The fascinating history of New York’s Russian Tea Room and the irony of boycotting it

Anger against Russia is spilling out onto the streets, making its way into bars, where vodka is being dumped, and into an unsuspecting restaurant in New York City’s Manhattan: the famous Russian Tea Room. Its name is the reason this 95-year-old glamourous eatery is facing a boycott.

Located on New York’s 57th street, the Russian Tea Room is over-the-top when it comes to the decor and the menu. The red leather banquettes are striking, perfect to complement antique revolving doors, walls adorned with artwork, and an exquisite carpet. With an ambiance so opulent, you can’t settle for anything less than caviar served on silver platters and specialty champagnes. Of course, there’s tea, which starts at $50 and can be had with crepes, sandwiches, and salads interestingly served in spoons by waiters impeccably uniformed in double-breasted black coats and gold buttons. The desserts are decadent: assorted scones, petits fours, and red velvet cupcake with cream cheese icing.

However, the restaurant is conspicuous by the absence of visitors. Most of its 30-odd banquettes and bar stools lie empty. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, regular crowds that throng it after attending concerts at the nearby Carnegie Hall or a Broadway have trickled down.

It’s pitiful because there’s nothing Russian about NYC’s Russian Tea Room.

The Russian Tea Room was established in 1927 by members of the Russian Imperial Ballet, who were fleeing Communism. Image Courtesy: russiantearoomnyc.com

Colourful history

The Russian Tea room was established in 1927 by members of the Russian Imperial Ballet, who were fleeing communism. “The institution’s history has been deeply rooted in speaking against communist dictatorship and for democracy,” the restaurant says on its website. Its founders were Soviet deflectors who stood against Joseph Stalin. It’s ironic then that this iconic eatery faces a boycott today.

It has had a number of US owners since and is currently owned by a financial group in New York state.

Its list of visitors is glorious. The restaurant claims to have hosted greats such as artist Salvador Dali, choreographer George Balanchine, and composer Leonard Bernstein. Hollywood A-listers Frank Sinatra, Raquel Welch, and Barbara Streisand were regulars.

Guests from across the world walked in “to catch a glimpse of the booth Dustin Hoffman sat in when filming Tootsie; to see the inspiration that Woody Allen found for the movie Manhattan; to walk past the coat check where Madonna worked before she found fame, or to try martinis like the cast of Gossip Girl recently did”, says the Russian Tea Room website.

Hollywood biggies Frank Sinatra, Raquel Welch, and Barbara Streisand often visited the restaurant during its heydays. Image Courtesy: russiantearoomnyc.com/

Comedian Rowan Atkinson married his first wife Sunetra Sastry at the restaurant in 1990. And it was not so long ago – in 2018 – that US president Joe Biden hosted an award ceremony there, according to The Independent.

Right now it seems like the good days are behind them. The restaurant and its staff have become a victim of cancel culture, receiving hate primarily because of its name.

But visit its website and you will know that the Russian Tea Room stands in solidarity with Ukraine. “The Russian Tea Room renounces Russia’s unprovoked acts of war in the strongest possible terms. We stand against Putin and the with the people of Ukraine,” a message reads.

The fate of other Russian restaurants

It all began with the boycott of Russian vodka. Employees of a Las Vegas restaurant poured all of its collection down a storm drain; it has been pulled off the shelves from liquor stores across the US.

Now Russian restaurants in the US have been receiving hate and losing customers with each passing day.

An owner of a Russian restaurant and bar in San Diego said that he has been receiving angry voicemails. “Someone said they would come by and blow up the restaurant and this was gonna be payback for what Russians are doing in Ukraine,” he told CBS News, adding that much of his staff is Ukrainian.

Standing with Ukraine

In contrast, Ukrainian eaters have had diners pouring in in large numbers. New York’s East Village diner Veselka had shot to popularity with traffic increasing by 75 per cent over the past few days, its owner Jason Birchard told CNN.

Veselka, which means rainbow in Ukrainian, is living up to its name. It’s donating all its earnings from the sale of borscht, a traditional Ukrainian beet soup, to a non-profit that’s working to deliver aid in Ukraine. The restaurant has raised $10,000 in the first week since the invasion, reports CNN.

It’s soul-stirring.

But like Veselka, the Russian Tea Room also has its heart in the right place. Only if angry New Yorkers pause and take a look at its storied history.

With inputs from agencies

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