Ukrainian comfort foods get the star treatment at this feel-good Chippendale restaurant

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Shaun Christie-David is buzzing around the room like a benevolent blowfly. He’s mentoring new bar staff, liaising with chefs in the open kitchen, and introducing diners to the people bringing their food. “This is Iryna, who was an obstetrician in Ukraine,” he says. Iryna’s smile would light up Instagram.

But what do you say to someone who has had to leave her war-torn country and resettle in a strange land? (We’re not that strange, but you know what I mean.)

“Welcome, Iryna,” I say. “Welcome to Australia.”

And welcome to Kyiv Social, a social enterprise in the form of a restaurant by Christie-David and Plate it Forward, the initiative behind Colombo Social, Kabul Social and Coyoacan Social. Created to employ and feed refugees from the Russia-Ukraine war, it’s a loud, proud, hard-working symbol of hope and resilience.

It’s also doing a mighty fine job of introducing more Australians to the joys of borscht, dumplings and cabbage rolls, with smetana (sour cream) never far away.

Until the a la carte menu kicks in on October 25, a set menu ($70) is the only way to both eat, and support (for every meal sold, two more are donated to those in need, in Ukraine and Sydney).

The kitchen is overseen by head chef Borys Chernyk, executive chef Vincent Dyevoich, and sous chefs Viktoria and Maryna. They don’t muck around. Soup and bread arrive soon after you sit down. What could be more welcoming?

The bread is the much-loved pampushka – soft, fluffy, pull-apart dinner rolls, glazed with garlic butter. The soup is green borscht, made with the lightly sour twang of sorrel, mint and dill and a touch of sour cream. The bloke at the next table beams. “My mother used to make this,” he says. His partner reaches out and grasps his hand.

Behind the scenes, Kyiv Social collaborators are some of Sydney’s hospo legends. Young Henrys has created a “Beloved Ukrainian Lager” (refreshing, lingering bitterness); and LP’s Quality Meats has made Ukrainian beef and pork sausages (smooth, smoky, sensational). Ed Cutcliffe of Little Marionette has conjured up Blue Krane vodka, the force behind a signature Chergroni cocktail ($18).

Next comes herring toast, the rye toast thickly spread with a buttery, herby mix of finely chopped herring, eggs, pickled cucumbers, green apples and mustard. Couldn’t be simpler, or nicer. “Wine?” asks Maryna, former chief economist of the Bank of Ukraine, returning with a glass of vibrant, crisp Kalleske rosé from the Barossa ($15).

Dumplings, there must be dumplings. And there are, filled with potato and cheese, or a duxelles of mushrooms. They’re not the thick, homely vareniki I’m used to, swimming in bucketloads of sour cream. These skins are fine, hand-rolled by sisters Ruslana and Olha every morning, and the sour cream is restricted to a stripe or two. Small porcini-stuffed cabbage rolls (holubsti) are heavenly, squatting in roasted tomato sauce.

Inside the tall curve of the heritage-listed building, all is light and white. The air of a church hall is happily de-sanctified by two glittering chandeliers, a bottle-backed bar and the considerable noise levels of a talkative crowd.

Main courses completely cover the table; from “bangers and mash” starring LP’s Ukrainian sausage and dense smooth mashed potato with a good spoonful of mustard, to side bowls of cool, creamy potato salad and pickled, shredded, garlicky carrot salad. Chicken Kyiv – how could they resist? – is cleverly reworked into a crumbed schnitzel, with a jug of garlicky, herb-flecked butter poured over the top by Oksana, a social media manager from Kyiv.

To end, a shared bowl of vodka-soaked prunes in an icy Valrhona chocolate granita comes with pillows of chantilly cream.

So far, Kyiv Social has employed and trained 23 Ukrainian refugees, and fed hundreds of people. You can triple that with their eat-one-feed-two-more offer. It’s still slightly shambolic, but the promise is crystal clear. By dining at Kyiv Social, you’re not only having a good time, you’re saying welcome.