Almaty is home to a plethora of decent restaurants, some specializing in more Asian delicacies, some others serving European cuisines. It is difficult to put an exact border as to where Asian cuisines come to an end, and European ones begin. I opted to include the following restaurants under the ever so vague “occidental” cuisine category, so do read on to find out where you can enjoy some of the finest dishes in town that are a bit easy on the spices compared to their “oriental” cousins.
Khachapuri Khinkaliyevich – https://hinkalnaya.kz
Georgian food was considered to be crème de la crème of all cuisines in the Soviet Union, a legacy it still thrives on in the ex-USSR space today. It is probably the only cuisine in the whole region on which you can rely on quite readily. Given the vicious competition out there none can start slacking with their cooking. This fine establishment certainly did a great job as well, baking a much lighter and perhaps even slightly tastier khachapuri than those I had in Georgia last summer, which tells a lot. Their mushroom filled khinkali was to die for as well. Khachapuri Khinkaliyevich is certainly a must visit if you are in the region and crave some Georgian dishes.
Mama Mia’s – https://ciaopizza.kz
Though I should have opted for a simpler margherita pizza due to my booze-filled stomach acting up a bit at the time, their salmon covered pie certainly did not disappoint. I just would have traded the fishy taste for some mozzarella next time, but that is just me. In any case, though I would have preferred to taste it fresh out of the oven, I can easily recommend this place for all your pizza needs, as my friend was quite happy with his choice as well.
Vasya, Blin! – https://go.2gis.com/zti1b
Yet another place we ordered some delivery from was this blini seller, for the lack of a better word. With its extremely focused menu, selling Russian blinis with sweet or savoury fillings, you can bet that they know what they are doing. Perhaps due to my Turkish taste buds, I preferred the sweet varieties over salty ones, as we often eat this type of crepes with Nutella. However, the one with fake crab sticks was not that bad as well. In any case, certainly an interesting place to check out if you want some Russian fast food for a change.
The Shakespeare Pub – https://go.2gis.com/8qvw8
I adore fish and chips. That and sushi are the only two reasons why I cannot give up on seafood yet, despite really wanting to… A properly prepared fish and chips can even satisfy me in ways that some of the best fried chicken I once had did, and that is saying a lot. Thankfully, the one I had in The Shakespeare Pub checked all the boxes! That fish had no business being that tasty despite us being thousands of kilometres away from any big body of water. I suppose it could have been some freshwater fish, I never bothered to ask, but its juices and that excellent tartar sauce went so well together that I could have dunked some bread into that concoction for years to come for all my sustenance. This one will be remembered for a long time, and I know that I will be going back to enjoy it sometime in the future.
Guinness Pub – https://go.2gis.com/bfcvp
There are superb fish and chips plates, and then there are those that are just alright. Apparently one superb one is enough for a city as this one was alright at best. Fish itself was okay, but the fries were just not fitting as they were chips instead of hand cut proper fries. Tartar sauce was lacking something as well. Nevertheless, this was certainly a better pub for beer lovers with a more robust selection of that tasty wheat juice, so there are some positives to note here as well.
Paul Patisserie – https://paul.kz
Well, there is not much to write about this one in all honesty. You either know Paul Patisserie already, or you do not care much about baked sweets to begin with. They are all around nowadays, and so not so exclusive anymore. We happened to come across them atop a mountain, Shymbulak to be more precise, and figured we might as well try it here too. I certainly had better desserts elsewhere, and even in other Pauls, but this was not bad as well, especially considering the fact that they were closing down. Might be worth a visit for those with a sweet tooth.
Coco Fast Food – https://abr.kz/restaurant/coco
The “occidental” culinary highlight of my time in Almaty was certainly Coco Fast Food. I honestly do not remember the last time I had fries this tasty with sauces this succulent. It just might be the best fries I have ever had in my life; it really was that good. Not only were they crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, but the sauce to fries ratio was golden. The vegetarian burger was alright too, especially taste-wise, but the texture was off. I would have preferred a crispier patty, so they may consider using some falafel patties instead. Just my two cents on the issue.
