48 hours in Tashkent

As part of our expansion into Asia, Coverpoint Foodservice Consulting find ourselves in Tashkent, the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan, with a population of 3 million (and growing), the most populous city in central Asia. A 7 hour direct flight from London touched down at 3.30am local time, in readiness for an intense 2 days in the city.

A quick refresh and breakfast at the Ichan Qal’a Hotel, our base camp for the visit and a real oasis of calm and tranquillity in the fast paced city.

First stop, a review of the recently opened Tashkent City Mall. Located right in the very heart of the new city centre, the 100,000m² GLA retail and entertainment centre, forms part of a larger development plot that includes a business centre, a soon to open Fairmont hotel and luxury apartments in a total built area of 245,000m². The immediate surroundings have seen significant investment over recent years with the addition of a Hilton Hotel & Congress Centre, multiple mixed use developments and new, city centre living apartments – all corralling a lush and green City Park.

Tashkent City Mall itself has set new standards for shopping and leisure experience in the city, with a light and airy 4 level mall accommodating International retail brands, many new to the country, significant F&B provision, a 14 screen multiplex, rooftop gym and FEC. Not all elements of the provision are fully open yet, but there was an army of contractors fitting out units ready for their imminent going live days.

Now, the important bit! The F&B provision was evident on all 4 levels with the rooftop offers complimenting the extensive leisure offer (and talk of a potential Food Hall in the future). A 500 seat Food Court dominates foodservice provision on Level 3, combining international brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Hardees and Wendy’s, with national concepts such as Eden, the burger and Sushi Market, but the stars of the show at this level are the contemporary Uzbek offer Boboy and pastry shop/ restaurant Ribambelle, both with stunning elevated terraces overlooking the city park.  Level 2 accommodates the French bakery brand Paul, alongside the 80 strong brand Japanese brand Tanuki, both with large, street level, external terraces.

Ground floor level brings together a selection of Cafes and Restaurants, all benefitting from external terraces seating areas with entrances from the mall – the best of both worlds. The mix, a combination of home grown and UAE and Turkish imported concepts, sees Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern and contemporary European, together with, surprisingly for a double landlocked country, an excellent fish restaurant in the form of Kaspiyka. A selection of Ice Cream, Pastry and Dessert Parlours make up the mix. What is common throughout is the high level quality of unit fit out detail in the units, some of the best we have seen, and definitely inspired by the ‘mother’ brands in Dubai.

Overall, the F&B provision in City Mall marks a step change in the Tashkent market, collectively the single largest concentration of foodservice in the city, but also with the broadest selection of choice and, most definitely, with the most elaborate (and expensive) fit outs.

Evening dinner, accompanied by my 2 hosts, saw a visit to Caravan, with a menu that is heavy on traditional Uzbek dishes but also complements the offer with a selection of European items. The setting was superb, with a small, intimate courtyard leading to the ‘family’ house decorated in the Uzbek national house style – lots of hung tapestries, baskets, vines and plants, mosaic tiles and richly decorated hanging plates. The authentic experience was heighted by a musical duo playing in the courtyard. My host decided to order a selection of local specialities – heavy on the meat, as is traditional (lots of grilled lamb and beef), but with some delicious tapas style salads, Shakarob (pink tomatoes, onions and basil), Haravac (charcoal grilled aubergine, bell peppers and tomatoes), Dja Jik (cucumbers, yoghurt and herbs) and Spring Salad (radish, cucumbers, herbs in an Asian yoghurt). For 3 of us, the food just kept on coming and I was a little concerned about the quantity that was still on the table until I was told by my non-Uzbek host that, as a guest, it was up to me to stop the food flowing! Amazing evening, great company and great food.

The next day involved a whistle stop tour of the city, taking in the developing Souel Mun mixed use waterside area (think a warmer version of Brindley Place); numerous traditional bazaars including Oloy Bazori with its explosion of colours, food displays and excitable bartering; the vast, 20 hectare Magic City, the largest all season amusement park in Asia which combines the first aquarium in the region, family entertainment centre, cinema and numerous food outlets, all set in a ‘Disney’ style environment resplendent with an 8,500 m² fountain and 60 metre tall fairytale castle; but the star of the show from a foodie view point was the surprising find of a ‘western style’ Food Hall in the form of Food Mall.

Food Mall is the first Food Hall in central Asia, bringing together 15 traders with a global cuisine focus including Vietnamese, Italian, Korean, German, Russian and Japanese, complemented by impulse treats such as bubble tea, fried ice cream, fresh juices and smoothies and crepes and waffles, all supported by a central (alcoholic) bar. The Food Mall trades over 3 levels (the lower 2 contain private dining rooms and cyber lounges) in just under 2,000m² of space and can seat 520 guests including some in external terraces, perfect for when the temperature rises. The interior design is a combination of urban industrial and green oasis, with a variety of fast and slow seating spaces, neon lighting and lots of ‘instagrammable’ opportunities – perfect for the mainly 18-30 year old demographic who were dining during the evening visit. The inclusion of DJ’s and live acts during the weekends helps to draw and keep the crowd.

Overall, Tashkent has a really good and varied, growing food scene and it comes with that certain emerging vibe of energy and buzz around it. It’s certainly an exciting time to be in the city and we’re so thrilled to have seen it at the relative start of the journey. Watch this space as we believe that Tashkent will be at the forefront of new F&B and leisure in central Asia in the coming years.