This kitsch and friendly restaurant takes you straight to Tashkent - apparently everything from the cushions to the waiters’ traditional garb is all imported from Uzbekistan’s capital. It gets particularly packed at lunchtime when the business lunch set menu (advertised on the tables in Russian) is running. The plov (meat and pilau rice) or the manti (large meat dumplings) are excellent choices, as is the warm and satisfying kifta-shurpa (a light soup with vegetables and meatballs) although you may well also be tempted by the smell of the sizzling shashliks or the extensive salad bar.

€