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Trojka

101 Regents Park Road, NW1 8UR Full details & map

Café: Russian

Time Out says Rate it

By Time Out Editors Posted: Oct 27 2011

Custom was so sparse on one visit to Trojka that we wondered if this Primrose Hill stalwart had finally fallen out of favour. So, it was a pleasure on our latest excursion to find the place bustling with locals, families, yoga bunnies and distinguished émigrés.

Staff were efficient rather than friendly, but the room is cosseting; with rich red walls, gold trimmings, colourful Russian dolls and glinting mirrors, it feels like an old velvet musical box. Landscape paintings, stained glass and traditional dark wood furniture add a sense of history.

The menu offers café standards (cooked breakfasts, average cappuccino, hamburgers) alongside Russian and East European classics (caviar and blinis, pierogi, bigos, zakuski). There's a specials board too, promoting the likes of veal and chicken shepherd's pie with stroganoff sauce, and risotto. Salt beef sandwich featured caraway-flavoured rye bread with a crisp, thin crust and puffy tender crumb, though the beef needed its accompanying dollop of mustard and tangy dill pickle. The crunchy coleslaw on the side was perfect: nothing fancy, but well balanced. We love the cream cheese and sultana pancakes for dessert, but look in the cake counter to see if anything takes your fancy.

Tags: Eastern European, Russian, Breakfast/brunch, People watching, Speciality beers, North, Chalk Farm, Budget, Restaurant, Café

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Trojka details

Address

Trojka

101 Regents Park Road NW1 8UR

Transport Chalk Farm tube

Telephone

020 7483 3765

Trojka website

Meals served 8am-10pm Mon-Fri; 9am-10.30pm Sat, Sun

Main courses £8-£13.95. Set lunch (Mon-Fri) £5.95 1 course, £7.95 2 courses

Credit cards MC, V

Facilities

Tables outdoors ( 4, pavement ), Babies and children welcome ( high chairs ), Booking advisable ( dinner Fri, Sat ), Entertainment ( Russian folk music 8-10.30pm Fri, Sat ), Takeaway service

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Comments & ratings

By Alejandro - Sep 15 2011

The only reason my friend's birthday at Trojka was enjoyable was because of my friends and had little to do with the food at Trojka and nothing to do with the "service" we received. First of all, on arriving we were told that we needed to pay for bringing in our own cake which surprised me quite a bit as I'd never had that experience in a restaurant before, even restaurants much nicer and more expensive than Trojka.

The food when it arrived was satisfactory but not remarkable although a few of the guests did enjoy the dishes, the portions however seemed small especially for the price that we were paying. Then we asked for our cake to be brought out and requested the right amount of candles to be put out and the manager smiled and agreed. So my friend was a bit annoyed that when they brought out the cake (that I was afterall paying for to eat in the restaurant), with about 10 candles short and not even in their candle holders, especially as I myself used to make more of an effort with people's birthday cakes when I worked in a fast-food restaurant.

The Worst thing however was when at the end of the night, me and my remaining guests were lumped with with an additional £17 service charge on top of the £10 charge for eating our own cake, despite the fact that their menu clearly states "no additional service charge." When I queried this I was spoken to quite rudely and accused of having a bad attitude! The manager told me that if I went into any restaurant with over 6 people there would be an automatic service charge! Obviously not any restaurant I have ever been in (and I have been to quite a few)!

Eventually me and my few remaining guests divided the sum between us. What realy put the whole sting into the situation though is that the manager and staff had watched many of my guests gradually going and leaving the rest of us money for their food without mentioning that at the end the whole table would be charged so much for service, a charge that I don't believe was even deserved for the "service" we recieved! All in all I was thoroughly angry with the way we were treated and neither I nor any my friends shall ever be returning. Not once were we (a group of recent graduates and university students) treated in a welcoming way and it felt as though the management and staff would rather had the custom of the wealthier nearby Primrose Hill residents than us.

It is a great shame though as the decor is very nice but I expected more of the food, and the service was shockingly inadequate.

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By emily - Sep 22 2010

The food was delicious, but the service was terrible. After giving us the plates and cutlery for the starters, we waited another 20 minutes before they finally gave us the food, and we must have waited another 30-40 minutes in between finishing the starter and getting the main course. There was a birthday party of 15-20 people there, so I don't know if that caused the slow service, but generally the restaurant was not exactly packed! In short, go to Trojka when you're not really hungry, as you will inevitably be starving by the time your food finally arrives...