Odesa has absorbed the culinary traditions of many national cuisines, but the Ukrainian and Jewish ones had the most significant influence.
Ukrainian specialties such as the famous Borsch (beetroot soup), Varenyky (boiled dumplings with a savory or sweet filling), and Draniki (Potato pancakes) could be easily found almost in any restaurant. Сheese Dranikis is a local variation of the classics. It is similar to swiss röstis: The Dranikis are topped with some cheese and sour cream and then baked in the oven. This local dish is often served with Rapanos and blue cheese toppings;
Jewish-cuisine-inspired specialties are Gefilte fish (stuffed fish), home-style chicken broth, dubbed "Jewish penicillin", eggplant ragout spread or "eggplant caviar" as locals call it, and Sheika (stuffed poultry neck), which is a sort of sausage made from chicken or goose neck skin stuffed with flour, semolina, bread crumbs or matzo meal, schmaltz, and fried onions and sewn up with a thread.
While shrimp, mussels, turbot, anchovies, and sardines would sooner evoke the Mediterranean, they can all be found in the Black Sea off the coast of Ukraine and thus in many Odesa restaurants.
Forshmak (herring spread) is the crown dish of Odesa's cuisine and also has Jewish roots. It is made from herring, onions, butter, and lemon juice. Green apples, boiled eggs, walnuts, and other "secret" ingredients are often added. Forshmak is traditionally served with dark rye bread toast.
Turbot, a popular fish in many Michelin-starred restaurants, is getting different treatment In Odesa. It is likely to be prepared simply, baked or fried, with the usual garnishes, including potatoes, rice, buckwheat, mushrooms, and gherkins (pickled baby cucumbers).
Crawfish and small pink shrimp are local favorites. Small shrimp are typically eaten whole, with or without a skewer. They’re also used to stuff fish fillets, or in juliennes, which in Ukraine doesn’t designate a particular way to cut vegetables, but an “au gratin” dish with mushrooms, meat or seafood, cream, and cheese. Mussels and Rapanas often receive the same treatment.
Salted fish is quite popular locally as a beer snack. Vobla (aka Caspian roach), cured with the roe still inside the fish, became popular back in the Soviet times; Taran is similar to but comes from the Black and Azov sea; Lesch - freshwater bream is also a popular choice of salted fish.
A wide variety of small fish could be found at any local market: Danube herrings (aka Dunayka), gobies (a fish found all over the world but of commercial importance mainly in Ukraine), sardines, and tasty, fatty, local anchovies.
Tsatsa, which is a bunch of deep-fried Black Sea sprats is another local specialty.
