Legendary cafes
In this ongoing column, foodie Anna Martusevich takes us along as she samples Tashkent’s most delectable foods and offers tips on where to go and what to order.
Photos: Anastasia Ivanova, Igor Fedorov
The food scene in Tashkent is highly diverse. I have been mostly defeated in my ongoing battle to stay fit in such gastronomical heaven, but it is totally worth it! Although it is my sixth year living here, I’m still continuing to discover the hidden places that have already been legendary among locals for a few decades. If asked which ones I would recommend off the top of my head, the four below would be my top choices.
Café Ugolok
Open for more than 60 years, Ugolok remains one of the most beloved places for many generations of Tashkenters. A ‘mono-menu’ venue, the cafe serves fried chicken, vegetable plates (fresh cut or marinated), white bread and their signature tomato sauce with a secret recipe that they guard religiously. They call it ‘Chicken Tabaka’ after a famous Georgian dish.
Ugolok’s simple, friendly atmosphere recalls the nostalgic, no-nonsense, old Soviet-style cafes. Enter and you’ll find a very diverse crowd – groups of acquaintances and friends mix with local TV and press personalities, bankers, taxi drivers, police officers, suits and students. Some queue at the takeaway counter for food to go, and others sit and dine in at the cafe’s tables.
Ask any taxi driver to take you to “Ugolok na Skvere” and you will surely end up at the right place.
Average price per person: $7-11 (depending on portion size)
Non Bazaar
Named for the Uzbek word for bread, this is a famous spot for local breads, pies, and somsas of all tastes, shapes and sizes. A sunny, open place where street vendors sell their products from old-school baby carriages, it’s the best option for a quick bite while listening to the latest Tashkent news and gossip. A bonus on my most recent adventure here was running into a vendor who also spoke fluent French!
Bread and pies per item: from 0.9 US cents
Chegatai
Adjacent to (or, more, flowing out from) Non Bazaar, Chegatai is a famous shashlik street in the old city of Tashkent. Locals have been coming here for freshly grilled meats since the mid-1970s. This street is a community of shops that offers mainly shashlik barbecued on the side of the road in a long line. If you’re in the area, you can’t miss it – just follow the smell of sizzling meat and the wafting of fragrant smoke. Uzbek shashlik comes on smaller skewers than the ones in the Caucasus and is spiced with cumin. The lamb, cubed beef, minced beef and liver shashliks are all to die for here. Enjoy with fresh bread picked up in Non Bazaar 10 minutes beforehand.
Average price per person: $5-10 (depending on how hungry you are)
Pelmennaya
Pelmennaya is my favourite spot in the city, by far. Pelmeni are similar to Chinese-stye meat dumplings but are much smaller in size. They are popular across the former Soviet Union, but the version at Pelmennaya is one of the best I’ve had anywhere.
The dumplings are prepared fresh every morning. Located by the old ‘books boulevard’, it opened in the mid-1970s and is still run by the same family. You will always see father and son welcoming you with their wide smiles and they will remember your name even if you only visited them once.
Pelmeni are served with sour cream, spices, mustard, vinegar and bread.
Average price per person: $10-20 (depending on portion size)
