Kazakhstan Restaurants

Eating out in Almaty

by TheWanderingCamel

We only ate out a few times in Almaty as we were staying with expat friends but we certainly managed to sample some local food, Georgian cooking and the burgers at Mad Murphy's (a popular expat hangout run by an Australian) not to mention an absolutely delicious Russian dish of stuffed cabbage cooked by our friend's housekeeper and a feast of caviar.We were asked to join a Kazakh family's picnic but had brought our own barbecue and lots of fresh salad, so never did find out what was in the big bowl she was holding. Kazakh food - a spicy, meaty soupy-stew (shurpa?) and tasty if a bit tough shashlyk were good choicesGeorgian food - kachaupuri were delicious -light as a feather pastry filled with a soft, runny cheese, served hot - very moreish. Bahze - a chicken and walnut stew flavoured with saffron is a definitive taste of the Caucasus

Any cafe: Koktobe Hill

by perfil

Koktebe is the most popular leasure spot in Almaty - a hill overlooking the city with many cafes serving great shish kebab and everything that goes with it. The hill is connected to the city by cable cars. Great place to watch the sun go down into the steppe. Lamb/leaver kebab

Pennyrama's Restaurant Tip

by Pennyrama

National Cuisine Traditional Kazakh belief held that separate spirits inhabited and animated the earth, sky, water, and fire, as well as domestic animals. Up to this day, particularly honored guests (primarily in rural settings) are treated to a feast of freshly killed lamb. The guests are sometimes asked to bless the lamb and to ask its spirit for permission to taste its flesh. Besides lamb, many other traditional foods retain symbolic value in Kazakh culture. Since old times hospitality has been the most distinctive feature of the Kazakh people. The guest is always given a cordial welcome and offered a place of honor at the table. In the first instance the guest is treated with kumys, shubat or airan, then tea with milk or cream, baursaks , a type of bread which is usually baked in the form of flat cakes, raisins, irimshik and kurt. Then follow appetizers made of horseflesh or mutton -...

My favourite restaurant here...

by rythm_divine

My favourite restaurant here is Soho. It has very nice atmosphere , entertainment program & is not expensive. Also the foreigners usually like the place named Zheruik- there you can taste traditional cuisine, am sure you'll not be disappointed. Soho offers mostly mexican cuisine but the menu also has the variety of european dishes.

The Georgian restaurant high...

by ianrmillard

The Georgian restaurant high up on Lenina (Dostyk) Prospect, in a small road almost opposite the entrance to the Border Guards (formerly KGB) school. You recognize this by the sword-and-shield emblems on the railings. I lived next door myself, in the so-called 'Military Settlement' area ('Voyenny Gorodok').Atmosphere...before the place started to become known to the diplomatic and business community, the staff would turn off all lights on request and just have candles for (often the only) diner and guest. Romantic...Georgian lullabies would make it irresistible, or perhaps the odd Russian pop song. A mushroom dish, or satsivi (chicken with walnuts)

When I lived in Kazakhstan,...

by travelmad478

When I lived in Kazakhstan, there were not a lot of restaurant options. There was one Chinese place right near my office in downtown Almaty that was a real favorite, and a kebab place near my apartment, but that was pretty much it. Zhambyl had exactly two restaurants, an Uzbek place (good food, but I always got sick after eating there) and a Kazakh place (awful food). I hope things have improved!All that said, there is fantastic food to be had in this country if you make it yourself. The central market in Almaty is a wonder, and there were fruits and vegetables there that tasted so good it was like they were from another universe. I have never had such incredible tomatoes in my life, and even the hazelnuts and raisins tasted vastly better than any I've ever eaten. Lipeshka, the local flat bread, is great too, but only if you get it at the market from a local woman and then eat it within...

This is a typical Soviet era...

by catdockev

This is a typical Soviet era monument in Gorky Park in Almaty. To The Great Partisan war. Near here is a memorial to the Kazakhs that were killed during the Bolshevik Revolution! A really bloody part of their history. SO many wars. There are also some trees here planted by former Soviet leaders in memorial. Yeltsin's is oldest but smallest, they say he watered it with Vodka! Almaty was the capital untill this year, in Russian it was Alma Ata, the name means father of apples! The big apple of Kazakhstan.

Patio Pizza, Mama Mia, Bellagio, Venezia, etc....: Italian restaurants, i love them!

by rythm_divine

Shish Kebab

by AussieDude

One of the local delicacies is Shish Kebab. Cooked on street side BBQ's, it's then brought to your table for a delicious feast of meat and flatbread.

Just be careful what you eat and where!

by Mark_Purdue