National House of Shakhnoza

The National House of Shakhnoza, on Damariq Street in the west of the city, welcomes guests into a real family home. There is no staged decor: visitors see everyday Samarkand life and how national dishes are made. Meals are served in a room furnished in traditional style or on a summer terrace laid with tapchan platforms.

The hostess, Shakhnoza, takes particular care over the menu: salads, shurpa and mastava, plov, manti and khanum rolls, dolma, dimlama, tandoor-baked bread and samsa, with baklava to finish, and vegetarian dishes on request. Arrange ahead and you can join a plov or manti cooking class; occasionally there are folk performances too.