It is not easy being a pescetarian in Astana, or in Central Asia, and it is even harder to be a vegetarian. Now, I am a pescetarian, but even then, you probably realized that my lists of places to eat in Astana hardly includes much seafood. After all, it is far away from the sea. I mostly stick to a vegetarian diet at home, and nowadays outside too. It is certainly possible to do it here, though you need to know your spots well. It also goes without saying that stuff like pizza and pasta are readily available all around the world, and thus they will not be included in this list here. Besides, I already wrote a short piece on the best pizzerias in town. For anything else, stuff that are more readily associated with vegans and vegetarians, keep reading to find out some of the vegetarian hidden gems of this carnivorous city.
Al Shawarma – https://go.2gis.com/py19bk
Despite its meaty name, Al Shawarma also serves a decent falafel wrap. It is not the best falafel I had, not at all, but it gets the job done. They also have Turkish ayran that is both sour and salty, and their baklava is decent as well. I do not enjoy their potatoes at all, as I think they are often stale and are cut a bit too thick, but hey, it is better than nothing… This will not be theme of this list, no worries about that, but do know that being served anything without any meat or meat stock in it is already a blessing here in Astana.
Kafe Koktem – https://go.2gis.com/yq7nw
Koktem is one of the better establishments in town, and they have a surprising number of vegetarian options as well. Not only do they have some dedicated menus for vegetarians, but they also have an Indian menu with some choices in it as well. They likely serve the best Napoleon in town, perhaps the whole world, so if you have a sweet tooth, they are worth a visit for that alone. Frankly, I loved everything I ate at Koktem, but I do need to warn you of two things. Firstly, especially the Indian food you will find in most restaurants here will be a watered-down version of the real thing when it comes to its spicing. As in, it will both be less spicy, and also use fewer types of spices. Be ready for that. Secondly, there are no real waiters in this place. You wait by the cashier to order your food and pay, and then sit down to be “served.” It means that there is also no service fee, but in all honesty, seeing some people wait for 30 minutes as if we are in some primary school’s cafeteria certainly made me feel good about going there before lunchtime. I will still go back there, quite regularly even, because they have everything from falafel to vegan sushi, but still, I do wish they hired actual waiters and allowed us to dine as we like.
Sweet and Spicy – https://go.2gis.com/4jzsw
Though I said most Desi cuisine here is toned down spice-wise, that is not necessarily the case always. Sweet and Spicy is an excellent spot that excels in its small menu. Though they are mainly known for their chicken, I have to say that as a former lover of anything chicken-related, I hardly even thought about it for a second right after I had my first spoonful of their decadent bean curry. The naan here can use some more work, and you can skip the pakora, but that curry, that curry is something else. It can be made very spicy, and by that I mean actually spicy and not fake “ex-Soviet spicy” spicy. Prices are reasonable, service is friendly, and people all seem to know English, which in itself is already a rarity. This is certainly one of my favourite spots in town.
The India Gate – https://go.2gis.com/xgs36
Not all Desi food here tastes that good sadly. Though they try, and though their menu seems to cater for all patrons, India Gate’s curry is neither that flavourful nor that bountiful compared to the one you can get at Sweet and Spicy. The same can be said for almost any item of theirs that I tried. The photo below belongs to the calamari curry I had there, which is obviously not vegetarian, but I forgot to photograph the purely vegetarian dishes that I also tried. Overall, nothing is bad per se. It is just, both the quantity and quality are lacking especially considering the price range. They do serve kulfi ice cream though, and though it is not the best I had, it does the trick.
SF – https://shaurma-food.kz/tarhana/salaty
When I was in Russia and was trying to change my diet from a carnivorous one to mostly a vegetarian one, one of the biggest issues for me was to let go of the legendary and cheap late-night food, shawarma. It was just always hitting the spot, and you could always get one for a few USD. It was just good, so good… Then at some point, I realized that most of my favourite joints were also selling vegetarian shawarmas, often switching meat with cheese or potatoes, or both. Though it is not the same thing, this little creation (coming to even cheaper than the original) did serve me quite well for a long time, especially when it was allowed to put some extra cheese in there. I was disheartened to see that this culture was not a thing here in Kazakhstan, where a shawarma place cannot sell a shawarma minus the meat, but thankfully the people at SF (Shaurma Food) thought about it and fixed this issue. Although for some weird reason you cannot order it for delivery, you can get a meat-free shawarma wrap and add some extra cheese in it here. It certainly brings back a few good memories. This is basically a glorified fast-food joint that you can find all around, so it should be quite convenient as well.
Veggie House – https://go.2gis.com/cy0ru
Well, you may be surprised to hear that there is also one properly vegan spot in town. Veggie House offers a huge menu, with choices ranging from vegan dumplings to vegetarian pizzas. It will take some time for me to try all they have to offer, but suffice to say, they help serve the needs of a niche group of Astana residents tirelessly, and that alone deserves some praise. Their dumplings with soy protein actually taste better than some meaty dumpling I had years ago, and that too says something about the quality here. On top of all of this, their prices are very reasonable. Most certainly well worth a visit for all vegetarians.
