Karimbek

Karimbek, on Gagarin Street west of the city centre, is one of the Uzbek restaurants most often recommended in Samarkand travel guides and blogs, and locals come here too with family and friends.

The building holds several halls decorated in national style, and in warm weather there is seating outdoors. In the evenings live music plays and the rooms fill up.

The menu is built around Uzbek cooking: plov, lagman, shurpa and, above all, several kinds of shashlik made from lamb and beef. Diners also rate the fried manti, aubergine rolls and unusual salads, and there are Russian and European dishes as well. Doors open at 9am, so it works for breakfast, lunch or dinner alike. Reviewers often praise the range of kebabs and the quick service, though on busy evenings orders can take a while.