbs such as tarragon and dill and in dishes such as chateaubriand, served with bérnaise sauce. During the reign of the czars, the Russians brought in many French chefs, hence the French culinary influence. Many of the menu selections are actually prepared at your table such as the nicholcia flambé, a buttery-soft filet mignon prepared tableside using a small gas burner, the waiter sears the pepper-encrusted filet in a cast iron pan, then finishes it off with a reduction sauce, which is ignited with a splash of brandy, this entrée is accompanied by broccoli and marinated beets and deliciously creamy scalloped potatoes. Even the desserts are flambéed before your eyes for a final flourish.

There are 20 meat and poultry selections on the menu, including the well-known dishes such as: Beef Stroganoff - Sliced Beef Tenderloin and Mushroom in a Creamy Sauce. Kulebiaka Po-Baranina - Puff Pastry with Lamb, Vegetable, Tarragon Sauce. Kotlety Po-Kievski, Chicken Kiev - Baked Breast of Chicken stuffed with Butter Tarragon Sauce.

Favorite Fresh Seafood Dishes Include:

• Lososina Alexander - Broiled Filet of Salmon with Champagne Sauce and Caviar.
• Forel Po-Armianski - Sauteed Filet of Rainbow Trout, with Artichoke Hearts and Capers.

Salmon with Caviar and Champagne Sauce

The dining room is spacious, but intimate too, with tables lining the walls. The lighting is low and the walls are decorated with large paintings of Russian scenes and large painted paper mache caricatures of historical Russian figures that sit on top of the long wine rank. When you glance out the tall windows of the Russia House you see the 19th century buildings across the street, with shoppers leisurely walking down the street. On Friday and Saturday nights you are entertained with strolling musicians playing the violin and strumming the guitar. You may hear the Beatle's ballad "In My Life" or the popular favorite "Those Were the Days." During the week classical music plays unobtrusively in the background. This restaurant is a perfect place for a romantic dinner for two, or a large corporate dinner or lunch.

The Russia House can be booked for weddings and other special events. Just give a call to make a reservation for any special event that you may be planning.

The wine list is quite extensive, and so is the list of favored vodkas. The flavors range from raspberry, apricot, citrus, black currant, to butterscotch or chocolate. Caviar is traditionally paired with vodka or champagne, so many patrons indulge in “zakuski” or appetizers, in which you can sample five varieties of caviar, from salmon roe, American sturgeon caviar, to Russian favorites: small and midsize gray and black roe of sevruga, the gray and the larger ossetra, and the biggest most prized of all the beluga.

For dessert, the Russia House offers classic choices such as cream caramel that has a creamy consistency and is not too rich or eggy; and the chocolate mousse that is so light that it might float away if it were not weighted down in the goblet that it is served in. If you like cake, white chocolate moussecake with raspberry sauce and chocolate mocha is to die for!

The meal must be ended with the national drink, tea. The tea is to the Russians as coffee is to the Americans. Homeyra Darugar created the tea from a special homemade blend that reminded her of being back home in the old country. If you want a lovely trip to the old world of Russia and the desire to experience the traditional Russian hospitality with out traveling to another continent, then just take a short trip over to the Russia House Restaurant!