Must-see restaurants in Shymkent

Visually a sultry cross between a stone-walled cellar and a library, with plenty of books on art and design on surrounding shelves, this gorgeous…

Atmospheric multiroomed Kok-Saray, with carved-wood pillars, murals and an airy front terrace, serves the best Uzbek food in town (and in Kazakhstan,…

Overlooking the park behind Kinoteatr Kakakhstan, Bar Villa's two levels of mostly sofa seating have big windows to enjoy the leafy view, and there's a…

Another superlative restaurant inside the Rixos hotel, this informal Pan-Asian place features original decor with Kazakh elements, an open kitchen that…

Karavan offers Uzbek plov, Kazakh beshbarmak, and Russian bifstroganof, but those in the know come for the very tasty Uyghur burro-laghman (fried laghman)…

Large, bright and informal, with efficient service, Eldoro is popular with locals for its pizza, but its other offerings – salads, steaks, shashlyk and…

With decor like a kids’ restaurant, this is a central branch of a popular chain of good-value cafeterias where you can get a serve of manty (steamed…

Good cafe with excellent breakfasts (stuffed bliny, rice porridge, omelettes), pasta and pizza dishes, tasty cakes, croissants and good coffee, and a…

Popular cafe chain that locals flock to for inexpensive soups, hearty breakfasts, pasta dishes, cakes and coffee. Filling but not hugely memorable.