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Filet mignon with coconut scallops and shrimp
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Ukrainian blinchis—pierogi dumplings stuffed with lobster, shrimp, and scallops—with tomato sauce, arugula, rosemary, and dill
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New Zealand grass-fed lamb shank osso buco
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Chef Ashraf El Seaidy
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Peach balsamic mascarpone mousse
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Mediterranean and Ukrainian cuisine are married throughout the adventurous, flavor-filled menu at Tatiana’s Restaurant, Mechanicsburg—the perfect symbolism for husband-and-wife owners Tatiana and Ashraf El Seaidy. The restaurant’s namesake, Tatiana, hails from Ukraine, while her husband of 19 years, chef Ash, was born and raised in Egypt.
The restaurant, bringing Old World flavors to Mechanicsburg, is truly a labor of love shared by the couple.
“God brought me a gift, for my life and business,” says Ash. They were married three days after they met, introduced by Tatiana’s sister.
But it was another woman—Ash’s mother—who instilled a love of cooking in him at a young age.
“My mom always told me, ‘Don’t ever be afraid to use flavor.’ I grew up cooking with my mom. And if I cooked good, she would let me go out to play soccer,” he says with a smile.
His dream of owning a restaurant led him to the United States 37 years ago, when he landed his first job as a dishwasher in an Allentown restaurant. One day, filling in for the chef, he made chicken soup “the way my mother taught me—I roasted the chicken, I boiled the bones, squeezed the lemon.” He says it was wildly successful, likely because it was so different from the way food was prepared in restaurants at the time.
“When I started cooking, food was frozen, not healthy, and it was fried,” says Chef Ash, now 57. “I was going to fight and risk making healthy foods, and I knew I’d be successful in the long term. At Tatiana’s we have no freezers and no fried food and no soda. Everything is fresh, organic, and healthy.”
He gained experience working in Philadelphia, Lebanon, and Harrisburg restaurants.
The couple successfully launched and ran Tatiana’s Restaurant in Palmyra for nine years; in September of 2017 they opened their current Mechanicsburg location in a renovated historic building dating back to the 1700s.
“The key to successful food is the flavor,” says Ash. Seasoning in Mediterranean and Ukrainian cuisine is similar; he acquires authentic spices from Spain, Ukraine, Moscow, Egypt, and Holland.
Flavorful Ukrainian blinchis, from the appetizer menu, are similar to pierogi dumplings. Stuffed with lobster, shrimp and scallops, the blinchis are accompanied by a fresh tomato sauce, arugula, rosemary, and dill.
A special dinner entrée, filet mignon with coconut scallops and shrimp, features tender grass-fed beef on a bed of organic quinoa with a blackberry ginger Dijon honey sauce and seafood layered atop.
Osso buco (braised veal) is one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes. Featuring New Zealand grass-fed lamb shank, Mediterranean rice and broccoli, the dish is punctuated with fresh rosemary.
The restaurant is BYOB, but you must try the Ukrainian iced tea, which follows Tatiata’s own secret recipe. “She always made it at home for us and never thought it would be so popular,” says Ash. The freshly-brewed organic tea is blended with honey and fresh fruit—mango, peach, and raspberry.
Tatiana’s mother Lydia Toker creates all of the restaurant’s desserts, which surprisingly are made without any sugar—utilizing honey instead. We tried a delicious peach Balsamic mascarpone mousse dessert along with an incredible Ukrainian dark chocolate dessert, which blends 18 types of dark chocolate, including French and Ukrainian.
The restaurant’s lunch menu features refreshing choices such as quinoa avocado mango salad, Ukrainian organic coconut chicken apple salad, fresh hand-cut eggplant Parmesan focaccia, and Tatiana’s signature grass-fed prime beef burger.
Both the lunch and dinner menus offer vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.
“This restaurant would never be a success without our heart—Tatiana and me,” says Ash. “For us, it’s not a challenge to work together.”
What is the secret to a long-lasting marriage, especially for a couple who works together in the demanding restaurant industry?
“We love each other,” he says simply.
Tatiana’s Restaurant
4601 Gettysburg Road, Mechanicsburg, PA
tatianasrestaurant.com / 717-695-0547
