Dushanbe
In an unprepossessing alley near the Opera House, this surprisingly atmospheric restaurant is a treat both in terms of its rural Russian decor (think…
Must-see restaurants in Tajikistan
Dushanbe
Offering a full à la carte menu in addition to an excellent buffet selection, the Rudaki Restaurant at the Serena Hotel is a popular choice for a…
Tajikistan
Penjikent's most imaginative eatery, this eccentric wooden structure boasts timber stairways and cosy booths and is festooned with traditional artefacts…
The Pamir Highway
This is the most popular meeting place in Khurog, largely perhaps because it's exciting to find anyone even attempting to offer Indian cuisine in such a…
Dushanbe
This grand Soviet-era, Persian-style, open-sided chaikhana (teahouse) is the Dushanbe classic – a great place to sip tea, slurp a bowl of noodles or enjoy…
The Pamir Highway
Right beside the Ak-Balyk (White Fish) spring near the Km840 marker on the Pamir Hwy, an enterprising cook has set up a lonely shop selling delicious…
The Pamir Highway
Deservedly popular for pre-prepared lunches, manty (steamed meat dumplings), shashlyk and chilled flagons of kompot (fruit cordial), this extensive,…
The Pamir Highway
Attached to Lal Hotel and with access to the seating pavilion in the hotel garden, this fun, bright cafe is decorated with traditional patterns, and…
The Pamir Highway
This small upmarket restaurant sports tables with white linen and side plates, and the outdoor tables on the terrace overlook an attractive riverside…
The Pamir Highway
This excellent lunch stop, by the statue of Shamsiddin Shohein and unpromisingly in the forecourt of an NFC petrol station, offers delicious local and…
Tajikistan
Around 20km west of Ayni, this characterful roadside teahouse has capitalised on the mountain water that rushes through the premises. Cauldrons of chicken…
Tajikistan
Delicious Georgian cuisine is served from the decorated interior of this upmarket restaurant, and the bar in the corner offers a pre-dinner rendezvous…
Tajikistan
This popular meeting point has menus (unlike most chaikhanas), curtained booth seats and a large outdoor terrace on the street made cheerful with fresh…
The Pamir Highway
Beside the central bridge in Kalai-Khum are a pair of restaurants each perched above the swirling blue waters. With its Zoroastrian logo and smart…
Dushanbe
This fun little venue, designed as an odd combination of stalactite-filled cavern with covered tables and cloth serviettes, provides a cool spot on a hot…
Dushanbe
Local fabrics and piled cushions lend an exotic aura to this trend-setting restaurant, with its intimate booths and hubble-bubble bar. The tablet menus…
Dushanbe
With a menu of choices popular among homesick travellers and resident expats, this welcoming cafe serves good locally roasted coffee, cakes, wraps and…
Tajikistan
In a leafy haven opposite the bazaar, this highly popular restaurant offers a particularly recommended plov. Other local dishes feature an abundance of…
Tajikistan
This pleasant restaurant set in a garden with daybeds and a fountain is near the new mosque north of the city centre. It serves a good plov and shashlyk…
Tajikistan
Behind a vine-fronted facade, eight tables are arranged around a central fountain pool in a shaded courtyard, making this a lovely choice for lunch or tea…
Tajikistan
This central semi-smart cafe features mirror-facet flowers and chequerboard couch seats. The kitchen serves great barbecues, particularly okaroshka …
Tajikistan
This splendid traditional-style teahouse with wooden pillars and carved ceiling offers a range of local dishes for a dining experience that's a cut above…
Dushanbe
This simple family-run restaurant in a vine-covered yard attracts a local crowd at lunchtime hoping to dine on Dushanbe's best plov (pilaf).
Dushanbe
This hugely popular bustling cafeteria makes a lively spot for Turkish breakfasts, kebabs, pizza, salads, cakes and instant coffee (but no alcohol).
Dushanbe
A range of well-prepared Indian dishes, cooked by an Indian chef, is served at brightly clothed tables in this ever-popular central favourite.
The Pamir Highway
A well-stocked modern shop handy for picking up supplies for the rest of the journey.
The Pamir Highway
In the middle of the route between Kalai-Khum and Rushan, this popular lunch stop also attracts weary night-time truckers who ply the M41 across the…
Tajikistan
Gharm's main restaurant is upstairs beside the Megafon office on the city's central block (diagonally across from the statue of Somoni). Kebabs, delicious…
Dushanbe
The smell of garlic hints at the authentic Korean food offered behind the misleadingly dreary facade of Arirang. Ropes, manuscript panelling and bundles…
Dushanbe
This unmarked outdoor eatery with striped awning serves a tasty kurutob and attracts a steady stream of customers. It is tucked round the side of the…
The Pamir Highway
Plov, dumplings and soup attract regulars at this diner with a point-and-select chart pinned outside. When it comes to sambusas, it gives the competition…
Tajikistan
This very popular bazaar chaikhana has fine views and specialises in breakfast options. The door directly right of the bazaar's main entrance leads to…
Tajikistan
For delicious, hot-baked bread straight from the tandor, stop by this unassuming bakery on the scenic way out of town (following the Isfara River along…
The Pamir Highway
A tidy little cafe by the bazaar and opposite Pamir Plaza, this is a handy place for a fast-food snack after shopping for supplies in the large…
Tajikistan
The photographs of kebabs and burgers decorating the outside of this cheerful cafe dispense with the need for English. It's in the heart of the main…
Dushanbe
One of several unassuming venues to try the locally popular dish kurutob and other cheap and cheerful dishes. Closed during Ramadan.
The Pamir Highway
At the edge of the bazaar, Aida offers dining in simple curtained booths. The sambusas are recommended.
The Pamir Highway
This tiny upstairs one-room diner offers an alternative to the meals at nearby Pamir Lodge.
Tajikistan
For those on a very tight budget, the cheap pre-prepared meals being served within the green-and-yellow southern facade of the Panchshanbe Bazaar fill a…
