Kolyba Restaurant, Sokolivka

Kolyba Restaurant in Sokolivka is a genuine Hutsul koliba by the main Kosiv–Verkhovyna road, above the mountain river Rybnytsia. Behind a wooden gate with a carved «Kolyba» sign stands an octagonal log house under a tall roof, and in the very centre of the dining hall there is a stone hearth with a large metal hood, with wooden tables set around it. This is how shepherds' koliby on the mountain pastures used to look, where the fire was at once the kitchen, the heating and the centre of conversation.

On Google Maps the place has one of the highest ratings in the Kosiv district: 4.8 from more than 460 reviews. Guests write about tasty home-style food, pleasant prices and attentive staff, and recommend choosing a table on the first-floor terrace or a gazebo down by the river. The koliba is well known to travellers driving from Kosiv to Verkhovyna, Sheshory or Pysanyi Kamin who stop here for a meal on the way.

What to try

The menu is mostly Hutsul and home-style Ukrainian cooking. Worth trying:

• «polonyna» banosh: with mushrooms, with brynza, with crackling or with huslianka;
• Hutsul kulesha and Carpathian porcini in sour cream;
• Carpathian varenyky with porcini, or varenyky with curd cheese or with potato and brynza, served with crackling and sour cream;
• the Hutsul pan for sharing, Hutsul steak, grilled ribs and sausages;
• soups: bograch, mushroom soup, borscht with meat;
• grilled trout or trout in sour cream sauce, which visitors particularly praise;
• local starters: Carpathian huslianka, polonyna brynza, homemade salo with garlic, dzhoryny (minced salo with dill), pickled porcini;
• deruny baked in a jug, Hutsul holubtsi;
• for dessert, nalysnyky (crêpes) with poppy seeds or curd cheese, and steamed cherry dumplings.

Sample prices from the menu linked on the restaurant's Google Maps page (update date unknown): «polonyna» banosh UAH 59 (250 g), Hutsul kulesha UAH 55, bograch UAH 85, grilled trout UAH 55 per 100 g. These are sample menu prices; please check current prices on site. Visitors estimate the average bill at around UAH 200–400 per person.

Atmosphere and experience

The highlight is the hearth in the middle of the hall: in autumn and winter it is especially cosy, with the smoke rising straight into the wide hood above the guests. In summer it is nicer to eat outside, on the terrace overlooking the forest or in a gazebo by the Rybnytsia, listening to the water. All around are spruce woods and mountains, so the koliba is a good choice for a relaxed lunch with family and children after exploring the Kosiv area. The koliba is open every day, so it suits a weekday stop as well as a weekend outing.

Sample menu

Prices according to the restaurant’s menu, October 2026; please check current prices with the restaurant.

Practical information

• Address: Sokolivka village, Kosiv district, by the main Kosiv–Verkhovyna road.
• Getting there: by car, take the road from Kosiv towards Verkhovyna; the restaurant is right by the road. By the Kosiv–Verkhovyna local bus (ask for the stop at the koliba).
• Opening hours: daily 11:00–21:00.
• Average bill: approx. UAH 200–400 per person.
• Booking: +38 067 812 96 83, the restaurant's Facebook page.
• Parking: on the grounds next to the koliba.

Website and social media: facebook.com

Photos: lh3.googleusercontent.com.