Bringing a taste of Eastern Europe to Camden, Zorya offers an authentic flavour with its huge drinks menu, well thought out food offering and traditional dancers and musicians, transporting you to areas like Poland and Croatia with every strum of the balalaika.

The Venue
Zorya is easy to find along the main Chalk Farm Road – equidistant between Camden and Chalk Farm tube stations on the Northern Line. A simple, modern frontage with a sign declaring Zorya belies what awaits inside. A classic, clean and homely bar and restaurant set across a number of levels, it’s instantly inviting in a family-affair style: plenty of wood, gleaming surfaces, and delicate touches like a large mirror with a small water feature adourns one of the main dining areas, showing an attention to detail. The open-plan feel to the venue makes it an extremely comfortable place to wine (or should that be vodka?) or dine.

The ground floor houses the main drinking area, with a central bar housing the many alcoholic beverages on offer and an area for drinkers to mingle and chat. Upstairs and down lies small dining areas, which is a real benefit of the layout of this venue. More high than it is wide, it allows for plenty of tables spread across a range of areas, providing a private feel to the dining experience. Unusually, the toilets come with showers – left over from whatever incarnation this place was in a previous life.

The Atmosphere
Zorya is the perfect place to come to for a meal, a drink or three, and some banter with the friendly, extremely smiley staff. The purveying feeling is one of attention to detail and a genuine desire to make sure the customers are enjoying themselves. If you’re lucky enough to head along on a night when the Eastern dancers are displaying their prowess, you’ll be in for a treat. Cheesy? Perhaps a little. Fun? Definitely! They may even drag you up for an attempt at the Kosac (the Russian dance that may look easy but is nigh on impossible!).

The Food
Bar snacks for lining the stomach are unusual and steeped in Eastern European flavours. Expect dishes like the potato pancakes with beetroot and horseradish, Lietiniac Blynari (savoury, deep-fried minced meat and cottage cheese parcels with dip), mixed sausages, and chicken schitzels (all priced between £5-£6). Unusual, to say the least.

The a la carte is very well thought out at Zorya, consisting of soups priced at around £5 including Hungarian Goulash and Barszcz. Starters include steak tartar, beef stroganoff, potato cake and beetroot caviar, or duck terrine, all for around a fiver. Highly recommended is the Barszcz. An unusual flavour for many Londoners’ palates, you’ll be hard pushed not to sigh in delight. Bright red in colour, the slightly vinegary undertones of the beetroot isn’t overpowering and mixes well with the sour cream, taking the edge off. The dumplings add a pleasant doughy texture to the dish – sublime. The same too goes for the steak tartar, which will convert anyone who’s ever been too squeamish to try the raw meat dish. The steak mixture is light and tastes like an excellent rare steak, only in a pate like form – fresh and surprisingly light for raw meat. The light seasoning works perfectly and produces an excellent all-around starter.

Mains are equally steeped in European flavours, including homemade goulash with beef, veal and pork (£11.50), chicken schnitzel stuffed with sausage, plum and cheese with leek mash (£11), and almond baked whole trout with grilled cheese and flambeed with rum (£13.50). Recommended is the goulash, which again is unusual but altogether pleasant for English palates, not accustomed to such food. The meat is tender and good quality, and the mix of the three meats is unique to Zorya and an excellent reason to visit. Also good is the golabki - cabbage leaves with minced pork and rice, served on sauerkraut and topped with grilled smoked sausage. All very typical flavours of Eastern Europe, this is a must for sausage fans, the smoky sausage almost being overpowering but staying on the right side of delicious. The minced pork is subtle and the sauerkraut is a must for anyone who’s not tried it before.

Finally, there are the desserts – all priced at £4.50. They include apple strudel, zorya roulade with cherries, poppies and cream cheese and baklavas. The baklavas are extremely sweet whilst not being sickly – delicious little pastry parcels that melt in the mouth with each bite and provide the perfect end to your meal. Meanwhile, be sure to also have a go at the pancakes, complete with a chocolate and rum sauce and filled with walnut and raisin. These are nothing short of incredible. And, best of all, the dish arrives on fire! Now there aren’t many places where you have to blow out flames first. Leaving a slightly charred flavour that works perfectly with the light alcohol taste, it will keep chocolate lovers very happy.

The Drink
This is where Zorya really shines. They have one of the most impressive drinks lists you’ll have ever clapped eyes on, with over 250 vodkas from across the world, and a large number of Polish and Russian varieties (as the debate rages about which of these territories vodka originated from). There are also representatives from 26 countries including places as diverse as Serbia, Armenia, Belarus, Croatia, Iceland, Lithuania and Latvia, with even USA, Mexico, England and Scotland getting in on the action. Kazakhstan also has its own vodka the Snow Queen - high five! Shots cost between £3 for a 25ml shot to a whopping £15 for a 25ml Zubrowka Decanter; however, it’s worth the money – this isn’t the place to come for a piss up, it’s all about appreciating a culture and proper drinking. There’s no Smirnoff (although the premium brands Grey Goose, 42 Below, Stoli, Belvedere, zubrowska, Absolut and Finlandia all get a look in). If you’re stumped, be sure to try the Roberto Cavali at 40% proof for £6.50, the Camitz CO2 sparkling vodka from Sweden at £6 or the potent Mexican Villa Lobos at a whopping 45% proof.

If you’re not really into drinking pure vodka shots the infusions are the way to go. At just £3.50 a shot, you can choose from fizzy cola bottles, glacier mint, skittles, coffee bean, or mars bar flavours. If you’re particularly brave then go for the chilli vodka, which will blow your head off, or the garlic vodka. Be warned though, you’ll smell of garlic for about 2 days. Alternatively, there is a great selection of cocktails, including a delicious caiprioska and must-try blueberry martini (which is a little syrupy and sickly-sweet at first but soon grows on you). All priced at around £6-£7 they’re excellent value. Beers come in bottled varieties only but include interesting choices like Baltika, Budvar, Pilsner Urquell and Zyweic. There’s even a European wine selection, priced at just £13-£26 a bottle and covering all the bases in terms of reds, white and roses. Alternatively, splash out on a bottle of Laurent Perrier Rose Champagne for £76.

The Last Word
With a decent food menu, a warm and friendly staff and comfortable surrounds, Zorya could have easily been just another decent eatery in Camden. However, it’s really pushed the boundaries with its superb drinks menu, which makes it a drinking destination in its own right. A vodka-lover’s dream come true.

venue information venue map view london review user reviews (4) image gallery (3)