Uzhhorod. "Detsa u notaria" — the first tavern for homo sapiens

If you are in Uzhhorod for just an hour or two or for the whole day, then the restaurant-museum "Detsa u notaria" is the most positive place, where, together with dishes of the national cuisine, you can feel the Zakarpattia colour, taste a portion of folk humour, see a gallery of unconventional posters and signs, buy original souvenirs and charge yourself with a wonderful mood.

Uzhhorod. The tavern-museum "Detsa u notaria"

The ethno-restaurant is located in the southern part of the Zakarpattia capital, on the way out of the city. Visitors to the legendary establishment leave varied reviews, but not to have been in it means not to have tasted that special something and then to regret that you did not see one of the most famous landmarks of Uzhhorod.

The distinctive restaurant was opened in 1995 in the house where a person authorised to do so once lived and performed notarial acts. The tavern was named in honour of the notary, with whom, after drawing up documents, it was no sin to knock back a detsa — a hundred grams of vodka — for a successful result. With the arrival of Soviet power the office was closed, the garden was cut down by the Komsomol members, and the deer that lived freely in the garden was eaten. In memory of these events, original plaques seasoned with fresh jokes have been put up.

The menu is written in the Zakarpattia dialect. Here they serve Ukrainian borshch, Hungarian bograch and Tatar beefsteak. Great popularity is enjoyed by a soup whose recipe has survived from the times of Queen Ilona Zrinyi. The defender of Mukachevo Castle treated her beloved Imre Thokoly to it.

The wine list of the "Detsa" consists of wine products of the Berehove district.

While awaiting an order from the culinary heritage of the indigenous peoples of Zakarpattia, one can get acquainted with the exhibits of the open-air museum.

What is there not here! The extravagant paintings and slogans seem paradoxical.

A wooden caravel with a cannon is commanded by the pirate Ferko, a resident of the former village of Dravtsi, on the site of which the tavern is now located.

A bucket with a hole symbolises the budget of our country.

In the funniest cemetery, familiar sayings and promises of politicians are immortalised.

Probably the weather forecasters use a Roma barometer and predict the weather with the help of a rope. If the rope cannot be seen — it is foggy outside; if it is swinging — it is windy; if it is wet — rain is coming.

The whole interior is filled with amusing figurines and posters, unconventional slogans.

With the help of parodies, caricatures and cartoons, not very good manifestations in people's behaviour are ridiculed, and sayings of famous figures are recalled. The grotesque is present in the quotations on topical themes.

The authorship of the satirical ideas and sharp humour belongs to the owner of the tavern, Pavlo Chuchka, a well-known satirical poet and linguist.

Every year on 12 July the "Carpathian Wordmonger" festival is held in the ethno-cultural complex. The tavern does not resemble the traditional public-catering establishments, the glass cafes and the dive bars.

"Detsa u notaria" is open from 10 in the morning until 2 in the night.

Address: Uzhhorod, Gagarin Street, 98.

You can get there by minibus taxi No. 1 and No. 20.

Coordinates: 48°35'30"N 22°19'5"E