astanaeats

Restaurant Name: Line Brew Location: Kenesary 20Phone: +7172 23 63 73Cuisine: SteakhouseDress: CasualPrice Range: HighWebsite: http://line-brew.kz/ Excellent steaks, great beer. Food:Line brew is one of the restaurants that my friends visit as often as possible. We also have a running debate over where to find the best steak in Astana and almost all agree that this is the place. Personally I thought the steak at Fusion was better, but that's a minority view. There are a number of steaks on the menu, but I prefer the Devil Steak because it is cooked on the open fire grill at the center of the restaurant. It is a nice thick cut, still attached to a rib. The devil is marinated lightly, just enough to give it a good flavor, a little too salty for my tastes, but I'm fairly sensitive to that. T…

Restaurant Name: India-Gate Location: 8-62/1 AbaiPhone: 8 (7172) 32 48 95Cuisine: Indian (Thai and Chinese also available)Dress: CasualPrice Range: Moderate to highWebsite: http://indiagate.kz/index.php/home Very good Indian food and a great atmosphere. Food:India-Gate has a very long menu that focuses on Indian cuisine but also includes some Thai and Chinese dishes. I have only tried the Indian food, and it was consistently good. Most of the dishes are what one would expect from a mid-range Indian restaurant. We started with a round of samosas for the table - large, nice flaky crust and a well-spiced filling. The filling was a bit homogenous in texture and flavor, but I will definitely start with samosas on my next visit as well. They are served with the usual green hot chutney and red s…

Restaurant Name: Assorti Location: Keruen Shopping Center, Third FloorPhone: +7 (7172)79 53 97Cuisine: Italian (Japanese/Sushi available also)Dress: CasualPrice Range: Moderate Good familiar food at reasonable prices. Food:Assorti has a huge menu, but the focus seems to be on Italian fare including pizza, pasta, and meat dishes. There is also a Japanese and sushi menu, but I have never tried it. I'm not sure I understand why sushi is so often paired with Italian food in Astana. I have tried the pasta and pizza and both are quite good. I wouldn't call the food excellent, but it is very familiar to my American palette as the sort of thing one could find at an Italian chain in any shopping center at home. My Russian teacher recommended Assorti for the pizza so it seems to have a good reputat…

Restaurant Name: Cafe Korea (Кафе Коре) Location: 75 улица Мухтара Ауэзова (One block west of Respublika, half block north of Abai; just north of main Kazpost office)Phone: +7 (7172) 32 78 95Cuisine: KoreanDress: CasualPrice Range: Moderate/Low Nothing fancy, but some of the best food I've had in Astana. Food:Both times I have visited Cafe Korea have been for quick lunches in the middle of the day, and that seems to be the main focus of the restaurant. I have not explored the menu in any depth, but it is a refreshingly short menu. Dishes include basic Korean salads, soups, and noodle or rice dishes - basic Korean lunch food. And it is all excellent as far as I can tell. I was here most recently on a very cold day after fighting the madness at Kazpost. My small group needed a quick bit to…

Restaurant Name: Daikon Location: 7/2 Kabanbai Batyr (Between Kabanbai and Sariarka, near the circus/UFO)Phone: +7-7172- 78 09 79Website: http://www.daikon.kz/Cuisine: Japanese, SushiDress: Business CasualPrice Range: Moderate to high Map Here Not the best sushi I've ever had, but certainly the best in Astana. Food:Daikon presents a fairly standard sushi cafe menu with a fair selection of sushi, rolls, sashimi, and tempura. I went with a large group and we ordered a wide variety to share. While nothing overwhelmed, it was all quite good. Starters were quite good - seaweed salad was crisp and not too oily. Miso soup was flavorful and satisfying, in fact I think it was one of the spiciest bowls of miso I've ever eaten. It included more solid matter than I'm used to - seaweed, mushrooms, and…

Restaurant Name: Kishlak Location: 22/2 Kabanbai Batyr (Under the Kabanbai Batyr bridge that passes over the plaza between Kazmunigaz and the cigarette lighter.)Phone: +7 7172 974 161Cuisine: Uzbek, KazakhDress: CasualPrice Range: Moderate to high Absolutely one of my favorite restaurants in the city, I have eaten at Kishlak too many times to count. Food:The food is very good and the focus is on traditional meat dishes. My favorite is the simple lamb shashlik. There are two varieties of shashlik with lamb on the menu, stick with the simple шашлык из баранины. It is half the price and it tastes better than the special version that the wait staff will try to talk you into. My friends have an ongoing debate about where to find the best shashlik in town, and Kishlak is always a top contender.…

Welcome to AstanaEats.

I have been living in Astana for about five months now and I've enjoyed exploring the city's restaurants and cafes.  There are a few web sites with English reviews of restaurants, but none have been especially reliable.

So I plan to use this space to keep track of my experiences for my own future reference.  Maybe somebody else will find my experience useful as well.

All of the opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect any other individuals or institutions.