IT Cafe

A friend turned me on to a new place in Kharkov, Ukraine. He has an apartment near the Universytet metro station in the center. The place where he is living is a Western Style residence that for some unaccountable reason does not have internet access. This hardship caused him to search for a suitable spot where he could do some business online as well as chat with friends. He decided the best choice in the area was the I.T. Café (http://itcafe.ua/) which is right to the left of the glass exit for the metro. It is directly above the Potato House.

There are a few good benefits of this eatery. First of all the Wi-Fi has a strong signal. (In a pinch you can access the internet at the weaker Potato House as well) They rent computers including the I-Pad for Apple aficionados. (They also have a counter that sells electronics such as computers and phones.) The food is pretty good and they have an English menu. While traveling around town I have been known to stop at McDonalds or Coffee Life (the Starbucks clone) to check e-mail or update my blog. Both of these are OK but I like the atmosphere at the IT café better and the fact that smoking is not allowed is a BIG plus for me. The meals are served ala carte so while they are appetizing and inexpensive, you are not going to get a meal with a soup/salad starter or even a side dish unless you order those as well. The drink prices are low also with a Carlsberg draft costing just 15 hyrvnia (under $2). I actually have given English lessons on Skype here but I was sure not to do that on the nights when they have a band or Tuesday when they have Salsa lessons. 

This place is really catering to the business market. They have presentation equipment on hand, as well as printing and scanning services. They even have consultation by an IT specialist available. If you do plan to visit occasionally then you should sign up for their discount card. The basic one gives a 3% discount and allows table reservations plus they will permit you to get some of their other amenities at a discount or even free.

Posted by John