Rasputin Restaurant Review - a Russian Restaurant and Nightclub

Brooklyn is home to a closely knit community of successful and elegant Russian families. One of them is Michael Levitis,  who emigrated from Russia over 20 years ago, is an attorney, has a mortgage and title company, and is  the co -owner of  Rasputin, Brooklyn’s most popular Russian Restaurant and  Nightclub at 2070 Coney Island Avenue, a thirty minute subway or car ride from Manhattan.  Michael has created what some consider a masterpiece, a night out in Russia right here in New York
Regardless of your age or Nationality . . .  whether you live in one of New York’s five boroughs  . . . or are a tourist passing through, if you are looking for a special ethnic, fun, festive and delicious Saturday evening,   and if you like to dress to the nines,  enjoy  a fast paced cabaret and love to dance, I highly recommend  Rasputin, a one of a kind restaurant that will immerse you in Russian culture and a fusion of exquisite cuisines. 
When the invite came to experience a taste of Moscow in Brooklyn last Saturday night, I gained a few pounds just reading Rasputin’s extensive Four Course Prix Fixe  Banquet Menus online at their  website, before I even ventured out of  Manhattan. They offer four different decadent Banquet  tasting  menus, ranging in price from $99.00 to $160.00 per person, including the show, and dancing, plus a  wide variety of a la carte selections.  They include: Banquet Rasputin, Banquet Royal, Banquet a la Russe and Banquet Noble.

Seaside Car Service picks me up at my midtown New York City apartment at 8:30; the ride is quite pleasant, driving on the Beltway along the water. My first impression of Rasputin is a feeling of being transported back in time. Everyone is stylishly and expensively dressed; there is a sense of opulence, glitter and a little glitz; most are seated with family and friends at long tables. We are a group of ten, here to experience and taste a special  Rasputin evening… and to be treated like Imperial Russian Royalty.
I am led to our table, which is already laden with a bounty of first course delicacies we will be served as starters on the  “Banquet Royal” Menu ; I am quite  impressed with the plating, presentation and table décor.  When we are all seated, servers remove one dish at a time from the table, and take turns serving us family style. Plates are removed and replaced with others; I find myself devouring more creative dishes than I can possibly describe.  Each salad, fish and meat is a savory fusion of different flavors that titillate and tantalize my taste buds ; I do not know if we are still into the first course, or have moved on to the second.  Vodka is poured to accompany the black caviar served on a warm blini. Yummy, I love caviar. The wine flows, as does the attentive service; we are served a Robert Mondavi Private Selection crisp 
Cabernet Sauvignon and a Robert Mondavi Private Selection Merlot, both priced at $40 a bottle. Wines by the glass are reasonably priced from $ 8 to $10
Some of my favorite and most  decadent dishes: the whole branzino stuffed with yellow fin tuna, confit of duck with essence of honey and Meyer lemon, the cold lobster salad with chef Lovely’s special sauce, Yukon gold potatoes and mushrooms, Chilean sea bass with Thai carrot ginger infusion and the New Zealand  rack of lamb with smashed parmigiano  potatoes. 

At 11 P.M, the lights glow brighter when the cabaret begins.  After imbibing on food and wine for two hours, I am happy to sit back and be entertained. The show is fast paced; singers and dancers warble and whirl; the finale is colorful and exciting.  Now it’s time to move my own eager- to- dance feet onto the dance floor. Haven’t boogied like this in months, but like Cinderella at the ball,  at  2 A.M. my chariot is waiting to take me back to that other borough.

Moscow in Brooklyn is close enough to visit more often than Moscow in Russia, so I plan to come back with another group of friends for more caviar and vodka.  I don’t know  much about Rasputin, the Russian scoundrel who was said to have had a way with women, other than he was a mystic who lived from 1869 to 1916 and  had a big influence on the Czar of Russia,  but I do know Rasputin Restaurant’s Executive Chef Lovely M. Sandou has a magical and mystical way with food,  you don’t want to miss. It’s a great place for a private party or a corporate event.

Rasputin Restaurant
2670 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn New York
Telephone: 718- 332-8111
E mail: [email protected]



Banquet Royal

PRIX FIXE



Saturday & Special Events $130 / per person
Includes one bottle of 750 ml of vodka for 10 ppl

18% Gratuity Additional

First Course
•    Salmon Louis XIV Style
•    Whole Branzino Stuffed with Yellow fin Tuna Tartare
•    Black Caviar with Black Truffle Blini
( $20 Supplement)
•    Chinois Filet Mignon with Grilled Pineapple Garni
•    Salad of Organic Baby Greens with Vinaigrette Romanoff
•    Crispy Confit du Canard with Esssence of Honey & Meyer Lemon
•    Seared Ahi Tuna with Asian Vinaigrette Dipping Sauce
•    Rasputin Market Salad with Edamame and Pesto Drizzle
•    Noveau Lardon Salad with Reggiano-Parmigiano Tuile
•    Moldavian Harvest of Pickled Fruits & Vegetables
•    LeMoulin Rouge du Langoustine with Teriyaki Vergee
•    Calf’s Tongue with Baby Aubergine a la Russe
•    Cold Maine Lobster Salad with Chef Lovely’s Special Sauce
•    Le Batton of Eel with Miso Dipping Sauce

Second Course
•    Classic Lobster Bisque
•    Yukon Gold Potatoes & Mushrooms a la Moscow
•    Hudson Valley Foie Gras with Fresh Boysenberry Reduction
•    Braised Short Ribs in Port Wine Reduction with Wild Rice
•    Soft Shell Crab & Seafood Medley Bougantier

Entrees
•    Chilean Sea Bass with a Thai Carrot Ginger Infusion
•    New Zealand Rack of Lamb with Smashed Parmigiano Potatoes

Desserts
•    Feast of Seasonal Fresh Fruits & Berries
•    Pastry Chef Albina’s Banquet du Patisserie

Lovely M. Sandou
Executive Chef