You can find Ukrainian home cooking in Valencia by cooking it yourself with ingredients from Eastern European shops, at a handful of cafés, or through delivery: «Смачно жити» cooks borsch, holubtsi, cutlets, syrnyky and other familiar dishes every morning and delivers them hot Monday to Friday, 12:00–14:30. A lunch with a hot main, garnish and salad costs from 11 € on a monthly plan.
In this article: which Ukrainian dishes people miss most abroad, where to find them in Valencia, and why a simple bowl of borsch can mean so much.
Why do people miss home cooking so much abroad?
Anyone who has moved countries knows the feeling. The first weeks are all new and exciting — paella, tapas, orange trees lining the streets. Then one day you really want an ordinary soup like the one at home, or buckwheat with a cutlet.
Food isn't just calories. It's memories of home, the smells of a kitchen, Sunday lunches with family. A familiar taste gives you a sense of stability when everything else is changing: language, paperwork, work, climate.
For many Ukrainians in Valencia, home cooking has also become a way to stay themselves. That's where «Смачно жити» came from: Olya, our founder and cook, is Ukrainian and a nutritionist, and she cooks the dishes she grew up with and fed her family — with nutritional balance in mind.
Which Ukrainian dishes are on our menu?
The menu changes every week, but it's built around familiar home-style dishes. Here's what you might find:
- Borsch — red, rich, with beetroot and cabbage.
- Chicken noodle soup — the one everyone makes when someone has a cold.
- Holubtsi — cabbage leaves stuffed with meat and rice.
- Chicken cutlets — with mash, buckwheat or bulgur.
- Pork plov — a hearty dish that's much loved in Ukraine too.
- Liver in sour cream — a classic you rarely see in cafés abroad.
- Vinegret — a salad of beetroot, carrots and pickled cucumbers.
- Syrnyky — cottage cheese pancakes, like breakfast at grandma's.
Alongside these there are simpler, universal dishes: baked fish with vegetables, turkey with stewed vegetables, an omelet with vegetables. That keeps the menu varied and balanced.
Trying Ukrainian food for the first time?
If you're not from Ukraine, here are a few pointers on where to start. Borsch is a thick vegetable soup based on beetroot, usually served with sour cream and bread. Holubtsi are a bit like cabbage rolls filled with meat and rice, stewed in tomato sauce. Syrnyky are small, flat pancakes made from cottage cheese, lightly sweet. Vinegret is a bright salad of boiled beetroot, carrots, potatoes and pickled cucumbers, dressed with oil.
What about buckwheat?
Yes — buckwheat is one of the garnish options, along with mashed potatoes, rice and bulgur. You can buy it in Valencia, but not in every supermarket, so many customers are glad they don't have to hunt for it.
Where can you find Ukrainian food in Valencia?
Honestly, there are several options, and each has its advantages.
- Cook it yourself. Valencia has shops with Eastern European products where you can find buckwheat, tvorog-style cottage cheese and pickles. It's the cheapest option, but it takes time — you can't make borsch in 15 minutes.
- Cafés and restaurants. There are places in the city serving Ukrainian or Eastern European food. Great for meeting friends, but eating lunch that way every day costs more and takes longer.
- Home cooks. Some people cook to order through friends or community chats. It's worth checking ingredients, allergens and storage.
- A lunch subscription. That's our format: a weekly menu, cooked in the morning, delivered hot to your office or home, with a label showing macros (kcal, protein, fat, carbs) and allergens.
We don't think a subscription replaces everything else. It solves one specific problem: having a home-cooked lunch every day without standing at the stove.
Can Ukrainian cuisine be part of a balanced diet?
Ukrainian food is sometimes seen as "heavy", but that depends on the recipe and the portion. Borsch is mostly vegetables. Vinegret is beetroot, carrots and cabbage. Buckwheat is a whole grain with fibre.
As a nutritionist, Olya adapts recipes so the dish stays tasty but balanced:
- every lunch includes a protein source — meat, fish, poultry or eggs;
- the hot main always comes with a salad or vegetables;
- fat content and portion sizes are controlled, not guessed;
- every label lists calories and macros, so you can see what you're eating.
If you'd like stricter portion control, there's the "Forma" package from 17 €, with a nutritionist consultation and a snack.
Who is Ukrainian home cooking delivery for?
First and foremost, Ukrainians and others from Eastern Europe who miss familiar flavours. But home cooking has no nationality: it may just as well appeal to Spaniards and other expats who are curious to try something new and home-made instead of yet another sandwich.
The format also suits:
- people working in an office or from home who have no time to cook on weekdays;
- parents who'd like at least lunch to be hassle-free;
- teams who want to eat together — offices with 3+ people pay from 10.50 € per meal.
We deliver to central Valencia districts such as Russafa, Benimaclet, Campanar and the city centre. Check the current zones on the site.
How do you order Ukrainian lunches in Valencia?
It's simple:
- every Thursday we publish next week's menu;
- until Sunday 20:00 you choose your garnish or pause deliveries;
- Monday to Friday the kitchen starts at around 7:00, and your lunch arrives hot between 12:00 and 14:30;
- pay by Bizum or bank transfer, and cancel in two clicks in your account.
To try it first, start with a weekly plan (12 € per meal) and switch to a monthly one from 11 € if you like it. You can add soup to any day for +2 €, and if you'd like home cooking in the evening too, there's the "Lunch + Dinner" package from 19 €.
Missing home? Take a look at this week's menu, or learn more about us and our packages.