(323) 654-3030

8151 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90046 34.0907 -118.3668

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Neighborhoods: West Hollywood, Central LA

Last updated 6.04.11

Category:

Coffee & Tea Shops, Restaurants

Cuisine:

Russian

What People Are Saying About Traktir

Featured Review

Charlie Amter

Contributor

Since the early 1990s, this West Hollywood restaurant has been drawing Russian ex-pats to their West Hollywood location for a taste of home. A young, hip crowd comes for dishes like Traktir's authentic kharcho (lamb soup), which exudes a complex combination of spices and herbs (yet is hearty enough to eat like a meal). Other winning dishes include the Armenian-style lula kebab or any of the large fish dishes (which come as a whole fish with a generous side order of potatoes). The patio here takes up the entire front portion of the restaurant looking over Santa Monica Blvd. and is always…

ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. “Great ambiance, friendly staff and delicious authentic Russian/Ukranian dishes that make you come back over and over again to this place.”
  2. “The atmosphere is casually cozy and welcoming and is abound with friendly service and people.”
drinks
100.0% positive
  1. “Located on Santa Monica Boulevard, this restaurant is filled with Russian patrons drinking great Baltic beer and tasty fruit Kompott, which is already a sign of good authentic food.”
  2. “started with the borscht it was very good, then the trio vereniki (Russian style dumplings), chicken blintzes very good and tasty, for main dish we ordered chicken tabaka (pressed cornish hen in garlic wine sauce so so delicious.”
food quality
94.70000267028809% positive
  1. “would highly recommend it for any one who loves good food and great service.”
  2. “Great huge sandwiches, delicious salads, and my favorite, all those Russian cold appetizers.”
  3. “Not discouraging anyone from going there, but if you have a lot of patience and can deal with lengthy waits while dining at your table, then I highly recommend this place because of the food (not service).”
  4. “Excellent food.”
  5. “Amazing food here--very authentic.”
  6. “best russian food”
  7. “The borscht, dumplings, pork chops and stroganoff --right down to the pickles--were all excellent.”
  8. “great russian restaurant, as authentic as they come, service was excellent, weather permitting outside sitting is the best”
  9. “best soups ever, nice Russian restaurant fresh food”
  10. “just had the best meal ever.”
  11. “Great ambiance, friendly staff and delicious authentic Russian/Ukranian dishes that make you come back over and over again to this place.”
  12. “Fantastic food”
  13. “Both plates were very tasty (I think they both had the same sauce).”
  14. “This is one of my favorite spots to get Russian food.”
  15. “started with the borscht it was very good, then the trio vereniki (Russian style dumplings), chicken blintzes very good and tasty, for main dish we ordered chicken tabaka (pressed cornish hen in garlic wine sauce so so delicious.”
  16. “Better yet, forego the uncomfortable bathroom situation and the terrible service, just get your food to go.”
  17. “The food is wonderful.”
  18. “didn't like to invite my friends on weekends cause of SLOW SERVICE,but my last visit on this weekend was unbelievable, excellent food ( like always) and best service I've ever had”
  19. “delicious food.”
  20. “Located in west hollywood this charming restaurant delivers great tasting russian food.”
  21. “will definitely go back because I love the food”
  22. “Located on Santa Monica Boulevard, this restaurant is filled with Russian patrons drinking great Baltic beer and tasty fruit Kompott, which is already a sign of good authentic food.”
overall
100.0% positive
  1. “What a great place.”
  2. “What a great place for lunch or dinner!”
  3. “great russian restaurant, as authentic as they come, service was excellent, weather permitting outside sitting is the best”
  4. “Love the outdoor patio, it's a great place to enjoy wonderful LA weather and people watch.”
  5. “best soups ever, nice Russian restaurant fresh food”
  6. “Very nice restaurant.”
  7. “great russian restaurant”
return potential
100.0% positive
  1. “Great ambiance, friendly staff and delicious authentic Russian/Ukranian dishes that make you come back over and over again to this place.”
  2. “will definitely go back because I love the food”
service
78.13000202178955% positive
  1. “Not discouraging anyone from going there, but if you have a lot of patience and can deal with lengthy waits while dining at your table, then I highly recommend this place because of the food (not service).”
  2. “great russian restaurant, as authentic as they come, service was excellent, weather permitting outside sitting is the best”
  3. “great service.”
  4. “Friendly and nice waiters there.”
  5. “Extremely clean, and waiters are super professional.”
  6. “New stuff is really friendly and doing their best”
  7. “They seem to hate gay people”
  8. “didn't like to invite my friends on weekends cause of SLOW SERVICE,but my last visit on this weekend was unbelievable, excellent food ( like always) and best service I've ever had”
  9. “The service was horribly slow, but at least friendly and the restaurant itself was chilly and too brightly lit.”
  10. “Love the outdoor patio, it's a great place to enjoy wonderful LA weather and people watch.”
  11. “The waiter was very nice.”
  12. “Better yet, forego the uncomfortable bathroom situation and the terrible service, just get your food to go.”
  13. “The atmosphere is casually cozy and welcoming and is abound with friendly service and people.”
  14. “However, I didn't love the service, as the servers seemed a bit impersonal (but who goes to a restaurant expecting to be the waiter's best friend?)”
  15. “would highly recommend it for any one who loves good food and great service.”
  16. “Great ambiance, friendly staff and delicious authentic Russian/Ukranian dishes that make you come back over and over again to this place.”
value
83.33000183105469% positive
  1. “Great huge sandwiches, delicious salads, and my favorite, all those Russian cold appetizers.”
wait time
75.0% positive
  1. “Couple of times I showed up without a reservations and both times I was not able to get a table (Russians love to have long dinners, so waiting for a table to open may take a while).”
  2. “The service was horribly slow, but at least friendly and the restaurant itself was chilly and too brightly lit.”
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

04/17/10

Fantastic food

by weho333 at Citysearch

Amazing food here--very authentic. You will not and cannot go wrong at Traktir.

Great service, but sometime slow. But who cares? They are very friendly here, a rarity at Russian restaurants in LA.

Also, they make their own vodka here. No surprise, they are crowded often on weekends.

  • Pros: Everything on the menu works well
  • Cons: Sometimes slow service, but that's just their way
3 Star Rating: Average

12/14/08

Get Take Out

by duckamok at Citysearch

Excellent food. The borscht, dumplings, pork chops and stroganoff --right down to the pickles--were all excellent. The flavored vodkad all tasted "stale", if that's possible, with the exception of the hot pepper vodka, which was really great once you got past the fire.

The service was horribly slow, but at least friendly and the restaurant itself was chilly and too brightly lit. The restroom consists of a single employee restroom within the kitchen. I recommend not drinking a lot. Better yet, forego the uncomfortable bathroom situation and the terrible service, just get your food to go...

  • Pros: Food
  • Cons: Ambiance
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

10/20/08

great russian restaurant

by Maya at Citysearch

great russian restaurant, as authentic as they come, service was excellent, weather permitting outside sitting is the best

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

03/06/08

Went with a Russian: He loved it

by KariMcShorty at Citysearch

I went on Wednesday night to Traktir. The waiter was very nice. We drank the compote, which was very refreshing. We ordered the trio of those dumplings, then the chicken in crepes with mushroom cream sauce. Both plates were very tasty (I think they both had the same sauce). I guess Russian food is on the heavier side but it was a fun experience. Traktir is one of those ethnic experiences where the many of the diners are from the country. Most people there seemed Russian. That's a good sign, right?

  • Pros: Affordable, diner style Russian restaurant with yummy, satisfying food
  • Cons: Service is kind of slow but not a big deal, still check it out
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

08/21/07

great service. delicious food.

by mandys57 at Citysearch

I can always go here with my friends and family, whenever. We always enjoy eating here. It gives us a taste of babushka's homecooked meals. haha. =) Highly recommend to come and try it out for yourself. Take my word, it will not be time wasted and you may in fact end up coming more than once.

The Details on Traktir

Place Categories:

  • excellent russian food
  • great service
  • great place
  • nice russian restaurant
  • very nice waiters
  • horribly slow service
  • great huge sandwiches
  • really good dumplings
  • great favorite
  • very good borscht
  • authentic russianukranian dishes
  • favorite spots
  • best meal
  • friendly staff
  • love russians
  • hate gay people
  • loves good food
  • all excellent stroganoff
  • delicious salads
  • great baltic beer
  • delicious garlic wine sauce
  • great gem
  • cold appetizers
  • highly recommended reservations
  • very tasty plates
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