Local Picks: Where Women Go Out in Almaty

Food influencer; sommelier, KazSomm Association

Lavka by Proshenkov (Jent), Kitchen Bistro, Gruppo 63

For a true Almaty local, choosing just one place is almost impossible.But if the city had to be reduced to three addresses, these are the ones I would keep. My girls and I take breakfast seriously: generous, protein-led, properly satisfying. Lavka by Proshenkov (Jent) covers every version of that mood — and, for the record, serves the best chicken sausages in town.

When no one wants to debate where to go, we book Kitchen Bistro. It works for lunch, it works for dinner, and the larger the table, the better the night. The weekend specials are consistently excellent, the wines by the glass are refreshingly accessible, and the room has that rare quality of making you feel instantly expected.

And then there are nights made for heels, silk, and gossip with a little velocity. That is when Gruppo 63 makes perfect sense: exceptional cocktails, a quietly bohemian room, and snacks done with real care. If the night is meant to continue elsewhere, there is no better place to begin.

Blogger, visual aesthete, and a subtle connoisseur of old Almaty’s atmosphere

Spiros, Aqqu, Atelier

For a more private mood, I go to Spiros. I love their Greek salad, the seafood, and the non-alcoholic wine — still rare enough around the city to feel like a small luxury in itself.

For the spirit of old Almaty, a beautiful breakfast, and coffee with real aroma, it has to be Aqqu. I never quite manage to leave without their pastries and desserts — nor do I see why I should. And when the evening calls for something brighter — a little stronger in the glass, better music, and the promise of dancing — we go to Atelier.

Founder, Laser Shuga Studio; The Human Medical Spa

Renée Café, Dragon Fly, Haragun

My days are often built around meetings — partners, colleagues, friends — and they tend to move from one place in the city to another. For breakfast, especially when fresh pastry is non-negotiable, I go to Renée Café. It has an easy elegance: beautiful tableware, careful plating, and service that notices without hovering.

When I’m in the mood for Japan — and for sushi handled with real precision — I go to Dragon Fly. The room has a quiet, cinematic pull; before long, dinner begins to feel less like a booking and more like a brief passage through Asia.

And when I want to leave the city behind for a while — to walk, watch films outside in summer, or skate in winter — I go to Haragun. The food is comforting, the atmosphere calm. It works beautifully for a date, or for any evening that calls for a softer rhythm.

Lifestyle blogger

Six Coffee+Wine, Julius, The Coffee

I have a weakness for well-designed rooms and properly made coffee. Six Coffee+Wine on Bogenbay Batyr is one of those places I don’t question — I just go. The atmosphere holds, the food is balanced, nothing feels overworked. We end up there often as a family, and it has never missed.

Julius is where I go when I want to slow the day down. Sometimes it’s a quick catch-up, sometimes I take a table on the terrace facing the theatre and stay longer than planned — coffee, their Banoffee tartlet, and a bit of time that feels entirely my own. The Coffee is more of a habit. It’s where I meet my sister and daughter for small, easy catch-ups. The service is steady, the coffee is right, and that kind of consistency is exactly why places stay with you.

Mother of four; wellness blogger

Olly, Renée Café, Rifugio del Monte

When I want an evening that feels warm and easy, I go to Olly. Behind the glass, the room settles into a kind of quiet comfort, and the food is handled with care. I come back for the hummus with sweet tomatoes and roti, the baked aubergine, the salmon — simple, balanced dishes that always feel right.

Weekend mornings with the girls usually mean Renée Café. The breakfast list is generous, but I tend to keep it light — a green salad, or the build-your-own option. I like being able to shape the plate to how I feel that day. And when the mood calls for something a little more elevated, we go to Rifugio del Monte. Prosecco, oysters, the view — everything comes together in a way that makes the evening feel just a bit more special.

DJ; sound producer

French 42, Inigo, Shchuka

For atmosphere — and a cocktail list with real substance — I begin at French 42. It sets the tone: a low, considered room, an interior that holds your attention without asking for it, and the kind of pacing that lets the night gather itself. If the plan is dancing — and sound that feels properly calibrated — I go to Inigo. The lineup is sharp, the DJs are current, and the crowd understands why it’s there. For me, it comes down to two things: sound and atmosphere. Both have to hold.

And when the evening starts with something more grounding — food that leans familiar but arrives with intention, and infusions that have long since earned their place — we go to Shchuka. The route is almost fixed: dinner there, then French 42, and Inigo to close. It’s a sequence that rarely needs adjusting.