3300 M St. NW (202) 338-4544 Hours of Operation and Prices Lunch: T-F noon-3, Sat-Sun noon-5; Entrees: $7 Dinner: T-F 6-10, Sat-Sun 5-10; Entrees: $9-$15 Closed M Other Information • Credit Cards: MasterCard, Visa • Dress: casual • Reservations recommended Fri. & Sat. • Street parking • Entertainment: Fri.-Sat 7-11 Russian guitarist-singer

Whatever its failings, Balalayka is a buoyant restaurant, dominated by a borscht-red mural depicting such important Russian figures as Solzhenitsyn, Yeltsin, Gorbachev, the owner, the chef, the guitarist and your waiter. A stuffed bear guards the service bar. Really. The herring was the hit of all my visits. A chunk of plump, deeply briny fish is served with slices of oil-slicked potato and a beet-and-onion salad. And the caviar is fresh, authentic and delicious, even served with indifferent blini. In all, the menu lists 20 appetizers, among them smoked or jellied meats, underwhelming pirozshki and several vegetable salads. There are also six soups that sound exotic and mysterious but can taste as if they've been stretched to serve too many.

Entrees are unpredictable. Chicken Kozak is the surest bet, a boneless breast scattered with dill and other herbs. Chicken Tabaka - flattened and cooked so the skin is crisp and lightly seasoned with garlic and herbs - has possibilities. Lamb stew is chewy but has a rich, homey flavor that permeates its potatoes. If you must have dessert, order blini with preserved cherries and sour cream. And certainly end with tea, if only to use the filigreed metal holders for the tea glasses.