Tashkent Street Food: What to Try at the Stalls
Tandoor samsa, fried gumma, boiled corn, smoky shashlik and soda with syrup: a guide to what the capital eats on the go.
Tashkent is a city made for eating on the move. By metro exits, at bus stops, around bazaars and in parks you will find tandoors, grills and corn carts. You do not need a restaurant: the tastiest things are often sold straight from the counter, and a queue of locals is the best recommendation. Here is what to get, where to find it and how to avoid a bad bite.
Samsa: the king of street food
Tandoor samsa is the place to start. The pastry is flaky, and the filling is chopped lamb or beef with onion and tail fat. There are also versions with chicken, potato, pumpkin (in autumn) and greens (in spring).
What to look for:
- samsa should be hot with a crisp crust, not soft and pale;
- a good sign is a tandoor right next to the counter rather than pastries brought in bags;
- some places bake large layered samsa or samsa with little ears, so try different shapes.
Samsa is eaten by hand, often with tea or ayran. Careful with the first bite: there are hot juices inside.
Gumma: fried pies
Gumma are deep-fried pies filled with liver, meat or potato. It is cheap, filling food of working neighbourhoods and train stations, sold from big pots or basins covered with a towel to keep it warm. Gumma is not about refinement but about a quick, hearty snack; buy it where turnover is high and everything is fried in front of you.
Boiled corn and baked potatoes
In summer and autumn there are carts with boiled corn on almost every corner, and the cob is salted right in front of you. It is a favourite snack in parks and by the fountains. In autumn and winter baked potatoes appear, but corn remains the main symbol of a Tashkent summer.
Shashlik from the grill
Grill smoke is an essential part of the city in the evening. On the street shashlik is sold by the skewer: lamb, beef, liver with tail fat, minced lula kebab. It comes with raw onion sprinkled with vinegar or herbs, and flatbread.
Tips:
- order one or two skewers of different meats to compare;
- liver with fat (jigar) is an acquired taste, but locals love it;
- if you sit at a table, people usually order a pot of tea and achichuk salad with shashlik.
Soda from a machine or a cart
Signs of a Tashkent summer are carts selling soda water with syrup and the old soda vending machines still found in a few spots around town. You get a glass of fizzy water with syrup such as cherry, tarragon or pear, or plain. It is a nostalgic drink that many people buy just for the atmosphere.
Other summer drinks are cold ayran or chalop, and homemade compotes sold at kiosks near the bazaars.
Sweets on the go
- Parvarda and navat: sold at every bazaar, to go with tea.
- Baklava and chak-chak: in confectionery shops.
- Ice cream: sold outside every park in summer.
- Fruit: sliced melon and watermelon by weight in season.
Where to find street food
| Place | What you will find |
|---|---|
| Chorsu Bazaar and around | samsa, shashlik, bread, sweets, fruit |
| Metro exits and bus stops | samsa, gumma, corn |
| Parks and embankments | corn, ice cream, soda |
| Train stations | gumma, samsa, tea |
Safety and hygiene
- Choose stalls with a steady stream of customers: the food does not sit around.
- Food fried or baked in front of you is the safer bet.
- In the heat, be careful with dairy and salads that have stood in the sun.
- Carry wet wipes, as there is not always a place to wash your hands.
- Street food is generally inexpensive, but prices change, so check before ordering, especially in tourist areas.
Street food outside the city: Yangiyul
If you want to see how people eat in the suburbs, go to Yangiyul, a small town about 30 km south-west of Tashkent, roughly 40 to 50 minutes away. Its bazaar is a good place to try samsa and shashlik in a less touristy setting and to buy fruit straight from farmers.
You can get there by shared ride on Tashkent to Yangiyul with Yo'ldosh: choose a time, book a seat in the app and travel with a verified driver, usually for less than a taxi. Other directions from the capital are under all routes.
A short list for your first day
If you only have one day in Tashkent, try at least these: hot samsa from a tandoor for breakfast, boiled corn in a park, a couple of shashlik skewers in the evening and a glass of soda with syrup. These are four flavours locals remember from childhood and the simplest way to get a feel for the city.
Cover photo: Dave Proffer, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.
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