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Primorski's sprawling, windowless dining room, packed with tables and pulsating to a Euro-disco beat, gives little hint of the nuanced Eastern European dishes that have kept this restaurant a Brighton Beach favorite for over two decades. Founded by Georgian Jew Buba Khotoveli in 1981, Primorski is one of the less ostentatious of the famed Brighton Beach restaurant/nightclubs, likely due to its commitment to the quality of the food and the family-friendly atmosphere. Early evening finds émigrés enjoying hearty group dinners, and the younger, flashier crowd that arrives later is just as jovial—and hungry. Among the Georgian favorites, chakrapuli, a braised veal complemented by simmered chopped spinach, is dusted with thyme and cooked to succulence, while solyanka enhances the richness of shredded lamb with a peppery coriander-studded sauce. The vast expanse of breaded chicken Kiev, sliced open, releases not the usual geyser of melted butter but a lightly seasoned (and yes, buttery) mix of chopped chicken and mushrooms. For even bigger appetites, the banquet menus offer an overwhelming spread of pickled vegetables, spiced meats, poultry and fish, parsley-flavored fried potatoes, stuffed dumplings and other savories. — Jessica Branch

Banquet service should be reserved in advanced. For a quick drop-in meal, the restaurant serves a cheap three-course lunch special. Also, there’s live music every night, generally Russian, American, Italian and French tunes to dance to.

Georgian braised veal, $12.50; chicken Kiev, $13; solyanka, $13