Kolyba “Nad Potokom”, Poliana

Koliba nad Potokom (“Kolyba above the Stream”) is a wooden kolyba restaurant in the spa village of Poliana near Svaliava in Zakarpattia, on Dyskovetska Street, which climbs from the village centre along a mountain brook. The restaurant sits right above the water: the stream runs between log houses and gazebos, and next to them lie the fish ponds that, as the restaurant tells it, the owner built himself and filled with clear mountain water. Those ponds made the place famous across Zakarpattia – trout and char are raised here and served the same day.

The mood is mountain rather than urban: log cabins with carved balconies, stone walls, flower boxes on the railings, a covered terrace and, in winter, fairy lights over the water. In the warm season most guests sit outside to eat to the sound of the stream. The kolyba is highly rated on Google Maps (4.6 from almost 1,500 reviews), and reviewers most often praise the fresh fish and the quiet setting.

What to try

The main reason to come is trout from the restaurant’s own ponds. It is cooked Zakarpattia-style with onion, under mushroom or garlic sour-cream sauce, as steaks, or fried in cornmeal with potatoes (“Trout from the Hostess”). The larger trout dishes are sold by weight, which makes them easy to share. A separate section covers fish starters: house-cured lightly salted trout, forshmak with roe, carpaccio, pâté, an assortment cured from different parts of the fish, hot- or cold-smoked trout, and trout roe, billed as a local delicacy.

Mountain classics are here too: banosh with brynza (with or without cracklings), bograch made with three kinds of meat and beans, a clear porcini soup, fish soup with trout, sauerkraut with porcini and sheep’s brynza. The grill turns out potatoes baked with salo, onion and brynza, game sausages, quail, shashlik and ribs. To drink there are Zakarpattia wines, home-made fruit liqueurs, kalganivka, palinka, Zakarpattia-style coffee and beer from the Heming brewery in Mukachevo.

Below is a sample of menu prices; please check current prices at the restaurant.

Fishing, hot tub and leisure

• Fishing in the ponds. The kolyba is also listed as a fishing pond: guests can catch their own trout and have it cooked in the kitchen. Ask on site about the rules and the price of the catch.
• Outdoor hot tub (chan). A wooden tub filled with mountain water is a favourite Zakarpattia way to relax after a walk or a day of treatments in Poliana’s sanatoriums.
• For children. There is a kids’ menu and a playground with a sandpit and swings, so it works well for families.
• Nature around. The kolyba lies in a wooded valley above the spa part of the village, so you can stroll along the stream on the way.

Sample menu

Prices according to koliba2016.com, October 2026; please check current prices with the restaurant.

Practical information

Address: 115 Dyskovetska St, Poliana, Zakarpattia Oblast. Opening hours: daily 11:00–22:00 (according to Google Maps; best to double-check before you go). Bookings: +380 66 727 25 71 (also Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram); the website koliba2016.com has a table-request form, and photos and news are posted on the restaurant’s Instagram. Mobile coverage in the valley is poor, so save your route and booking details in advance.

Getting there: Poliana is a few kilometres from Svaliava, which you reach via the Kyiv–Chop highway (M06). In Poliana turn onto Dyskovetska Street and follow the stream valley uphill to the kolyba. A car is by far the easiest option; from Mukachevo the drive takes about an hour. In summer and at weekends the place fills up quickly, so book a table.

Website and social media: koliba2016.com · instagram.com

Photos: i.ytimg.com; lh3.googleusercontent.com.