I’ve been working on my Russian language skills for 6 months now, without noticing much improvement. A few weeks ago, my tutor and I were practicing dialogues for specific real-life situations. For some reason, I was much more inspired by the scenario involving ordering food at the restaurant, than by the doctor appointment dialogue, during which I just went blank. I guess you now know what most of my free time in Tashkent involves.
Yes, eating!
So let’s get on with the best restaurants with international menus in Tashkent:
Harbin: the best Chinese restaurant outside of China
I really do not know how to adequately pay tribute to the marvelous restaurant that is Harbin. There is probably no appropriate succession of words that I could use to accurately describe the enigma that is this restaurant.
Indeed, just looking at this place has the same repelling effect than when muggles look at anything magic in Harry Potter. Indeed, situated a five-minute walk away from Tashkent metro station, Harbin was established in a former Milliy Taomlar – I talk more in depth about what a Milliy Taomlar is in this blog post – from which it did not even remove the old advertisements. So don’t mistake this decrepit remote building boasting unappetizing and washed out signs for an abandoned factory or something: it is open all the time.
The extra weird thing about this restaurant is that the ugly outdated signs clash drastically with the cleanly renovated canal, decorated with fancy lighting at night, that is right beside it. Let’s just say that the owners of the restaurant are not too much into marketing… Also, do not mind the waitresses here either, they are not actually rude, they are just extremely shy.
Anyway, aesthetics and service aside, there are no words to describe the deliciousness of the food. I used to like Chinese food before – in fact, Chinese food is what kept me going during my 10 years of living in Canada – but once I tried Harbin’s food, I came upon the realization that this might well be the best food in the world. Even surpassing Korean food!
Even those who have experienced Chinese food in China are unanimous: Harbin is the best Chinese restaurant outside of China!
Even though the name of the restaurant signals an attachment to the very north-eastern Chinese city of the same name, the vast menu of this place also includes dishes from many other places in China: be it Mapo Tofu from Szechuan, lotus roots from Zhejiang, or hot pot from other parts of northern China.
It is quite difficult to separate a few specific dishes for recommendation since the whole menu is to die for. So instead, I’ll make a list of dishes that we like to order together when we go there. This menu is usually for four people:
- Spicy eggplant in their delicious Chinese gravy sauce;
- Spinach with garlic and sesame sauce;
- Potatoes with Szechuan pepper on their bed of smoked white onions and green onions;
- Spicy beef.
And here you go, with this menu you are equipped for a great evening among friends, tasting the most delicious Chinese dishes outside of China.
Gruzinskiy Dvorik: a great place to discover Georgian gastronomy and hospitality
There are many Georgian restaurants in Tashkent, but Gruzinskiy Dvorik has the best atmosphere and service among all of them. Gruzinskiy Dvorik is the place that made me discover Georgian cuisine, and now, going to Georgia is on top of my bucket list.
This Georgian restaurant is situated a bit off the beaten path, in Tashkent’s Yakkasaroy district. It has a very heavy yet original Georgian-inspired decoration inside, and a comfortable terrace kept under the shadows by vines for the summer months. The restaurant has two dining areas, one on the ground floor regularly hosting some Georgian singers or musicians several times a week, and one more quiet on the second floor.
Food at Gruzinsky Dvorik is a bit more expensive than in other restaurants in Tashkent, but it is well worth it! Since all the dishes on the menu are quite hearty, we recommend sharing them with your friends/family. Once again, it is quite difficult to decide which dishes to recommend, since they are all so good. But let’s try anyway.
First of all, during the pomegranate season – mid-autumn to March – we highly recommend Chakapuri, beef with pomegranate. If I had to describe this dish, I’d say that it is kind of a Georgian equivalent for curry with pomegranate seeds to link all the tastes together perfectly.
Of course, one cannot go to a Georgian restaurant without trying Khachapuri, a kind of bread with Georgian cheese inside and baked with an egg on top. I personally highly recommend the Georgian-style lavash, a kind of sandwich with cheese and vegetables inside, which is delicious both warm and cold for take out.
Finally, all Georgian restaurants in Tashkent make their own house wine and we indeed highly recommend Gruzinsky Dvorik’s red dry house wine. Probably made of saperavi-type grapes, it gives a similar feeling to the Georgian-inspired wines I talk about in my blog post on Uzbek wines.
Santé!
Mannam: an atypical Korean restaurant
Nowadays, interactions between Uzbekistan and the Korean peninsula is dramatically increasing. This means that a lot of Koreans come to Tashkent and open restaurants there. However, they are almost all too expensive and not very tasty.
This can be explained by the fact that good Korean food in Tashkent is not made by first generation Koreans, but by Koryeoins, these Korean immigrants forcefully brought to Central Asia from eastern Russia in the 1930s (see my blog post in French here for more info on Koryeoins). These Koreans have had time to understand the food scenery of the region and to make Korean dishes with local and seasonal ingredients and flavors. This makes their menu both cheaper and more delicious.
Mannam used to be situated in Mirabad district, not far from Grand Mir Hotel. Now if you go to this address, a sign will tell you “We moved, come and join us!”, with no address whatsoever. So if you happen to find where the new location of this restaurant, feel free to drop a comment below! Just kidding, we finally found the new location, it’s now in Yunusabad.
When eating here, I recommend choosing the Samgyeopsal, or grilled pork belly, since this will be one of the rare occasions you will get to eat pork in Tashkent. The grilled pork tastes just like in Korea, and on top of this, Mannam has absolutely delicious banchan or side dishes.
If you’re not into pork, though, Juan also recommends Cheyuk Bokum, a spicy stir-fried dish which contains beef, bell pepper, tomato, and onions, sautéed in gochujang (Korean spicy sauce). This dish also comes with a chicken variant. Whichever you choose, do not forget to order rice with it.
The endless quest for decent pizza in Tashkent
The chase for good pizza in Tashkent was a very long and arduous journey. Between the pizze with weird toppings, and those that take one whole hour to get ready and then slip from your hands once you try to eat it because all of the cheese is falling off, it was nothing short of a challenge.
But fear not my friends, we have finally succeeded in finding two good pizza restaurants in the capital of Uzbekistan!
For those who prefer U.S. style pizze with conventional toppings, I would highly recommend Bibigon’s menu. Bibigon is not only interesting for pizza, it is also a – kind of – historical place that dates back to the independence of Uzbekistan in 1991. This longevity is quite exceptional since Central Asia constitutes a very fast-changing environment where many businesses open and close in less than a month…
So if you want conventional tasty pizza, I recommend going to this trendy restaurant, at the corner of O’zbekistan Ovozi and Yahoo Gulomov streets, where both pizze and hamburgers will satisfy your cravings for North-American-style food (actually, the burgers are better than North American ones). I personally recommend the chicken and corn pizza.
But if you’re looking for something out of the most-trodden path, however, I also have ideas! Indeed, if you ever venture a little further away from Mirabad Bazaar, on Nukus street, you will tumble upon a difficult to spot restaurant called Dim & Dream (written half in Cyrillic, half in Latin alphabet).
Dim & Dream is a vast restaurant on the second floor of an apartment building that is animated with a relaxing playlist of song covers that are actually quite good. Even though the restaurant’s menu is more expensive than the norm in Tashkent, many dishes are well worth it. For example, the chicken soup with pistachios is the perfect compromise between creamy and crunchy.
When it comes to pizze, Dim & Dream has a wide offering of what it calls ‘flatbreads’. These are basically the same as pizze, but the toppings are the most interesting part of this dish. Our favorites are:
- Spicy pepperoni, dried tomato and basil;
- Mushrooms, sausage, and red onion.
What we love about Dim & Dream’s pizze is that the choice of ingredients for each pizza is really curated to create a harmonious taste. Each topping completes the other.
And for a special dessert experience, we also recommend the pear and blue cheese pizza. It is amazing what the restaurant managed to do with syrup pears and cheap blue cheese imported from Denmark! Also, do not forget to order their amazing house wine, made of cherry, grape, or black currant.
Sushi, thousands of kilometers away from the sea
If you live in Uzbekistan, you have probably heard a thousand times by now that that it is one of the only two doubly land-locked countries in the world. But fear not, we have been able to find edible and even delicious sushi thousands of kilometers away from the sea!
Of course, when I say sushi, I mostly mean California rolls, but it has to start somewhere, right?
I would have a tendency to say that the best sushi in Tashkent can be found at Ogni Tashkenta. Most of their menu offers Russian-style food, but they also have a sushi offering. Situated near the Uzbek National Opera, the restaurant is also decorated retro-style, which makes the dining experience quite unique in Tashkent. Plus their desserts are divine. However, quality of service at Ogni Tashkenta fluctuates a lot, so just in case, I have a few more options.
The second best option for sushi in the capital, and also the most comfortable location-wise, is probably Sushi Time. Right beside Grand Mir Hotel, Sushi Time is a small restaurant that might look a little bit like a fast food place from afar, but they serve good quality and tasty sushi (sushi sets are not advertised on their website).
Finally, I also recommend the restaurant Kvartal. Newly renovated, this restaurant near Mirabad bazaar proposes of vast menu with dishes from different parts of the world and also has an in-house sushi chef. Their sushi menu is composed of individual rolls and sets, mostly for large parties. But the best thing about this restaurant is the karaoke rooms that you can rent for cheap. Also make sure to try their house wine!
And what about Turkish food you say?
You’re right, I cannot write a blog post about international restaurants in Tashkent without speaking about Turkish menus. Indeed, Turkish restaurants constitute the most popular choice for Uzbek families going out to dinner after Milliy Taomlar of course. However, Turkish restaurants in Tashkent were a problem for me for a really long time.
You see, I lived in Paris for six years, a city which probably hosts the crème de la crème of Turkish chefs outside of the country. As a result, Turkish food in Paris constitutes the most refined and accurate Turkish food that one can find outside of Turkey, in my humble opinion.
On the contrary, Turkish restaurants in Tashkent often propose Uzbek dishes with a Turkish twist, to cater to local taste. As a result, the best Iskandar I could ever find until recently was at a restaurant in Khiva, geographically situated in the region closest to Turkey, and speaking an Uzbek dialect that Turkish people can actually understand.
But now the Gordian knot is finally untangled: I have found a Turkish restaurant to my taste in Tashkent! This place is called Basri Baba. It is actually pretty well known among Uzbeks, but I had only tried take out versions of their dishes before, which is a huge mistake. Don’t try this at home!
At Basri Baba, you will be able to taste the best Turkish dips in Tashkent. My favorites are humus, tarator and tomato sauce. Their fresh bread also goes amazingly well with this sauces.
In terms of dishes, usually if you go there with a group, it is a good idea to order their kebab set to share. My favorite kebab is chicken, but this is only connected to the fact that Uzbek chicken is the best meat in the world. Furthermore, you guessed it, I have a soft spot in my belly for Iskandar, which is also pretty good at Basri Baba.
In terms of dessert, unfortunately, I have not yet found any loukoum or baklava that does justice to the refinement of Turkish delights. However, stay assured that I will keep searching and update you when I actually do!
J’ai faim!!!!!