Brighton Beach, known as Little Odessa, is home to one of the largest Russian-speaking communities outside the former Soviet Union. The neighbourhood centres on Brighton Beach Avenue, running beneath the B and Q train elevated tracks, lined with Russian, Georgian, Uzbek, and Ukrainian food shops, bakeries, and restaurants. The mix has shifted over the decades from the original Soviet-Jewish diaspora to a broader post-Soviet world — Uyghur noodle shops next to Georgian bakeries next to Uzbek supermarkets — but the energy of the street remains unchanged.
The boardwalk connects Brighton Beach westward to Coney Island's amusement strip, and the beach itself is wide and free. Most visitors come to eat: borscht and varenyky at one of the sit-down restaurants, fresh khachapuri from a Georgian bakery, or hand-pulled laghman noodles at the city's only Uyghur restaurant. Tatiana, operating since 1990 with live music and an outdoor boardwalk terrace, is the area's signature experience.