Crystal

Although this place is not my particular style, it was a nice venue for my friend’s wedding. She has a very regal but understated taste and the ballroom was decorated as just that for her big day. The food was plentiful, but again, not my cup of tea. The appetizer buffett was probably my favorite. We found that the large pillars throughout the room obstructed our views from the wedding party during speeches and dance floor entertainment.

Decent food and décor, but service SUCKS A$$, most likely because the servers are either OTB Russians (who may or may not have papers) and get paid minimally, if any.

The interior of the restaurant is very tasteful and elegant, the food is good and plenty, especially if you ‘re going for the banquet menu. Nice music. However, what absolutely kills the experience is the lackluster service! We had to wait 15 – 20 min to get seated, even though we had a reservation and the restaurant had plenty of empty tables. We had alcohol included in our menu, but the waitress was confused and told us we don’t have any until we insisted and she went to double-​check. Alcohol is not poured here when you order by the bottle which is strange for an upscale restaurant. Finally, we informed them in advance that it was a bday party and we wanted the cake brought out with candles, like it’s usually done. Well separated dessert pieces were brought out with no candles or any kind of presentation. This place has great potential but just doesn’t seem to care about customer service.

If you are going to have some good russian food and dance, forget about the second part. They killed Fridays by having «jazz on Fridays» nights as if we don’t have real jazz clubs in Boston…
not sure Saturdays or Sundays are going to be better — they are now for European music (what is this — is Russian included?) or karaōke parties. Good bye our old good russian restaurant atmosphere. Unfortunate…

we Love Crystal’s Party… we do not like the meniu of 25 – 50 $, it is not enough for one person… you can have a bite of everything only… and this is sucks… i dod not know if we will come again if the meniu will be the same

Food is greate, service good, fun place)

We went there for discothèque. The place looks good after renovation. Food was good, but really pricey. But on top of that, fish was smelling! And our friends got sick from it and was recovering for a week! Definitely not worth the money, avoid.

This is THE BEST Russian restaurant in MA!!! I attended a friend’s Birthday Party and we all had a blast, even our American friends enjoyed it at least as much as we did, if not more. The décor was upgraded from dark rugs and mirrors to ivory walls, crystal chandeliers and center pieces on each table, wowza! The place was packed with people of different ages, ranging from little kids running around to babushkas and dedushkas. The food was great, we had a wide selection of our favorite dishes (and vodka), but the thing that I like most in that place was the music. There were three musicians on stage (two guys and a girl) and they were singing everything from Great American Songbook to current club hits — I did not get off the dance floor the whole night (well, except maybe when the desert came :)) I can not wait to go back there and will definitely have my birthday celebration at that awesome place.
*to Yana Y.: I don’t know if you went to any other Russian restaurants, but $ 20 is the standard price for a song request.

Aside from the fact that it costs $ 20 to request a song to be played and sang karaōke style. A+ for being hands down the best place in town to get smashed with your family, (byob), russian style of course.
I may or may not be able to show my face there again… butttttt that’s alright.
Listen to Aia-​save yourself a trip if you’re foreign to us Ruskis.

If you not Russian or married to one DONT Go THERE!

Arbat is fantastic. It’s very authentic Russian– from the food, to the décor (which borders a bit on tacky but that’s the style!), to the music, everything is pure Russian goodness. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I was in Russia being here– it reminds me of a lot of the standard banquet halls in Russia.
I went recently for a friend’s birthday party and I’m considering having my next birthday celebration here. The food is served banquet style and it is delicious– especially the shashlik and the potatoes mmm. The servers are super attentive, always stopping by to clear any empty plates or fill any empty pitchers with water or soda. Plus, from what I know, they allowed my friend (the birthday girl) to bring in her own alcohol
There is a dance floor and music which is really karaōke style– there were three people (two girls and a guy) singing along to random hits (both Russian and international) — I personally thought the music was fantastic, they played a lot of my favorites. Everyone has fun– young and old– dancing! There were little girls around age 2 dancing and old dedushka guys (grandpas) dancing too.
If you’re in the Russian community at all you’re bound to run into someone you know here ;) which can always make it even more fun.
Another friend of mine is having her birthday here in a few weeks and I am looking forward to returning!

the band is loud, the food is good and the place is packed with all the Russians you know
it’s get too crowded on Saturdays, so it becomes impossible to pass by the table; i’m pretty sure they are violating some sort of fire code by packing so many ppl in that place
Mags L., it’s actually «nazdorov’e!», which means «to health!»

looking for some russian fun? well look no further than arbat restaurant on linden st.
they serve banquet style meals here and there are options for $ 65, $ 75, and $ 85 menus.
ahhh, arbat. where the smirnoff flows like the volga, the food is assorted and intriguing, and the merriment is everlasting.
where the party only ends when the little 90 yo man falls off his chair after drinking and dancing all night (1 am) or someone suggests that it’s time for you to go home.
(for natalia: nazdorov’e!)
(if you go, i strongly recommend you follow these rules:
or you may be in for a painful day after)