Uzbekistan is famous for its plov. Both locals and foreigners enjoy eating it. In Tashkent, there are so many places where you can try this amazing dish, from local market to large plov centers to refined restaurants. Check out some suggestions below on where to find the best plov in Tashkent.
What is plov?
Plov is a traditional Uzbek dish. Some of the main ingredients include rice, carrots, onions, spices and meat (usually beef or lamb). Often, you will also find chickpeas and raisins in your plov (some of my favorite ingredients). On top, they will usually put one or two quail eggs.
If you come to Uzbekistan, you have to make sure to try plov at least once – and preferably several times.
In the world, there about 100 types of plov, but Uzbek plov is very unique. Every region of Uzbekistan can brag about their own recipe of a delicious plov.
Legend about Plov
Like with any national treasure, there is a legend about the origin on the dish “plov”. It’s connected with the name of the famous physician and philosopher Avicenna (ibn Sina).
Many years ago, a young prince, the son of a powerful Bukhara ruler, met a young girl and instantly fell in love. But marriage was impossible between them: the girl was not from a wealthy family and not an equal to the prince. The prince started fading every day. He lost interest to life and did not eat anything.
The Bukhara emir invited the famous physician, Avicenna, to look at the patient. He immediately understood that the cause of the illness was unhappy love. As treatment, he proposed two options: (1) celebrate a wedding of the young people; (2) feed the prince with a “medicine” called plov which included several ingredients , such as onion, meat, oil, and rice. The prince tried the “medicine” and his health quickly improved.
What happened between the prince and the girl later we don’t know. But from that time on, plov became an important dish on the Uzbek table, including weddings and parties.
Places to eat plov in Tashkent
In Tashkent, there are plenty of places where you can try plov.
Local market
The cheapest and quickest way to grab a plate of plov it is go to a local market- like the Mirabad, Alay Bazaar, or Chorsu Bazaar. There, you’ll be able to buy a portion of a delicious plov for just $3-4Address: 1 Iftixor ko’chasi, Tashkent Uzbekistan (you can put location as Besh Qozon in the taxi app). It comes with meat, but if you don’t eat meat, you can ask to serve you a dish without it. In addition to plov, you’ll find some other local foods which you’d want to try, like Non (round bread), samsa with different fillings (like meat, potato or pumpkin), various pies and lots of other things. And of course, don’t forget about local fruits and vegetables, including dried ones. They are delicious and grown without all the dangerous pesticides you’ll find elsewhere.
If you don’t live/stay close to these markets, they are easily accessible by metro. So, getting there is quite easy. If you have not yet tried metro in Tashkent, you definitely need to check it out, and this would be a good reason. Tashkent metro covers the central part of the city quite well. Its stations are modern and beautiful, all with a unique design.
If you’ve decided to go to one of these markets by metro, here are the directions. Mirabad market is close to the Oybek metro station. Alay Bazaar is near Abdulla Kodiriy metro stop and Chorsu Bazzar- next to the Chorsu one. Choose the station which is most convenient for you.
Central Asian Plov Center (Besh Qozon)
Address: 1 Iftixor ko’chasi, Tashkent Uzbekistan (you can put location as Besh Qozon in the taxi app)
If you have time on your hands and want a real plov experience, you should head to one of Tashkent’s Plov Centers. Given the popularity of this dish, Uzbekistan has established centers of plov where you can try the most delicious plov ever.
There are multiple plov centers throughout the city, each slightly different, but Besh Qozon is the most popular.
At plov centers, plov is cooked in a giant cauldron called kazan over fire. I was told that the larger the kazan, the better the plov. At Besh Qozon, you definitely have a great plov as their kazan is huge!
Be ready that there will be many, many people dining at Besh Qozon, so it might get a bit noisy and crowded. It’s not a refined restaurant, but a simple one, which might appeal to many visitors. Despite many customers, you will get good and quick service there. A waiter will come and take your order (menu with pictures is available at every table, so you can select what you want). You will likely get your meal very quickly. When you are finished, you can ask for the check. You will pay at the cashier. They accept cash and cards.
There is both indoor and outdoor seating area. The outdoor is smaller. Inside, there are very many tables on 2 floors. If you are in a hurry, there is also an option to take plov with you (you pay to the cashier and get your plov in a container).
Besh Qozon is busiest at lunch time (around 1 pm). If you want to avoid crowds, try coming before noon or after regular lunch time (3 pm or so).
Also, keep in mind that the menu at Besh Qozon is very simple – plov, bread, some vegetable salads and tea. They also offer a Turkish menu which includes some meat dishes and salads.
Prices are not high and dishes are delicious.
Here is what I spent during my last visit:
- Plov (0.7 portion) – $5
- Uzbek round bread called Non – $0.5
- Tea with lemon (pot) – $0.75
- Tomato salad – $1
Various restaurants
Plenty of restaurants also offer plov as a main course. This is a good opportunity to try the dish in a more relaxing atmosphere. You will also have access to a broader menu, which is a plus. Plov will not be expensive even if you go to an upmarket restaurant. So you can go ahead and order it, even if you are on a tight budget.
Some of the good restaurants which have plov on the menu are the Plov Lounge, Lali and Boboy Uzbek Eatery. They have a beautiful Uzbek decor inside and will serve you a delicious dish of plov.
In Conclusion
Uzbekistan has a lot of attractions which it’s famous for, like the Silk Road cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. However, it’s just as famous for its food, and plov is definitely the one dish which every visitor needs to try in order to better understand its culture.
Hope you try Uzbek plov someday! I’d be curious to know what you think of it.
Sounds like a yummy dish – I’ve never had quail eggs before!
They sure taste good :)
I enjoyed reading the story connected to plov. Here’s hoping, of course, that they got married.
I also hope they got married. That would have been a great ending to the story.
The ‘stan’ countries have been on my list for some time. This is the first I’ve heard of plov — it sounds wonderfully wholesome and delicious, and such a meaningful way to experience the local culture.
This is such a great guide! Plov is one of those dishes you really have to try when visiting Uzbekistan. I love that you included both local markets and places like the Plov Center — such different but authentic experiences. And that legend behind plov makes it even more special. Definitely saving this for a future trip!
I wouldn’t call myself a foodie by any means, but I DO love trying all kinds of new foods when I travel and this definitely sounds like something I would try. That stirfry pan in your image is probably the largest one I’ve ever seen!