Tashkent Restaurants

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Good food, live jazz some nights and a shop full of interesting handicrafts for those who love to browse and/or shop make the Caravan Art Cafe a great choice for eating out in Tashkent. Decorated with all sorts of interesting artefacts and occupying several rooms around a courtyard, it is a popular place with visitors and residents alike, and if you want to sit outside it really is advisable to book, especially at weekends. The menu is extensive, a real mix of Uzbek and Russian influences with traditional dishes and what can only be described as Uzbek Fusion.

Favorite Dish: 2009 updateThe Caravan goes from strength to strength. Our choice for our last night dinner, we found ourselves seated Uzbek-style, cross-legged in a slightly raised balcony, a good vantage point from which to watch both the excellent saxophonist and the crowded room. Not that we did too much watching - we were too busy with both the serious business of choosing from the extensive menu and eating and comparing dishes when our meals came. The food was wonderful - as always, dish upon dish of delicious salads, our last taste of the wonderful bread and main courses that were varied, well-cooked and presented. I had a spicy sausage of some sort, rather like a black pudding, grainy and spicy - yum! Nice wine too.

The restaurant is very popular with locals in couples and in large groups. Two smart young things sitting near us were busy with both their laptops and their shishsa.

You might want to bring a pocket torch to read the menu - the lighting is definitely what would be called atmospheric!

Booking really is essential - as it is at most popular Tashkent restaurants.

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This restaurant had been recommended to me by a friend, so I was pleased to discover that it was only about 15 minutes walk away from our hotel, the Grand Raddus. The recommendation turned out to be spot-on (thanks Tom!) and we were very pleased with our evening out, despite being very tired after our long flight the day/night before and our first day’s sightseeing in the Uzbek heat.

On arrival we had a choice of sitting inside our out and chose a table in the pretty courtyard. We’d come early, about 6.00 PM (because we were headed for a much-needed early night) – later arrivals who hadn’t reserved a table had to sit inside as the courtyard ones were all taken. The first requirement was for cold beers all round, and we were quickly supplied with glasses of Shimkent, a pleasant-tasting beer from Kazakhstan. Our friendly waiter was very patient as we tried to decide what to eat – this was our first encounter with Uzbek food and despite some research before we went we weren’t at all sure what to order. Eventually we settled on sharing some samsas to start with. Chris then chose a plate of manty, I went for the stuffed peppers, Sue a Greek salad and Georgina a vegetable curry (see my Uzbekistan page for an explanation of the Uzbek dishes).

Just one complaint: our waiter had perhaps been too busy trying to please us with his helpfulness, and had forgotten to write down my order for the peppers, so I ended up eating my main course after the others had finished. Not to worry though – another beer helped pass the time, and when I’d caught up we ordered some desserts. My “Eastern sweets” turned out to be a selection of dried fruits and nuts; we ate a few then packed up the rest to take out (they were just what we needed a few days later on the long drive through the desert).

Favorite Dish: All the food was tasty – we particularly liked the spinach samsas and the manty. Sue’s banana split was also pronounced first-rate.

We paid 30,000 som for two (about £12), including 3 large and one small beer. Although the Caravan is considered a little expensive by Uzbek standards we found it excellent value for the superior quality of the food, very pleasant environment and friendly English-speaking staff – oh, and the English menu. Highly recommended!

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Somehow, real coffee (or espresso) is something you cannot get easily around each corner in Uzbekistan (and Tajikistan and that bit of Kyrgyzstan I travelled to). You’ll likely get more of the ones made with nescafe powder or even worse, the ones that are a ready mix with sugar and powder milk. So you can imagine that I was kind of craving for real coffee after 5 weeks of nescafe. I did sample here and there, but still no luck.
It was only on my last day in Uzbekistan that I was wandering back to the hotel after a visit in the Orthodox Church. I went through the backstreets, and it proved again that these hold the best gems :-)

Art Café Dervish didn’t have a sign, it was more the building that caught my attention – in a lovely adobe like style. Only then I noticed the sign on the wall that says “Café”.
Ahh, how good did my brain stell worked after having been boiled in Central Asia’s summer heat – I went inside and it was indeed coffee heaven !

The small courtyard is lovely decorated in the same stayle as the exterior, almost as if they await the next caravan to arrive. Stairs lead to an upper terrace, but I stayed in the cool courtyard.

Favorite Dish: Compared to other cafes, coffee here is not cheap, a cup is 1200 som. But given the fact that it is REAL espresso, it is almost nothing :-)

While seaching the net for more information or a website, I found nothing, but did come across a French newsletter (of Oct. 2005), which writes very positive about them (see website, page 14, top).

Directions:
In the same street as Hotel Orzu. Take the metro, get off at Oybek (blue line) or Mingorik (green line), go southeast along (southern side) of Rustavelli street until you see a Continental tire shop. Turn left and walk 3 blocks, then it is on your left side.

Coordinates on GoogleEarth:
41°17’21,26’’ N; 69°15’54,66’’ E

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LP mentioned Omar Khayam to offer Near East cuisine, and so I thought I should sample some here (as who knows when in my life I will end up in Near East). It is not easy to find (or my brain was really mashed), but finally I found entry via the Che Café in Movarounnakhr.

Ahh, sheer luxury dining ! When I looked at the map, it was very much clear that I would go with hummus and matabbai (pic 1) as starters and finished with a kebab of beef in yoghurt. And of course, some ayran as a drink (I just can’t live without that, ha!). It was all very much delicious, and haha, I even missed to take a picture of the main dish. It is filling as well, but I just HAD to eat all, given its marvellous taste.

You have the choice between sitting outside on a platform (pic 2) or on normal desks or inside in one of the lovely decorated rooms. All in the style of what I would say “caravanseray”, even the waiters did have appropriate dresses .-)
It seems to be very popular with foreigners, expatriates or the Tashkent’s upper class. No one gave me weird looks, but I felt a bit out of place in my usual shagged clothes (but only one second, ha).

Favorite Dish: Prices are high, given the clientel, but it is very much worth it (price list, see picture, I hope it is readable). My matabbai were 3000 som, the hummus 2800 som, and my kebab 7800 som.

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Coordinates on GoogleEarth:
41°18’06,43’’ N; 69°16’51,90’’ E

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Thrilled by the discovery of Art Café Dervish in the backstreets close to my hotel (Orzu), I decided to try the restaurant next door to the café for dinner. Ahh, another good choice ! The menue is in Russian with Cyrillic and Latin writing, but still difficult to decide with my hardly existing Russian. But as I remembered some words and as the waitress was very helpful and as “muuuhh” and “määäh” and “oink” are quite international for describing the meat source, I finally ended up with this sizzling hot and very spicy sheep dish (as in pic 1), accompanied by rice and non bread. It was full of my beloved coriander as well, so I was in food heaven.
Oh, and I had a very much delicious salad, corn, onions, cheese, green salad and a dressing, also heavily loaded with fresh coriander.
Together with a beer, I ended up with 7000 som, so quite reasonable.

I think, the restaurant is linked to Art Café Dervish, at least Dervish had a door leading to a room, where on the other side Bagrationi is located. I was dining in the courtyard, but could see that they had a door to a room, which must have been the Dervish’s dining room.

Unfortunately no website, and I also don’t have a phone number.

Coordinates on GoogleEarth:
41°17’21,26’’ N; 69°15’54,66’’ E

This place is a lot of things at the same time: restaurant, with typical Uzbek food and typical occidental cuisine!!!
It's also an art gallery offering a wide rande of traditionnal Uzbek handicrafts as well as paintings by famous Uzbek artists (a bit expensive though).
And finally it's a "cafe" where you can enjoy live jazz, Uzbek folk music or join social and cultural events hosted every once in a while

Extremely posh, fancy restaurant, and of course expensive. You'll be able to taste some caviar in this restaurant, probably the only place in all of Uzbekistan!
The food is OK, but if you want to go there, it's mainly for a nice show of local dances, starting at 9pm every evening.
Otherwise, better go to smaller restaurant, much more affordable!

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My friends in Tashkent took me to Caravan for a taste of authentic Uzbek cuisine. Due to the recent terrorist activities there were heavily armed guards outside but that just peaked my interest further. The interior and exterior is decorated in traditional Uzbek style.

Uzbek food is very tasty and is served in courses. We had lamb ribs, Samsa is a pastry filled with spiced lamb meat. Shaslik (aka Shiska-bob) was also good and plate of Plov. There was a bean salad that was also very tasty.

I was coordially invited to partake in drinking of Vodka as a gesture of friendship, be careful it will catch up to you. "To your health!"

Favorite Dish: Samsa a pastry filled with spiced lamb.