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Lviv Culinary Traditions

Lviv Culinary Traditions

A short list of the traditional Ukrainian dishes every tourist must try in Lviv

Salo – Cured pork fat, traditionally served in thin slices with garlic and bread, often accompanied by pickles.
Borscht – A vibrant beetroot soup served with sour cream, often featuring meat, potatoes, and cabbage.
Varenyky – Ukrainian dumplings filled with a variety of ingredients, such as potatoes, cheese, mushrooms, or cherries.
Holubtsi – Cabbage rolls stuffed with a mixture of rice, meat, and vegetables, often served with a tomato sauce.
Deruny – Crispy potato pancakes, usually served with sour cream or mushroom sauce.
Banosh – A creamy cornmeal porridge, often topped with bryndza cheese, sour cream, or crispy bacon.
Lviv Syrnyk – A signature Lviv cheesecake made from sweetened cottage cheese, baked until golden, and often flavored with vanilla or citrus zest. It's served with chocolate glaze or powdered sugar.

Culinary traditions reveal the peculiarities of the region no worse than its architectural monuments. Lviv is no exception in this aspect. While many Lviv restaurants compete in offering universally popular international dishes like pizza, pasta, burgers and sushi, others are focusing on offering traditional Ukrainian cuisine or the modern versions of the well known culinary classics.

Lviv cuisine is often equated with Galician cuisine, but this is not entirely true. Local cuisine was influenced by many culinary traditions of people migrating to Lviv from different countries and regions. In addition, Lviv has always been the largest city in the region, and therefore all exotic spices, oriental delicacies and culinary novelties first came here, and later spread to other cities. So even if you are already familiar with Ukrainian culinary staples, it is worth tying the local version.