Vasilki — "Cornflowers" — is one of Minsk's best-regarded restaurants for traditional Belarusian food, the kind of cooking that uses potatoes in fourteen different ways and pairs them with smoked meats, pickled vegetables, and dense dark rye bread. The interior is decorated in Belarusian folk style, which in lesser hands can feel kitschy but here is done with enough restraint to feel warm rather than theme-parky.
The draniki (potato pancakes) are essential — crisp outside, yielding inside, served with sour cream. The borscht, mushroom dishes, and pork preparations are all good. This is hearty, filling food at reasonable prices.
On Vulitsa Komsomolskaya near the city centre. Reservations are recommended on weekend evenings.