Where to Try Beshbarmak in Almaty (& Where to Avoid It)

In this guide, I will share my favorite places to eat beshbarmak in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It will include a few fine dining options and one budget spot where you can try Kazakhstan’s national dish.

I also tell you where you should avoid it and how to sign up for an affordable food tour that will teach you more about the dish, including how to eat it and its history.

I will never forget the first time I properly tried beshbarmak (beshbarmaq) in Almaty. A local had made it for me in her house and even though she spoke no English, we somehow managed to have an engaging conversation over it with hand gestures and a lot of “mmm, this is delicious!” from my end.

Fast forward well over a decade, and it is still a dish I eat a couple of times whenever I’m back in Almaty.

Now, I get it… beshbarmak isn’t for everyone, just like any food in any country. But I do encourage you to try it out and learn a little bit about it when you’re visiting Almaty (or Kazakhstan as a whole).

In this post, I will give you some information about beshbarmak before I dive into the places I recommend trying it at. I think it is important to understand what it is and why it is important to Kazakhs and other Central Asians before you try it.

What is beshbarmak?

Beshbarmak (also ‘beshbarmaq‘ or ‘besparmak‘) is a Turkic word meaning ‘five fingers’. Yes, this is a dish that is traditionally eaten with your hands. But don’t worry… eat it how you’re comfortable; Kazakhs will just be excited you’re giving it a go.

• Kazakh: бешбармақ
• Russian: бешбармак

The nomadic dish known for being topped with kazy (horse meat sausage; Kazakh: Қазы, Russian: Казы) was typically eaten only on special occasions because wheat was a luxury on the steppe, as it required a lot of effort to transport it. It also required a kazan dish. You can read more about its origins here.

Beshbarmak contains a meat (horse is traditional and how I like it, but you can also order lamb), dough (kind of like lasagne noodles), a broth (called sorpa), and tuzdyk (a dressing with onions and garlic). The dish can vary throughout the different regions of Kazakhstan, and you may see it contain potatoes and fish, among other ingredients. The way the meat is served may also vary.

Nowadays, restaurants in Almaty will give it their own spin as Kazakh cuisine becomes modernized in something referred to as neo-nomad cuisine. 

While beshbarmak is a social and communal dish, it is totally fine to go try it yourself if you’re a solo traveler in Almaty. In fact, you will find it on several menus across the city. While I do think it is more fun to eat with others (it is A LOT of food!), I encourage you not to be intimidated by ordering it alone if you are a solo diner.

Should you try beshbarmak on a food tour in Almaty?

If it is your first time in Almaty, I definitely encourage you to sign up for a food tour. I have known Walking Almaty’s founder, Dennis Keen, for years, and he runs the best tours in Almaty, including a Nomadic Food Tour where you can try it! Just let him know at the time of signing up that you really want to try beshbarmak, and the guide will curate the tour itinerary so that you get to try it.

The benefits of taking an Almaty food tour are that you can try a little bit of everything and don’t feel intimidated by any of it. Plus, his food tours are extremely popular, and they are all for private groups.

If a food tour doesn’t fit into your Kazakhstan budget, no worries. The places I list in this guide are all spots you can try beshbarmak in Almaty and there is one on there that is a budget option. I am listing the prices at the time I was there and will try to keep them updated if they increase.

Places to Try Beshbarmak in Almaty

1. Restaurant Sandyq

📍 Address: Abylai Khan Ave 55
🔗 Website: https://sandyq.kz/
⏰ Hours: daily from 12pm to 12am
💵 Price of beshbarmak at Sandyq: 7990 KZT (about $16)

Restaurant Sandyq is a fun place in Almaty to try neo-nomad cuisine. It is part of a restaurant group, but one that is actually from Kazakhstan. Their website doesn’t have English, but don’t worry, they have an English menu when you go in person.

The restaurant gives a nod to its southern Kazakhstan roots, where you’ll see decor of pottery, crafts, felt, wood carving, and more. It is kind of like a little museum inside! The menu offers a variety of dishes, including ‘Kazakh et’, or beshbarmak. I can also recommend their kuyrdak (7790 KZT) if you want to order more than one local dish there.

The beshbarmak at Sandyq comes with the standard dough and horse, along with carrots, potatoes, and a chili if you want a little spice. Alongside the sorpa will be a side of kurt, a salty, dried cheese made from fermented milk. Sprinkling this on top of the beshbarmak gives it a little bit of added flavor.

2. AUYL

📍 Address: Kerey-Zhanibek Khandar 586 (in Medeu)
🔗 Website: https://auylrestaurant.com/
⏰ Hours: M-F from 12pm to 12am, Saturday from 11am to 12pm, Sunday from 11am to 11pm
💵 Price of beshbarmak at AUYL: 7800 KZT (about $16)

AUYL is a famous neo-nomad restaurant situated up in the mountains at Medeu. If your budget permits, I highly recommend a trip up to AUYL for its food and atmosphere. The restaurant was designed by an Almaty women-owned architectural firm called NAAW, and the interior is flawless.

You will need to get Bus 12 up here, or take a taxi from the center here. A taxi will be around 3000 KZT one way (about $6), give or take. The views are worth the price. Anyway, back to the food!

AUYL is known for being an experimental restaurant and their original spins on the traditional. Their beshbarmak comes with smoked horse brisket, kazy on the bone, and sweet onions. If you are looking for an additional dish to try, I had their Dungan noodles with farm-raised quail, which was also really tasty (4900 KZT).

3. Bauyrdaq

📍 Address: various locations around Almaty; I prefer their Abylai Khan location
🔗 Website: https://bauyrdaq.kz/
⏰ Hours: 24/7
💵 Price of beshbarmak at Bauyrdaq: 4390 KZT (about $9)

Bauyrdaq is a fantastic spot in Almaty to try a variety of Kazakh dishes, beshbarmak included. The restaurant calls itself Qazaq fast food, but I think it is still a pretty cool dining experience since the restaurants have nice interior and the food comes out at the same pace as other places around the city.

Before I get into what to order here, do know that their innovative offering to the city is that they use baursak (the ubiquitous and delicious doughnuts you’ll see all over Kazakhstan) as the bread for a burger. Definitely neo-nomad cuisine doing its thing!

Anyway, their beshbarmak is the cheapest in this guide, and it comes with meat, potatoes, carrots, green onions, and a small piece of marrow. If you are looking to order a second dish there, I would avoid the manti and opt for the Nauryz Kozhe, a famous soup that celebrates the start of spring in March, but is available year-round at Bauyrdaq. It is SO delicious and only 2390 KZT.

4. Qaimaq

📍 Address: Abay 46A
🔗 Website: https://qaimaq.asia/
⏰ Hours: daily from 12pm to 12am
💵 Price of beshbarmak at Qaimaq: 8400 KZT (about $17)

I have been going to Qaimaq for years to eat beshbarmak and it is typically always what I get there, although they have really good kuyrdak (kuurdak) as well. This is, however, the most expensive spot for beshbarmak in Almaty that I included in this guide (and the restaurant keeps increasing its prices). But the besh is really good.

Located close to the Baikonur metro station, Qaimaq is a traditional restaurant that has a beautiful outside terrace as well as an inside dining area. I always order a plate of pickles to start with (I can’t resist pickled tomatoes) and their traditional beshbarmak.

The beshbarmak comes with horse and lamb, white onion, and green onion. The portion is pretty large, so if you’re visiting with someone else, I would recommend splitting this and ordering a second dish.

The word qaimaq actually translates to a clotted cream that is often served with bread in Kazakhstan and other parts of Central Asia. Make sure you get some when there!

Where to Avoid Ordering Beshbarmak in Almaty

I would avoid ordering beshbarmak at the Green Bazaar. While the Green Bazaar is a MUST for those traveling to Almaty (and the tour I mentioned above also takes you there!), the beshbarmak there targets tourists and is not known to be the most flavorful in Almaty.

If you have only a short amount of time in the city and want to taste it there, go for it, but I would recommend heading to one of the places in this guide instead.

DO, however, go to the Green Bazaar to see how kazy is made if you’re interested. By heading to the back of the bazaar, you can see the Kazakh meat vendors and even try kazy inside.

Two other places I would avoid are Navat, a Central Asian chain that is fine for some quick food but not for besh, and Tyubeteyka (pretty much the same). They also focus a little more on Uzbek food, in my opinion.

Have any questions about where to try beshbarmak in Almaty, Kazakhstan? Let me know in the comments. And also let me know if you have a delicious recommendation that I can try when I am back in Almaty (and hopefully add to this guide!).

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