Good Ukrainian cooking, of the borscht-and-meat genre, is fairly rare nowadays outside traditional homes, so if you’re keen on local food, you’d best hope for an invitation from a family. Not to say that traditional food is totally non-existent in commercial establishments; it can be found, but the choice will invariably be limited. What is more common is international cuisine, whether Chinese, Indian, Italian, or fast food. Fortunately for budget travellers, even good, filling meals can be had very cheaply.
Most restaurants in Ukraine serve from 12 noon to 11 at night.
All the large cities in Ukraine have venues where regular performances of theatre (in Ukrainian or Russian), folk dances, music, puppet-theatre and opera are held. The Ukrainians are, by and large, fond of music and singing, so there is no dearth of places where you will often find good wholesome entertainment for a relatively low price. The government regularly hosts performances with tickets being sold at highly subsidised rates, and getting a ticket isn’t a problem.
Nightclubs, discos and bars are common in large cities- Kiev, especially, is flooded with them.