Even if you didn’t know that Dacha is an Eastern European term for a second house that’s all about gathering and relaxing, you would feel those sentiments the moment you walk in the doors of this San Francisco restaurant.
Co-founded by married couple, Katya Skye and Suki Skye, and friend Tanya Ivanovich, the Lower Nob Hill restaurant just celebrated its second anniversary in November.
Proudly queer-owned and female-empowered, it boasts a decidedly warm, welcoming, and feminine vibe, as I found when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant last week.
It’s all in the little touches: The bud vases and candles on each table. The faux fireplace that creates a cozy feel. The homey bookcase with shelves filled with plants, books, and framed photos. And the floral wallpaper, free feminine products, hand lotion, and sweetly etched mirrors in the bathrooms.
Dacha not only hosts its own mixology classes, but Katya Skye also co-founded Manhattan Zodiac, a San Francisco company specializing in bartending services.
As such, you know a cocktail is in order the moment you sit down. There are a dozen specialty ones offered. You can’t go wrong with the Sapphire ($17) that boasts a gem-like color that lives up to its name, thanks to black currant-infused gin. It’s tangy, fruity, and herbaceous all at once from creme de cassis, vanilla-infused angostura, lavender bitters, thyme, and a splash of absinthe.
The Swallow ($19) is a bourbon- and brandy-based cocktail that comes to the table in dramatic fashion — ignited at the table (video) to finish the drink with a waft of pecan wood smoke. It’s deliciously smoky and toasting tasting, with an edge of bitter orange from the French liqueur known as Bigallet China-China Amer.
Chef Katya Pervushina, a private chef in the Bay Area, created the restaurant’s menu. For starters, the eggplant rolls ($18) are not only beautifully plated but a delicious opener. Slices of thin, custardy soft eggplant get rolled around a creamy filling of avocado and cashew. Pomegranate molasses gets drizzled over the plate in an artsy pattern to give the rolls a nice fruity, tangy accent.
Piroshki are so seldom seen that when you do spot them, they’re a must order. Choose egg & spring onion ($9), mushroom ($9) or beef ($10). We went with the latter two with the beef one distinguished by its bronzed color and sprinkle of poppy seeds, and the mushroom one more golden with sesame seeds flecked over top.
They both sport tender pastry shells. The mushroom one is loaded with the funghi, offering up a deep earthy flavor. The other brims with ground beef with onions. Accompanying them are crocks of sour cream and a tomato sauce that gets a hit of warmth from ginger. The piroshki are like a meal unto themselves. In fact, I’d happily eat one for lunch a couple times a week.
In keeping with the restaurant’s mission to support women, the very fine selections in the bread basket ($10) come from San Francisco’s Cuprum Bakery, owned by Lera Romashchenko. They include a delightfully chewy pretzel roll, a nutty walnut roll, and slices of dark rye with an irresistible whisper of sweetness.
For mains, my husband went with the lamb chop mangal ($40), a plate of juicy grilled meat accompanied by charred chunky eggplant, grilled spring onions, pita, and green adjika sauce, a spicy condiment made from fresh, raw green chilies.
When you order the sutter stroganoff ($32), as I did, the server will ask if you realize it’s made with offal, as some patrons in the past have panicked upon receiving their plate. That’s because this is not the usual stroganoff that typically comes to mind, made with beef and mushrooms in a creamy gravy served over egg noodles or mashed potatoes.
Instead, this is composed of slabs of braised beef tongue served over sauteed, chopped chicken hearts. With a big beefy taste, the tongue is tender yet toothsome, and the chicken hearts similarly tender-chewy. This is a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs dish. A few pickle slices on the plate help cut the richness. It wasn’t until after the fact that I realized that the mashed potatoes that were supposed to be part of the dish were missing in action. Even so, this dish was plenty filling. In fact, I took half of it home to enjoy for lunch the next day.
Plus, with no mashed potatoes, that meant I had even more room for dessert. And the honey cake ($14) is definitely worth saving room for. The slab of cake with its multi layers of thin sponge and creamy filling of honey, sour cream, and caramel is moist and tender. You definitely taste the floral honey, along with an almost malty note. A chocolate honeycomb makes for an adorable garnish.
Cheers to Dacha on the milestone — and for creating a space that does feel like a second home.