SINO is a Ukrainian-inspired restaurant in Notting Hill from founder Polina Sychova and chef Eugene Korolev, which opened in May 2025. The 52-cover restaurant takes inspiration from dishes and ingredients from across Ukraine, reworking them with contemporary Western techniques to showcase Ukrainian food in a completely new way.
But behind the refined plates is a story that goes far beyond the kitchen. In February 2022, Eugene, who is also president of Bocuse D’Or Ukraine, joined the Ukrainian special forces and fought on the front line. He left the army in September 2023 and returned to cooking, eventually bringing members of his former Dnipro restaurant team with him to London to form a largely Ukrainian kitchen brigade at SINO.
The menu is inspired by Eugene’s travels across Ukraine, from its mountains and forests to its fertile plains and coastline. Dishes include smoked potato with pike roe and hay-infused cream, beef tartare with ceps sabayon and lovage oil, and vareniky dumplings filled with ox tail, served with a spicy beef broth and homemade mushroom garum. There’s also cherry-glazed BBQ catfish, inspired by a famous dish from Odesa’s Pryvoz Market.
Even the restaurant’s name has a story behind it. Pronounced “see-no”, SINO comes from the Ukrainian word for hay, which has deep cultural significance in the country and features throughout the restaurant’s design. Hay motifs sit alongside Ukrainian clay, handmade ceramics and natural materials, while the drinks menu from mixologist Ana Reznik takes inspiration from Ukrainian dishes, including a buckwheat milk punch and a cocktail inspired by apple buns.
For Polina and Eugene, SINO is ultimately about putting Ukrainian culture and gastronomy on the map. Ukrainian food remains relatively underrepresented in the UK, and the pair hope the restaurant can introduce Londoners to the country through its ingredients, traditions and cooking, while creating something that feels both familiar and completely new.
Key Information
Address | 7 All Saints Rd, London W11 1HA
For more information | sinorestaurant.co.uk
