The “Crystal” Café is one of Kharkiv’s iconic landmarks from the early 1960s, which, unfortunately, was never designated as an architectural monument (unlike the neighboring “Ukraine” Concert Hall).

The café-restaurant was built in 1963 in Shevchenko Park (Sumska Street, 35) based on a design by architects B. Klein, G. Sokolova, and engineer G. Kononenko (Kharkivproekt Institute). The huge panoramic windows of the circular building made “Crystal” as “airy” as possible, a feature so characteristic of early Soviet modernist architecture. It was precisely because of its resemblance to a crystal, through whose facets sunlight passes, that the restaurant got its name.

But “Crystal” did not immediately achieve its iconic status. From the very beginning, it was a restaurant with a wide variety of dishes. The restaurant’s concept was changed in 1982, when it was converted into a café-bar, and the menu was standardized. The café’s main “selling point” became its huge selection of ice cream. A specialist from France was invited to teach ice cream making, and the pastry chefs borrowed some recipes from Kharkiv’s sister city, Poznań, Poland.

The building’s architecture also changed somewhat—pylons appeared on the exterior, which slightly detracted from its “airiness.”

The most popular ice cream flavor became “Belochka” (squirrel).

Subsequently, “Crystal” was expanded, and during the latest renovation in 2019–2020, the space was partitioned off with an additional second floor featuring “mezzanines” to accommodate tables.

The building is no longer as “light” and airy as it was in 1963—this is especially true of the interior—but “Crystal” remains a very popular spot for Kharkiv residents and visitors alike.