Dfyjkt

I am traveling to Lviv soon and would like to taste some local dishes. Specifically, I'd be interested in trying cuisine that is typical for Western Ukraine, rather than the country as a whole. Since that part was under Polish control for several centuries I'd assume they have some local traditions. One example would be 'plyatski', which is a fried potato pancake.

What are some Galician dishes I can find in local restaurants?

Here is a great feature in the Lviv Alive Guide

Galician and Western Ukrainian Regional Cuisine

More than Borsch – A Fusion of Cultures

You may associate Ukrainian cuisine with borsch, but you’ll find a whole lot more at Lviv’s Ukrainian restaurants. Western Ukraine’s rich history as a borderland has been marked by periods of trade and conquest. These changes in rulers and borders created a diverse cuisine—traditional Ukrainian dishes were flavored by classic Viennese cooking, Polish influences and a dash of Hungarian spice. The result is a distinctly regional Galician cuisine.

Galicia’s Meat Cult

If you’re a meat lover, then you’ll find lots to like about Galician cuisine. While many dishes may include poultry, beef and lamb, well-prepared pork is by far the most popular ingredient in meat dishes. In Lviv you can try delicious kruchenyky (meat rolls stuffed with mushrooms or prunes), shynka (smoked ham) or kovbasa (sausages), which all go well with local beers. But the iconic pork dish in Lviv is salo (cured bacon). It can be served raw, and salted, and boiled, and smoked, and roasted. For an authentic experience, try some salo spread on dark bread with pickles and a few (or several) shots of horilka (vodka).

Galician Food for Vegetarians

If you’re a vegetarian, then you’ll find that Galician cuisine has lots of hearty vegetable and starchy dishes for you to enjoy. In Western Ukraine the king vegetable is cabbage—it’s the main ingredient in many dishes from borsch and kapusnyak (cabbage soup) to holubtsi (stuffed cabbage rolls) and varenyky (stuffed with cabbage). And how could we forget to mention deruny (potato pancakes with a crispy golden crust)? A whole variety of salads? And comfort foods like varenyky (dumplings) and mlyntsi (pancakes) topped with sour cream? It’s hard to find another national cuisine that could compete with the rich assortment of starchy Galician dishes, including dishes with healthy hrechka (buckwheat).

Where to Enjoy Galician Cuisine in Lviv

Nearly every Lviv restaurant offers some Galician and West Ukrainian dishes. But if you’re looking for restaurants that specialize in traditional local cuisine, then you might want to try Seven Piggies, Kentavr, Restoratsiya na Valoviy, Kryjivka, Kumpel, Panska Charka, or many others.

Quick Guide to Western Ukrainian Dishes

Banosh – a hearty polenta-like dish that’s prepared with corn flour and sour cream seasoned with bacon, mushrooms and farmer’s white cheese. It’s popular in Ukraine’s Carpathian region.

Varenyky – also known as pyrohy (pierogi) – varenyky are square- or crescent-shaped dumplings of unleavened dough, stuffed with sauerkraut, farmer’s white cheese, mashed potatoes, cabbage, meat or a combination of these, or fruit fillings. Varenyky are typically topped with fried salo bits (shkvarky) and onions and accompanied with sour cream. Sweet, fruit-filled varenyky are served with sour cream and sugar.

Deruny – shallow-fried pancakes of grated potato, flour and egg, often flavored with grated onion or garlic and seasonings. They are often served topped with meat sauce, pork crisps, as well as sour cream, mushroom sauce and farmer’s white or sheep’s cheese.

Borsch – this well-known soup is made with beetroot as the main ingredient, that gives it its distinctive deep purple color. While borsch is not an exclusively Galician dish, it’s prepared differently in Western Ukraine than in other parts of the country. Borsch is usually served with sour cream (smetana) and pampushky (little buns) spread with minced garlic. During Christmas, borsch is served with vushka (small dumplings with mushroom filling).

Kruchenyky – thin slices of steak stuffed with mushrooms, onions or prunes, rolled in a tube and sealed by a thread or wooden skewers, fried in lard or butter, stewed in its own juices.

Kholodets’ – (sometimes called dryhli in Western Ukraine) a meat aspic prepared according to old recipes. Aspic is prepared from beef, pork or poultry meat. Kholodets’ is served with horseradish and mustard or vinegar.
Salo- cured pork fat, this iconic national dish is often mixed with garlic and spread on bread.

Buryachky – a fiery salad of red beets and fresh horseradish, which also goes well as a spread for meats and sausages.

Shkvarky – fried bits of bacon; a universal snack and a component of many dishes.

Nalysnyky – thin pancakes with filling, often white cheese or mushrooms, meat, or cabbage. Served with sour cream.

Uzvar – a slightly sweet compote of dried fruits.

And, if you're still ambulatory, indulge in Western Ukrainian and Galician Sweets

For centuries the city of Lviv, Ukraine has been treating its residents and visitors to a unique aura of coffee and pastry aromas. Delicious Lviv sweets have a long history – since the Middle Ages you could find oriental sweets and French desserts in Lviv. Later local artisans learned to produce their own diverse sweets. By the early 20th century, there were sweet shops and confectioneries in almost every building of present-day Prospect Svobody and Prospect Shevchenka.

Today Lviv’s pastry shops and cafés offer you a huge selection of sweet stuff – from different fruit desserts to fabulous cakes. For Lvivites baking is a passionate pursuit of men and women alike.

There are plenty of them, but you'll hardly find much information unless you know Ukrainian:) Particularly, you can try following dishes:

1. Banosh


2. Gurka


3. Pstrug (trout baked on grill)


4. Rosivnytsa


5. Kulish

Additonal sources: 1, 2

P.S. I made an accent on Hutsul cuisine, which is widely common to the South of Lviv (it is Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi and Zakarpattia Oblast) and which has strong Hungarian influence (almost all these dishes have analogs in Hungary).

P.P.S. If one knows more (particularly about Galician dishes) one should feel free to improve my answer. However, Galician area includes Ivano-Frankivsk too, and one can hardly distinguish whether the dish is Galician or not. I assume both of them (Galician and Hutsul) have much in common.

Pliatsky is just another name for Deruny, which are pretty wide-spread in many regions of Ukraine such as Chernivtsi, Zhytomyr or Kyiv. Not that much in Luhansk, but definitely not limited to the western regions of Ukraine. Pliatsky may actually also be another name for a generic cake. Same for Varenyky, one of the top Ukrainian dishes, may be occasionally called Pyrohy (пироги) in Lviv.

Couple of dishes I may think about. These are not connected to Poland:

• 
  Bohrach is a popular dish in Zakarpattia.


• 
  Banosh is popular in the Carpathian Mountains.