Samarkand is Uzbekistan's Silk Road showpiece, a 2,700-year-old city of turquoise domes, the Registan's three madrasas, Timur's tomb and the tiled mausoleums of Shah-i-Zinda.
Samarkand cooks the Uzbek core menu of plov, samsa, lagman, shurpa, manti and shashlik, with the city's famous domed non bread as the signature local product. Plov is a lunchtime meal and many plov centres close by about 15:00, while evenings are for grill restaurants, teahouses and a growing number of European-style cafes near the Registan.
Must-try dishes
Iconic dishes that define Samarkand.
Plov (osh)
Rice cooked with lamb, yellow carrots and chickpeas in a kazan; served at lunchtime and often sold out by mid-afternoon.
Where to try: Samarkand Plov Center (Osh Markazi), 12 Ibn Sina Street
Price: 35,000–70,000 UZS (~$2.9–5.8)
Samarkand non
Thick, round, domed bread stamped with a pattern and baked on the walls of a clay tandir; keeps for days and is the city's best-known food product.
Where to try: Bread sellers at the entrance of Siab Bazaar
Price: 3,000–5,000 UZS (~$0.2–0.4) per loaf
Samsa
Baked pastry filled with lamb and onion, cooked in a tandir oven.
Where to try: Siab Bazaar and street bakeries
Price: 8,000–15,000 UZS (~$0.7–1.2)
Shashlik
Skewers of lamb, beef or minced meat grilled over coals and served with onions and bread.
Where to try: Karimbek Restaurant, Ikrom Choyxonasi
Price: 15,000–40,000 UZS (~$1.2–3.3) per skewer
Lagman
Hand-pulled noodles in a meat and vegetable sauce.
Where to try: Most Uzbek restaurants and teahouses
Price: 40,000–60,000 UZS (~$3.3–5)
Manti
Steamed dumplings filled with lamb and onion.
Where to try: Old City Restaurant and teahouses
Price: 40,000–70,000 UZS (~$3.3–5.8)
Top restaurants
Handpicked picks for the best dining experiences.
Restaurants by cuisine
Browse picks grouped by cuisine type.
Uzbek
European
Turkish
Food tours & tastings in Samarkand
Eat your way through Samarkand with a guide.
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Street food
Local flavours at affordable prices.
Hot non from the tandir
Bread sold warm straight from the clay oven; the stamped surface and thick edge are the Samarkand style.
Find it at: Entrance of Siab Bazaar
Samsa
Lamb pastries sold hot from tandir ovens at market stalls and bakeries.
Find it at: Siab Bazaar and streets near Bibi-Khanym
Dried fruit, nuts and halva
Apricots, raisins, walnuts and sweets sold by weight; tasting before buying is normal.
Find it at: Siab Bazaar dried-fruit pavilions
Food markets
Where locals shop and graze.
Siab (Siyob) Bazaar
The largest bazaar in Samarkand, next to Bibi-Khanym Mosque; bread, dried fruit, nuts, spices, meat and dairy under a dome and several covered pavilions.
Hours: Daily roughly 07:00–19:00; closing day reported inconsistently, so check locally
Dining etiquette & tips
Navigate the local food scene confidently.
Plov is a lunchtime dish; most plov centres, such as the one at 12 Ibn Sina Street, serve only about 11:00 to 15:00 and close when the pot is empty.
Break bread by hand and never place a loaf upside down; this is a basic point of respect.
Tea (choy) is served with meals; the host or server pours a little in the bowl and returns it to the pot, a polite habit rather than a sign of poor service.
A tip of around 10 percent is common; some restaurants add a service charge, so check the bill.
Restaurants around the Registan charge tourist prices, and a short taxi ride to residential streets lowers the bill noticeably.
Cash in som is accepted everywhere; card payment is common in larger restaurants but not in market stalls.
- Vegetarian
- Possible but limited; ask for achichuk salad, vegetable shurpa, pumpkin samsa, fried eggplant and fresh bread, and confirm that soups and rice contain no meat stock.
- Vegan
- Challenging; fruit, nuts, bread and salads are widely available, and Western-style cafes on University Boulevard are easier.
- Halal
- Nearly all restaurants serve halal meat; Khan Ahmad Restaurant advertises halal food, and pork is rare outside international hotels.
- Gluten free
- Very limited; bread and noodles are staples, so grilled meat and salads are the safest orders.
- Allergies
- Carry a translated allergy card in Russian and Uzbek; nuts, sesame and dairy are common in sweets and breads.
Food budget guide
What to expect at different price points.
| Level | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | 35,000–90,000 UZS (~$2.9–7.5) per meal | Plov centres, bazaar samsa and non, and shashlik teahouses. |
| Mid-range | 100,000–250,000 UZS (~$8.3–21) per meal | Sit-down Uzbek and European restaurants such as Istiqlol, Karimbek or Samarkand Restaurant. |
| Upscale | 250,000–500,000 UZS (~$21–42) per meal | Terrace restaurants near the Registan and hotel restaurants with wine. |