All Restaurants in Tashkent
$ = under $20 $$ = $20–50 $$$ = $50–100 $$$$ = $100+
1
Close a Deal
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Sette
Tashkent's most serious Italian dining room — a price level that keeps the room filtered and a kitchen that has never given anyone a reason to downgrade.
2
Close a Deal
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Affresco
The oldest proper Italian restaurant in Tashkent — founded by Italians, still feels like Italians run it, and the pasta course justifies the flight.
3
Proposal
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Caravan
The Uzbek restaurant that foreign visitors recommend to each other — a courtyard garden, traditional textiles, and plov from an open tandir that tastes like the country introducing itself.
4
Team Dinner
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Besh Qozon (Central Asian Plov Centre)
The city's institution — a 1970s-style canteen where two-ton iron kazans cook the Tashkentsky plov that every serious Uzbek critic measures the rest of the city against.
5
Proposal
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Khiva
The themed-dining room that wins the argument — Khorezm-style interiors, court musicians on the weekend, and a kitchen that takes traditional cooking seriously enough to justify the set-piece.
Best for First Date in Tashkent
Intimate tables built for conversation over candlelight — impressive without intimidating.
Team Dinner
Affresco
The oldest proper Italian restaurant in Tashkent — founded by Italians, still feels like Italians run it, and the pasta course justifies the flight.
Solo Dining
Caravan
The Uzbek restaurant that foreign visitors recommend to each other — a courtyard garden, traditional textiles, and plov from an open tandir that tastes like the country introducing itself.
Best for Business Dinner in Tashkent
Power tables where deals are closed over seasoned service and serious wine.
The Tashkent Dining Guide
Tashkent is the most cosmopolitan city in Central Asia, and the dining scene reflects the reality: the city has more diverse international restaurants than Almaty, Baku, or Samarkand combined, alongside a traditional Uzbek infrastructure that remains rooted in communal food culture. The country's soft-power investment in tourism — new direct flights from Europe, visa-free entry for most Western passports, the Amir Timur–era monument restoration programme — has pushed dining standards upward across every price tier since 2019.
What to prioritise on a three-day trip: one proper dinner at a business-serious Italian (Sette or Affresco); one traditional Uzbek evening (Caravan or Khiva); one plov-focused lunch at Besh Qozon; and at least one meal at a hotel restaurant — the Hyatt Regency's Stelle, the Hilton's bar, or the rooftop at the Internazional. The city's dining day runs later than Moscow (most restaurants take bookings until 10pm), which suits the modern local rhythm of post-7pm dinners after the heat of the day has dropped.
Practical notes: Tashkent Card (issued by the Uzbek tourism authority) gives 10% off at a growing list of partner restaurants; reservations for Sette, Affresco, and the hotel restaurants are easiest to make via WhatsApp or Instagram DM. Tipping at 10% is standard at tourist-facing restaurants and increasingly expected at local fine-dining venues. Most premium restaurants take Uzbek Visa/Mastercard; Amex acceptance is patchy outside the Hyatt and Hilton. The city's tap water is potable but most restaurants will default to serving bottled still water unless asked; still water (still, without gas) is 'gaz ozzy yokh' in Uzbek and 'bez gaza' in Russian.
Neighbourhoods: Amir Timur Avenue and the parallel Abdulla Qodiriy Street hold most of the business-dining restaurants (Sette, Affresco, Khiva's newer branch); the Yunus-Obod district contains Besh Qozon and the Central Asian Plov Centre; the Old City — around Chorsu Bazaar — is where to find traditional working-class plov and shashlik; Mustaqillik Square and the embassy quarter (Uzbekistan Avenue, near the Japanese and Korean embassies) have the hotel restaurants. The new Tashkent City central-business development has brought a wave of rooftop bars and international chains; the best of them — the Tashkent City Boulevard promenade — is worth a walk between dinners.
Reservation Tips
Sette and Affresco book via WhatsApp — faster than phone. Hotel restaurants (Hyatt, Hilton) take bookings online via OpenTable. Besh Qozon does not take reservations and sells out by 2pm on weekends — arrive before noon.
Tipping & Payment
10% tip is standard; rarely added automatically. Uzbek som cash for traditional restaurants and tandir lunches. Visa/Mastercard accepted at premium venues, Amex patchy. Withdraw som from bank ATMs (not black-market), which now offer competitive rates since the 2019 currency liberalisation.
The Top 10 in Tashkent
- Sette
Italian Fine Dining — Tashkent's most serious Italian dining room — a price level that keeps the room filtered and a kitchen that has never given anyone a reason to downgrade.
- Affresco
Italian Classic — The oldest proper Italian restaurant in Tashkent — founded by Italians, still feels like Italians run it, and the pasta course justifies the flight.
- Caravan
Uzbek Traditional — The Uzbek restaurant that foreign visitors recommend to each other — a courtyard garden, traditional textiles, and plov from an open tandir that tastes like the country introducing itself.
- Besh Qozon (Central Asian Plov Centre)
Uzbek — Plov Specialist — The city's institution — a 1970s-style canteen where two-ton iron kazans cook the Tashkentsky plov that every serious Uzbek critic measures the rest of the city against.
- Khiva
Uzbek Traditional — The themed-dining room that wins the argument — Khorezm-style interiors, court musicians on the weekend, and a kitchen that takes traditional cooking seriously enough to justify the set-piece.