Veselka Feeds the Masses, One Pierogi at a Time

Late Monday night at Veselka: drunken college students devouring stacks of syrup-doused pancakes. A young woman in Kelly-green scrubs, alone at the counter and dipping freshly baked rye bread into a steaming cup of matzo ball soup. A couple sharing warm gazes over dishes piled high with golden brown pierogis. No matter who you are or what your story is, you can always count on Veselka to deliver comfort on a plate.

A self-proclaimed East Village institution, Ukrainian diner Veselka has been open for 65 years and counting. Veselka is Ukrainian for rainbow, which certainly encapsulates its customer base. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Veselka attracts customers from all walks of life to indulge in their homemade comfort food.

Owner Jason Birchard, the grandson of Veselka’s founder, describes their food as classic Ukrainian fare with an American twist. Their menu offers Ukrainian staples like pillowy-soft pierogi and ruby-colored bowls of borscht — the restaurant’s most popular items — as well as trendy brunch specials like eggs Benedict with lox and latkes.

“It’s pretty much the ultimate comfort food,” said Sam Brinton, an NYU sophomore and avid Veselka fan.

She acknowledged Veselka’s popularity among NYU students, particularly after a night out, an alternative to dollar slice joints and McDonalds fries.

“Veselka is kind of known as ‘the drunk spot’ if you live in one of the Village dorms,” Brinton said.

Birchard notes that his clientele extends far beyond tipsy undergrads, recalling when Madonna and John F. Kennedy Jr. dined at Veselka in the wee hours of the morning.

“Veselka is open 24/7 to feed the masses,” Birchard said, explaining the diner’s reasoning for their hours, a policy that has been in place since 1990. Their ability to serve quality food at all hours of the night makes Veselka a stand-out from the East Village’s myriad of restaurants.

The gentrification of the East Village has forced people to leave the neighborhood due to soaring rent prices, but many old regulars continue to make the trip back.

“Customers have been coming here for a long time,” said Veselka waiter Vasyl Semikiy in his thick Slavic accent. “They are like a family to us.”

Veselka is about twice the size of most New York diners, and tightly packed with wooden tables to accommodate their constant flow of guests — the dining room was half full even at 11 p.m. on a Monday. Festive Jack-O-Lanterns lined the restaurant’s shelves, and jewel-toned floral “petrykivka” paintings bloomed across the peach-colored walls. Instead of being glued to their phones, the groups of people in the dining room were huddled close together, engaged in lively conversations.

NYU student and first-time Veselka diner Ashley Wu was charmed by the diner’s hospitable staff and kitschy-cute Halloween decor, like the “Trick or Borscht” sign emblazoned across the back wall.

“It does seem very cozy and, like, way less pretentious than a lot of other restaurants in the village, which I appreciate a lot,” Wu said as she generously coated her short rib pierogi in sour cream.