The best restaurants Uzbekistan

The Platan restaurant is considered one of the best tables in town. With its large, friendly and contemporary room, its second private room, its delicious terrace, its decoration made of carved wood, exposed stone or adobe and old photographs of Samarkand, it offers the perfect setting to indulge in local specialties and fusion cuisine. The traditional cuisine is more refined here than in a tchaikhana and the menu offers forays into Georgian, Russian or Asian territory.

The traditional recipes are generous and refined, and for once the menu goes far beyond the simple framework of the plovs and other chachlyks. For those who have an overdose of grilled meat, Minzifa coffee is all the more recommendable as there are plenty of vegetarian dishes. The setting is magnificent, we love the roof terrace with one of the most beautiful views of the city, directly above the moneychangers' door. Professional, warm and efficient service. We recommend that you book in advance.

In addition to his B&B, Rashid also knows how to run the stoves and offers what is currently, without a doubt, one of the best tables in Ichan kala. A terrace sheltered from the sun and another to enjoy the starry skies in the evening are mostly pre-empted by groups, but there are always a few tables left for hungry individuals. Soups, salads, plov, mantys... Very good cooking, carefully selected fresh products and generous portions. You can also taste the speciality: lagman (pasta) with dill.

A tchaikhana that we can only recommend to you too much: right in the centre of the old town, it is a quiet, pleasant establishment that remains authentic. The inhabitants of the neighbourhood come here to eat soup and shashliks that can also be drizzled with a cold beer. The whole, under an arbour, in a small courtyard. No menu and no possibility to make yourself understood in any language other than Russian or Uzbek, but you only have to point out what makes you happy in the exposed skewers and large steaming pots of soup.

The interior is in the Uzbek style: small private rooms and another huge one for special occasions, but where groups will easily find their place whatever their number. If you are alone or in couple, you will certainly prefer the terrace, nicely arranged and protected from the street by a few green plants and curtains. In any case, you can eat excellent Central Asian specialities: soups, salads, shashlyks, plov... The products are fresh, well prepared and the choice is varied: an excellent address for local food.

A very pleasant restaurant offering modern Uzbek cuisine and tagine specialities. The map is of Central Asian and Russian influence. Beautiful wooden tables in the interior space and large shaded terrace in summer. The management livens up some evenings by scheduling folk music concerts. In short, a very pleasant place, rather cheap considering the quality and portions offered and in a tastefully chosen décor. It is also possible to stop there during the day for an espresso or tea.

A typical tchaikhana on the banks of the Ankhor Canal. We eat outdoors, in a kitschy decor as possible, with its fake waterfall. In fine weather, Uzbeks frequently come here for weddings and end the evening with dancing. And if this is not the case, the management regularly organizes traditional music and dance shows. You don't get too much out of the beer and the chachlyks, but in the end, it's a very nice address, authentic, cheap and where, for once, the atmosphere is still there.

This establishment is ideally located in the park next to the Ankhor Canal. There is nothing special about the interior room, but the tables outside are the most popular. Lunch under the trees or dinner under the stars: a restaurant that seduces both Westerners passing through and Uzbeks, many of whom rent the restaurant in fine weather for weddings. On the menu there are Uzbek specialities and some more western dishes. We recommend plov and bechbarmak. A good outdoor address in Tashkent.

A terrace in the summer, an interior room with a rather successful decoration, and in the plates a Mediterranean kitchen. A chic address that offers, in addition to tasty pizzas, some good pasta recipes, seafood and good Italian-inspired dishes. The products are well selected and you can order a Milanese escalope without worrying about a vague piece of breaded fat. It's expensive, but it's the price for good food in Tashkent. The wine list offers some good labels.

The very first vegan café in Tashkent focuses on organic products and offers a great choice of dishes to eat in and take away. Breakfast, salads and soups, well-stocked bowls, main courses and desserts with bright colors and flavors... This new kind of café has become a real cultural center and a landmark for foreign travelers. Concerts, film screenings, poetic and musical evenings and meetings attract young people who are eager for exchanges, new ideas, openness to the world and different visions.

The inevitable and very popular chaikhanas that border the Liab-i-Khaouz are the unmissable meeting place for groups of tourists, especially at nightfall. There is a tasty plov at noon, chachliks, laghmans and mantys in the evening. The pool lights up, the fountains spout water jets, all between the facades of the madrasah and the khanaka Nadir Divanbeg: impossible to resist. With the increase in tourist numbers, the staff has largely converted to English, and the menu also offers European cuisine.

On the margins of the embroidery demonstration, you can book your lunch or dinner in this beautiful house in the Jewish quarter. Good traditional cuisine and warm welcome.

A restaurant with a refined decoration and in an ideal setting to dine in the old city, in one of the most beautiful madrasahs of Khiva. Many specialties of Khorezm like Turum berek (pancakes with egg and filling) and Uzbekistan (plov, chachlyks...), served in refined tasting portions and more gastronomic than elsewhere. There are also some vegetarian dishes. In season, the madrasah is crowded with groups of tourists, and it is better to reserve to be sure to find a place.

Simple and pleasant decoration in a cosy atmosphere. The dishes are good and rather hearty with a wide choice of chicken and beef recipes as well as some fish recipes. It doesn't change much from the Uzbek and Russian cuisine, but it is a reliable and long-lasting address in Samarkand, and has the added advantage of not being frequented by hordes of tourist buses. The atmosphere is therefore not necessarily the warmest in the world but has the merit of being authentic. Friendly and helpful staff.

We don't hide the fact that it hurts us a little bit to indicate Old Bukhara in these pages because the address is so touristy and overestimated in relation to the quality of the cuisine served. Yet it is a practical address because it is in the heart of the old town, right next to the Liab-i-Khaouz basin. If you manage to find a place, opt for the rooftop in the evening and the inner courtyard during the day: you'll be entitled to a refreshing lunch while you enjoy the clear view of the illuminated city in the evening.

The Budreddin is located right next to the Liab-i-Khaouz basin. The address is touristic but pleasant. We eat good local cuisine, with specialities that are a little different from the ordinary. In particular, there is the possibility of eating vegetarian food. Try pumpkin manty (if it's in season) or the many salads, such as Gulistan with cooked vegetables. Meat lovers needn't worry: of course there is all the mutton you want on the menu. One of the things we recommend is jiz.

A pleasant setting in a madrasa decorated with some souvenirs for sale. Plov, mantys and salads on the menu. Prices are a bit excessive, we pay especially for the good location in front of the Kalta Minor minaret, but the portions are decent and the welcome very friendly. The specialities prepared every day are affordable, some specialities cost a bit more, but we advise you to stay on the basics: salad and plov or kebabs. Nice terrace on the main street, ideal for a break and a Turkish coffee in the shade during the day.

A new address appreciated by young people in Samarkand who are a little connected or chic. We like to find ourselves among friends to sip a glass and share typical Russian dishes, or rather 'European', it seems more classy. Deco rather sober and wants to be a little modern or design: brick walls visible or painted white, all under some kind of rotunda. The outdoor terrace, or garden terrace as it is called here, is particularly pleasant in summer.

In Ichan kala, next to the Museum of Applied Arts which flanks the Islam Khodja minaret. Traditional cuisine under Virginia creeper in a madrasa dating from 1908. We eat in the courtyard or in the madrasah cells, your choice. The meals are limited to a few traditional plov recipes and achyk tchuktchuk salads (tomatoes, cucumbers, onions) but it is rather well made and served in portions worthy of the best appetizers. In spite of the tourist affluence, the rates also know how to remain wise, which is appreciable.

Japanese restaurants have been fashionable in Tashkent for a long time, but they all end up aging a little too quickly. This newcomer on the Tashkent gastronomic scene will delight lovers of sushi and other seafood, since the best recipes are successful, and the chefs perfectly trained in the art of preparing raw fish. The soups will suit very well the light appetites willing to change a little from the mutton fat... The decoration is basic, nice and not too busy, with its Japanese touches which know how to keep a foot in Uzbekistan.