The Grand Nodirbek Boutique Hotel, in Uzbekistan’s Silk Road city Bukhara, did not serve dinner, but its excellent location within the inner walls, meant we had plenty of choice within walking distance.
On arrival, we’d passed the large Lyabi-Hauz pool and this one, built in 1620, was part of a network of canals and pools which not only provided water to the city, but was where people gathered and gossiped, drank and washed, and it still serves the first three purposes. The Lyabi-Hauz Restaurant took up three of the sides: one was quieter with tables for four at the water’s edge; opposite was a larger area with group tables and live music in the evening; whilst the adjoining area had indoor seating.
After two full mornings of sightseeing in the heat, we stopped here for light lunches enjoying meat filled pasties one day and a delicious salad the next. Along with a couple of Zomin beers and a large bottle of sparkling water, it was good value at around 100,000 Som or £6, although dollars were also accepted. With shade from old mulberry trees, it was the perfect place for chilling and people watching as it was obviously popular with both locals and tourists.
Our guide provided two dinner recommendations. At 7.30pm, the rooftop terrace of the Old Bukhara was already fully booked, so we reserved for the following night and headed for the second recommendation, Joy. Whilst there was a central courtyard on the ground floor, we were led to a table on the top floor. From the National Dishes section we chose Uyghur lagman (Uzbek noodles with a meat sauce and vegetables, which strongly resembled spaghetti bolognaise) and beef kebab with grilled vegetables. We had a bottle of Uzbek chardonnay and with baklava for dessert we paid 270,000 Som/£17 which included a tip – this was excellent value and if I’d paid that for a bottle of wine in a London bar I’d regard it as a bargain. The service was excellent, and it was easy to see why the place was so busy – on arrival, we were told that we’d have to vacate our table by 9pm which wasn’t a problem.
We returned to Old Bukhara the following evening and arrived just after two guests without reservations. We were all shown up to the terrace and allocated tables in a side area without any view. We explained we had a reservation, pointing to unoccupied tables but we were told they were all reserved. We were eventually moved to a slightly better table, but waited 10 minutes before being presented with the menu and the ‘Premium Wine List’, where the cheapest bottle was the same price as the entire meal at Joy. Fearing it was a total rip off, we walked out.
Having left Old Bukhara we returned to the tried and tested Lyabi-Hauz Restaurant, but this time sat on the quieter side. By now, we just wanted to eat and shared a bolognaise pizza and Greek salad and ironically a bottle of white wine called Old Bukhara. We watched the pool and trees being lit up atmospherically and lingered enjoying the cool breeze, before paying the £20 bill. We both agreed having our final dinner where we’d had our first lunch seemed very appropriate.
