By contributor Donna Shor
Video Photo Credit: Neshan H. Naltchayan
Platters of hors d’oeuvres circulating every two minutes, a constantly replaced blini and caviar station and interesting flavored vodkas were highlights of last night’s kick-off party for Mari Vanna, the Russian restaurant just south of Dupont Circle which officially opens today.
Photo credit: Travis Vaughn
Hockey star Alex Ovechkin has already given it a champion’s ovation, and with the restaurant’s lace-and-teakettle décor, he must have felt himself back in his grandma’s Russian parlor. To enter here is to step into another world–you expect Anna Karenina to float through the rooms at any moment–yet you could rush along Connecticut Avenue past it scarcely even noticing.
Tucked in a few doors away from The Mayflower Hotel, behind the deceptively small-looking façade, Mari Vanna has 6,500 square feet of surprising coziness spread over three floors. The hand-crocheted doilies, tiny porcelain thimble collection, ornate chandeliers hundreds of tchotchkes, and comfortable chairs and sofas add to that impression, but it is the welcoming warmth of the staff and their eagerness to please that really make you feel you are in someone’s home.
Photo credit: Travis Vaughn
Reports from other Mari Vanna restaurants confirm this attitude is universal, an aspect of their philosophy and it does not seem forced. Part of the Ginza Group, DC’s branch has Dimitry Belyanov as General Manager. We noticed that even though there was a very large staff on hand for the party, he was busily clearing away and passing trays when we approached him. It’s that kind of a place, no standing on ceremony.
“There are six Mari Vannas,” said Belyanov, “stretching from St.Petersburg (on the banks of the Volga) to London, by way of New York. The same classic Russian dishes can be found in all of them, and similar furnishings.”
Photo credit: Travis Vaughn
Their appetizers and entrées are big on meat, chicken, and salmon, with typical generous sour cream garnishes if wished. And they have the same vodkas, ranging from fruit flavors to a marvelous honey one.
Don’t confuse these with sweet liqueurs; it is to your peril if you do. And for any gentleman put off by all the talk about lace and knickknacks, just knock back a shot of their Horseradish Vodka to change your tune.
Photo credit: Travis Vaughn.
The ground floor, while well-decorated, is the simplest background of the three, almost Spartan compared to the others. At the very well-stocked bar, jars and decanters of vodka sit while natural fruits and flavors are being infused in them. The second floor has tables and a lounge area, but it is the third floor that late-nighters will probably head for. With a disco ball amid the wall sconces and dangling-crystal chandeliers, there is also a bar, music and lots of plushy sofas, where lighter food can be ordered until 2 a.m.
Photo credit: Travis Vaughn
Russia’s literary history is big on legends and fairy tales and these restaurants are named for one character that has become a symbol of hospitality, always striving to feed guests well with home-cooked dinners.
Mari Vanna, it seems, was not only hospitable, she was a great cook famed for serving delectable meals to strangers. When the strangers became “regulars,” each had his own doorbell for entrance. All Mari Vanna restaurants have several bells on the doors, marking it as Mari’s house.
Erika Pinto, Phillip Latham and Katya Ananieva showcase their keys to Mari Vanna. Photo credit: John Robinson.
When I left, the hostess, saying they were continuing the tradition, handed me a key to the door, to be used on Key Monday nights, when after 7 pm hors d’oeuvres would be passed and a DJ would do his thing. The key was attached to a tiny red-painted “Matryoshka” doll, one of the little carved nested wooden figures Russian children play with..
She told me that this key in my handbag would open the special doors of any of their Mari Vanna restaurants around the world.
Good news. Now that I have been to one of them, I want to visit them all!
