Plov Centre (Registan Street)

Tucked just off Registan Street, this café is about 400 m from Registan Square and 500 m from the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum. Despite the name, it is not a classic plov centre: the plov does not run out after lunch but is cooked several times a day, and the café stays open until midnight. That makes it a handy stop for an evening meal after a day of sightseeing.

There is one kind of plov — Samarkand style, with beef — and portions are big, so one usually feeds two. The menu also runs to manti, chuchvara dumplings, shurpa soup, lagman noodles, lyulya and other kebabs, with samsa baked during the day. Desserts include pakhlava and cakes; drinks include tea, kompot and beer.

The dining room is done out in traditional style, with ceramics and musical instruments on the walls and bright fabrics hung beneath the ceiling; besides ordinary tables there are tapchan platforms to sit on. One hall has air conditioning.