Pel Meni Dumpling Tzar - Russian restaurant in Seattle - 1630 12th Ave, USA

I had high hopes for this place. I was secretly imagining my stepmother’s scrumptious pirogies, but realized this was different right away. These are Russian. And they are spiced! Yikes. I took a shot and tried the vinegar dipped little dumplings. Sure to be mixed with sour cream and butter! Yum? Well, if you are a fan of (red?) vinegar, you are in luck. These little dumplings taste so much like vinegar, I didn’t even realise I was eating meat dumplings even though I ordered the potato! Lucky me!

Weird experience. No vibe at all on a Saturday night, quiet inside. Website misleading, promising a nonexistent happy hour and lower prices than what we found in person. Dine-in food served in plastic takeout containers. Service was super friendly, but slow as there was only one person working front and back. Food was tasty but not enough value for price.

Honestly was expecting to have authentic Russian pelmeni. Growing up, my mom would hand make them her self which was one of my favorite meals. Trying the dumplings from other places, I know what they taste like roughly and have an expectation. The presentation here was great, it looked so good and tasty but in my first bite, my countenance grimaced upon the contact of the overly vinegary-tasting dumpling. I payed 20+ dollars for food that made me feel Ill later In The evening. The older man that was working that evening worsened my friends and I’s feeling of the restaurant and would fully ignore us, have an attitude when I tried to make small talk. Just overly stand offish energy. Won’t be coming back here unfortunately, I really wish I had a different experience since I love Russian food.

Cool spot in Fremont (shared small business area), with a real Seattle vibe. The food was great. Strong flavors, soft dumpling dough, and awesome sauces. I don't know a lot about Russian food, but these dumplings were super tasty. I'll be back.

This review is in regards to the Capital Hill location. Food was OK - nothing special, and actually somewhat expensive (high cost of living in Seattle is likely to blame for that). Ice cream was melted - but it was a long car drive home. Service was OK as well. Overall this establishment is OK. Not great. Not good. Just OK. I probably won't eat here again.

The nearby Danbo Ramen had an hour long wait. To fill our bellies we came here on a recommendation from a friend. Let’s start with the positives. Do get the fries when you come here. The fries seemed to be baked and were topped by this delicious curry powder which accentuated the taste of the fries. The dumplings are topped with various seasoning and a creamy yogurt. You gotta stir it all up to get the best flavor out of it. You have two choices for the regular dumplings potato or beef. We opted for the potato dumplings. Do keep in mind that you might be munching on a lot of potatoes if you order the fries as well. I docked a star or two because I got the feeling that one of the servers was mocking me when I asked for two to-go boxes. I wasn’t impressed by that but all in all a good experience if you want to experience traditional Russian food(atleast according to me it’s traditional!)

I had the large serving of Mac n cheese dumplings. The reason I give 4 stars (was contemplating giving 3 stars) is how small of a serving it was. Again I had the "large" serving for $12!! But I left hungry. It was nothing but a appetizer. Everything else on the menu seemed overpriced as well. Don't get me wrong, the food tasted great and came out quick (I was the only one there).

Yummy and quick! Had the razorback and traditional and was not disappointed. The seasonal cocktail bumble buzz was quite tasty. Would definitely return.