Eating & Drinking in Tashkent

Tashkent is the culinary capital of Uzbekistan — here you will find the best restaurants, the most authentic bazaar kitchens, and a growing international food scene.

Where to eat?

• Chorsu Bazaar: Plov in the morning (the cauldrons are ready from 7 AM), shashlik and samsa at noon, fresh fruits and nuts in the afternoon. The cheapest and most authentic option.
• Central Asian Plov Center (Osh Markazi): The most famous plov restaurant in Uzbekistan. Huge kazan cauldrons where hundreds of kilograms of plov are prepared daily. Open only until noon (they close when the plov is gone). Portion: 1–2€. An absolute must.
• Besh Qozon: Five large cauldrons cooking five different plov variations simultaneously. Also legendary and more touristy than Osh Markazi.
• Afsona Restaurant: Upscale Uzbek cuisine in a beautiful setting. Good value for money, main course 5–10€.
• Café Scene: Tashkent has a burgeoning café culture: Bon!, Brew Bar, and Möbius serve excellent coffee and Western-style breakfast.

Street Food Must-Haves

• Samsa — Puff pastry pockets with lamb or potato from the tandoor. Hot, greasy, fantastic. 0.30–0.50€.
• Non — Fresh flatbread from the tandoor. Each region has its own variant. In Tashkent: round, sprinkled with onion seeds.
• Manti — Steamed dumplings (like large tortelloni) with lamb filling, served with sour cream.
• Shashlik (Shashlik) — Grilled meat skewers (lamb, beef, chicken). Best at the smoke grills next to the Chorsu Bazaar.