Visiting Pavlodar was a last-minute decision for me. Temperatures were going down, things were becoming a bit tougher back in the university day by day, and our “free time” until some “real work” began was coming to an end. I knew I had to do one more trip, but I did not know where to go. At the end, it was the relative convenience of going there and coming back that made me opt for Pavlodar. This meant that I had very moderate hopes from it at best, especially when it came to dining. I mean, what can a pescetarian trying to become a vegetarian hope to eat at a small Kazakh town far away from anywhere? Apparently, a lot… Perhaps I simply got lucky. The small selection of establishments that I visited certainly provided me with a very high level of service during my short but sweet one-and-a-half-day trip. Let us now go over these tasty spots that made my trip to Pavlodar more remarkable!
Alpenhof – https://go.2gis.com/1hgbsp
A “German” restaurant in the middle of the steppes, ran by what looked like a boisterous Chechen guy thanks to his excellent beard, with cheerful Kazakhs in the kitchen and behind the bar, and the blondest Russians with bluest of eyes serving the food, perhaps because they look like Germans… Yep, this is what Alpenhof is, and it so beautifully comments on the state of the demographics of Pavlodar as well. Though this ethnicization of restaurants is concerning to some, for me, it is just an interesting little part of life to wonder about. Moving on, Alpenhof has an amazing interior design full of antlers (fake ones, hopefully) and a ton of wooden details. The menu is huge, full to the brim with choices for all diets. Their pasta blacked with squid ink and topped with their own burrata cheese was to die for, and their draft beer was one of the best I had in all of Kazakhstan. Service was top notch, prices were acceptable (and even cheap for the beer), so what else does one need to say about this lovely place? Go and give them a chance, you will not regret it!
Yakuza Sushi & Wok Bar – https://go.2gis.com/kc98f
It had been a few long months since I had a proper sushi feast when I visited Yakuza, so though it may be my withdrawal speaking, this was one of the finer sushi platters I had in a very long time! I went all in and acted like a pig by going for a 24-piece platter meant for “2-3 people.” Pretending that I did not read that much Russian, I smiled at the waiter and asked for it a couple of times, watching her get more confused as the time went on… Ultimately my (apparently) inappropriately sized meal arrived, and then the real feast began! I questioned the freshness of seafood given our distance to ocean, hence I opted mostly for the more “cooked” varieties of sushi. Blasphemous, I know. The shrimp was boiled it seemed or perhaps steamed, surimi was surimi, but the salmon was “untouched” and that was just fine. With that being said, all tasted pretty decent. You could taste and feel every single distinct piece of rice, which is really hard to say for most sushi vendors these days. Definitely a must visit for sushi lovers, and for vegetarians, as they do have some soup, salad, and pizza options.
American Dream Pizza – https://go.2gis.com/1y0eju
Though it was nowhere near as good as the previous two spots, an overall lack of good pizzerias in town combined with the fact that hundreds of people saying this fast-food pizzeria sells the best pies in town, I decided to give them a shot. It was not in vain! “Fast-food” is the keyword here, even though it took some time for my pizza to arrive… If you do not compare it to actual Italian (or American for that matter) pizzas, you will be satisfied. The dough is tasty and not awfully thick. The cheese is tastier, and an order of extra cheese actually means extra, you will not want to eat anything cheesy for a while after this… The garlic sauce was from Heinz, so you cannot go wrong with that, but I would expect to see a few in-house sauces as they could really elevate the overall experience, at least for me. In any case, coming at half the bill of Alpenhof and almost one third of the one I paid in Yakuza (despite providing maybe twice as much food) it is not fair to be more critical of this place. It gets the job done for a very fair price. It does have a very interesting name too…
Krendel – https://go.2gis.com/f1sa9t
It is no secret that bakeries are a big part of life in most parts of the globe, and post-Soviet countries are no exception. In Kazakhstan and as well as in Pavlodar, they are all around, and they often churn out some fantastic baked goods and desserts. Krendel is a good example of them. They have a ton of items, and some of their joints are effectively supermarkets. With that being said, it was their cookies filled with caramel and topped with chocolate and walnut that truly stood out for me. This box came to less than 3 USD, and it was honestly everything I needed on a long seven-hour train journey back home as I binge watched some TV series on my tablet. They are perfect for sharing with your cabin mates as well!
Пекарня №5 – https://go.2gis.com/3x8ix
Though a franchise, one of this establishment’s finest branch is by the riverside. You can enjoy some fresh samsas, cakes, tea, and coffee for a very reasonable price as you enjoy the view. Given the takeaway nature of this spot, sadly no photos worthy of sharing could be taken before I devoured their goodies.