In the very heart of Manhattan, in a quiet basement on 7th Street, there is a place that doesn’t attract attention with glamorous signs but is easily remembered after the first spoonful of borscht. Streecha is not just a cafeteria. It’s a warm piece of Ukraine in the metropolis, where the aroma of fresh varenyky, fasting borscht, uzvar, honey cake, and childhood lingers. Under wooden tables, in soft lighting, time seems to stand still — and you find yourself in grandmother’s kitchen, where the main thing is not appearance, but soul.
There are no designer solutions, trendsetting cocktails, or Instagram-worthy presentations here. Everything — sincere, simple, with love. Plastic trays, homemade dishes, a smiling lady at the counter. Each dish here is like a touch to the past. The menu is small but accurate: hearty borscht with beans and beets, dumplings with potatoes, cabbage, or cherries, liberally drizzled with butter, fragrant garlic pampushky, juicy stuffed cabbage rolls, nalysnyky, pies with various fillings, honey cake, poppy seed cake, and cottage cheese pancakes. Everything is as it should be: not perfectly symmetrical, but incredibly tasty. And — affordable. In a city where prices make you order water, here you can genuinely and heartily have lunch for $10.
But Streecha is not just about food. It’s about community. The cafeteria is located in the basement of the Ukrainian Catholic Church of St. Yuri, and operates thanks to volunteers — women from the diaspora who come every day to make varenyky, bake pies, cook borscht. The proceeds go to community needs, aid for newcomers, and support during times of crisis. This place lives not because of a business model, but because of a sense of duty, generosity, and love for one’s own.
With the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine in 2022, Streecha became even more important. Here, donations are collected, charity fairs are held, camouflage nets are knitted, hugs are given, support is offered, meetings are organized. Ukrainian people of different ages and experiences — those who came half a century ago and those who arrived very recently — become closer to each other. And here, in a simple basement in Manhattan, pulsates a living Ukraine.
Streecha is not a restaurant. It’s memory, caring, a connection to home. It’s a place that isn’t advertised on tourist maps but is passed down from mouth to mouth as a true treasure. Not only Ukrainians gather here. People seeking something genuine — taste, peace, humanity — come here. Because Streecha is a small place with a big heart, where Ukraine remains itself, even thousands of kilometers away from home.
Current information:
Address: 33 E 7th St, New York, NY 10003, United States
Phone: +1 (330)-836-5533
Hours:
Fri-Sun 09:00–17:00 (09:00 AM - 05:00 PM)
