Almaty is an unconventional vacation spot that exceeds any expectations one may has. A pristine and fascinating destination, offering traditional food, excellent cafes and cocktail bars, and wild nature just a short drive from the city center. All this is just a couple of hours flight from Europe.
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For those visiting during the upcoming autumn, when the weather is ideal: the Rex guide to Almaty's culinary scene.
Almaty: A Culinary Fusion of East and West
Kazakhstan's economic capital is located in a lush valley, where apples were first domesticated, giving the city its name ("origin of the apple" in Kazakh). A shiny, walkable city, surrounded by lakes and green mountains just a short drive away.
Almaty started to open up to the world at the end of the last decade. Since then, countless new places have opened in the city center: from local chef restaurants to excellent bars and a resort with a Kazakh-French fusion menu at a new ski resort, less than 30 minutes from the city center. A truly surprising and intriguing destination.
The city's culinary scene reflects Kazakhstan's and Almaty's redefinition process. A turn toward the West on one hand, as seen in the transliteration of the Kazakh language from Cyrillic to Latin-Turkish on menus, for example, as part of a renewed connection to the region's Turkic tradition.
Kazakhs also celebrate their ancient nomadic past and traditional cuisine in most menus. You can find a variety of traditional recipes in chef restaurants – and plenty of horse meat dishes.
The recent past is also present. The period when Almaty was an established center in the Soviet Union is evident in the public space: restaurants offer dishes from the Pan-Soviet repertoire like Olivier salad and Pelmeni, and the streets are lined with imposing, well-preserved architectural monuments.
In short: an experimental and fascinating fusion of past and present, and of East and West.
Almaty (Photo: Roy Yerushalmi)
Almaty: 8 Recommended Restaurants
Kazmyaso
Chef Svetlana Khaniniyeva, whom viewers of Russian master chef will surely remember as one of the talented finalists, relocated to Kazakhstan and opened a groundbreaking meat restaurant in Almaty. Don't let its location in the middle of a unassuming food market fool you: meat or not, this is one of the best restaurants in the city. Period.
The beef comes from a herd owned by the restaurant and is aged and butchered on-site. Alongside massive steaks, Khaniniyeva serves excellent house-made tartare and charcuterie, and a flawless jewish-nsipired chicken liver pâté.
Khaniniyeva, who worked with chef Jonathan Borovitz at M25 for a while, brought the unique DNA of that place here, with an unpretentious presentation and excellence. Don't skip the local craft beers served with the meat.
Amal’ Lagmannaya – Амаль – Лагманная
Uyghur cuisine is deservedly gaining global interest: a thrilling and unique combination of Chinese and Central Asian cooking, with an abundance of steamed and fried dumplings, noodles made from raw roots stir-fried in a wok with spicy sauce (potatoes, for example), and unique vegetable dishes.
New restaurants opened by Uyghur immigrants are gaining acclaim in the United States and Europe. Still, Amal's Uighur restaurant in the Druzhba quarter on the outskirts of Almaty is on another level of authenticity, with precise execution and presentation.
Members of the Uyghur minority have been immigrating from China to Kazakhstan since the latter was founded in the 1990s. Many settled in Dostyk-Druzhba, the Friendship quarter, named for the shared fate of the Turkic and Muslim peoples of both nations.
Amal', founded in the last decade, is located in a two-story house with a patio. Diners are invited to patiently lounge on a divan, while all their dishes are prepared from scratch only after the order is placed.
The meal begins with a deep, black Uyghur tea brewed with horse milk, served in a soup bowl (a must try!). The come along a variety of steamed mantu dumplings and lagman soup in its Uyghur version, including thin, hand-pulled noodles with a spicy-sweet seasoning. And yes, it's exactly as good as it sounds.
The wok stir-fries are exceptional: fried noodles and the raw potato juliennes are excellent, but above all, a stir-fry of garlic chives stems (Allium tuberosum) and scrambled eggs stood out. A refined dish with a wild-vegetable flavor that is similar to yet so different from the morning glory dishes of Southeast Asia. A must-visit for lovers of authentic Asian cuisine.
Amal' Lagmannaya. Yasaui Street, near the corner of Pionerskaya. Амаль Лагманная. Яссауи 162 (Пионерская).
Rifugio del Monte
The Shymbulak ski resort, located less than 30 minbutes away from Almaty's center, feels like a parallel universe, filled with towering, snowy mountains and green valleys.
Chef Nikita Yeremeyev's Rifugio del Monte is situated in a blue villa at the highest point of the resort. A Kazakh dream of an alpine chalet culture and the après-ski kitchens of France, Austria, and Italy.
The recipes are classic but based on local ingredients, with Central Asian influences that seep through the chef's fingers and are expressed, for example, in the frequent use of horse meat, the national dish of Kazakhstan (also popular in Italy, France, and Central Europe until the mid-20th century).
The execution is elegant and maticulous, and the excellent service places Rifugio among the top restaurants in Almaty, with the view being the cherry on top.
House-made brioche bruschettas with salmon cured on-site are recommended, as well as a wonderful cold salad of Kamchatka crab, and horse salo—smoked fat salami, inspired by Eastern European cuisine.
The main courses section, features. as expected, fondue and risotto, alongside massive steaks of local meat: beef and horse. The restaurant also serves a decadent and magnificent breakfast, for which it is recommended to book in advance.
Ogonёk
The abr restaurant group includes dozens of chef restaurants and bars in Kazakhstan. Ogonёk, located in a historic building in central Almaty, is one of their best.
Chef Ruslan Zakirov combines local cuisine and wine with a European twist. A significant portion of the dishes comes from grilling over charcoal, such as local meats. First courses, from flatbreads to roast beef, are served for sharing in the center of the table, inspired by the zakuski menus of the Soviet Union.
The atmosphere is elegant and casual, and the wine list is excellent, including a large selection of local wines alongside an impressive ampunt of champagnes by the glass, making it a great option for a light dinner of nibbles and wine in a central location, or for brunch – with syrniki, what else!
AUYL
This acclaimed Kazakh restaurant celebrates the culinary experience of the country's steppes. Diners sit on the floor, and dishes are served on low tables in a traditional space. All this is set against a backdrop of mountain and nature views.
All dishes are roasted in a local tandoor oven or on the grill. Most are based on the three significant ingredients of Kazakhstan's nomadic cuisine: meat, flour, and water, with the addition of vegetables grown on the restaurant's farm.
The food is inspired by classic recipes, while remaining faithful to and focusing more on traditional cooking techniques.Tartare can be found here, a dish that was born in the steppes of Kazakhstan, as well as a variety of stews, and grilled dishes. The wine list is based mostly on local produce and is nothing short of excellent.
קה קה – Cё Cё
ora Kucherenko) and Darya Bezhina are acclaimed bartenders who moved to Almaty about 3 years ago. Darya, a native of Kyzylorda (where the Kazakh space station is located), was a finalist at the prestigious bartenders' Bols competition and Jora's menu was named one of the best in the world in 2022 by 50 Best Bars. Impressive indeed.
They couple the charming and secretive cё cё as a bar, near the city's green market. Over time, the prep kitchen became the heart of the space, and cё cё evolved into a speakeasy restaurant with a Vietnamese-Chinese-Korean twist, as the couple essentially taught themselves how to cook and create the menu items without any prior culinary training.
The menu includes dishes such as a fantastic pho soup, various stir-fries, tempura shrimp, chicken karaage, all served in a cozy, underground atmosphere.
As expected, the cocktails are nothing short of excellent, a testament to the couple's extensive experience.
The real highlight is the exceptional mocktail (non-alcoholic) menu, which earned them the title of one of the 8 most innovative menus in the world by 50 Best bars last year. Well worth a visit for lunch or dinner.
Jüz
A wave of new Kazakh restaurants with a twist has opened in Almaty in the last decade. Jüz isn't one of them, but more of an authentic local venue with minimum twists.
The menu features traditional nomadic dishes from the Kazakh steppe, all huge and meant to be shared.
Llocal plov rice stwe was wonderful, as well as the skewers and local baked mantu dumplings that come out of a charcoal tandoor oven.
There's also besbarmak, the signature Kazakh dish: a stew with various cuts of horse meat that is considered one of the best in the city.
All best washed down with local cold beer or vodka.
