Ultima Guide 2026: Almaty’s Best Breakfasts

Breakfast from 9am until close at Benedict Cafe
Breakfast from 9am to 4pm at Benedict Mix

Breakfast from 9am to noon on weekdays; until 2pm at weekends

Born in Tomsk, Make Love Pizza arrived in Almaty on its own terms: launched by the team itself, without a franchise or intermediary. It shares the space with speciality coffee shop Coffee Roots, making mornings here both well fed and wide awake. Brand chef Maxim Muslimov takes care of breakfast with a ham-filled morning bun, syrniki, and sets featuring scrambled eggs, horsemeat roast beef or salmon. Coffee Roots supplies the other half of the equation, with more adventurous filter brews alongside the classics. Energetic music and an easy, friendly atmosphere complete the picture.

Breakfast from 10am to noon

Breakfast from 9am to noon on weekdays; until 2pm on weekends and public holidays

On the ground floor of Esentai Mall, this Italian bistro takes its name from a trick by circus acrobat Luigi Banollo. The interior follows the cue: stage curtains, trapezes and monkeys somersaulting across the wallpaper. The menu is no less theatrical. There is a croissant Benedict with spinach and a lighter Hollandaise; a protein-led breakfast of roast beef and brisket rillettes; and the signature Banollo set, with its calories and macronutrients tallied to keep you going through a productive half-day. During breakfast service, a build-your-own format lets you combine eggs, toast, salmon, brisket, avocado and salad as you wish.

Breakfast from 9am to 4pm

Breakfast from 8am to 2pm on weekdays; from 10am to 2pm at weekends

Shchuka approaches Slavic aesthetics without the museum dust or literal folklore. Architectural motifs are reworked across the interiors and visual identity, while the details have been given a deliberately lived-in patina. One of the most popular morning choices is the Hangover Breakfast: potato boats with melted cheese, beef bacon, lightly pickled cucumbers and horseradish vodka, accompanied by chicken broth and pickle brine. We did not ask whether the house infusions are poured in the morning, but a sufficiently earnest request — supported by a respectable reason — would surely make them appear, as if at the pike’s behest. There is, fittingly, an «At the Pike’s Behest» breakfast for two or three: six-minute eggs, turkey mortadella, blini, lightly cured trout, caviar, sun-dried tomatoes, labneh with pike roe and smoked butter. The morning menu also finds room for pelmeni filled with chicken, beef, pike or salmon, as well as cherry vareniki. And then there are the blini: with condensed milk, tvorog, wild berries or trout roe.

For a closer look at how the selection is made, and at the venues that earned a place in the Ultima Guide 2026, read our in-depth article.

Set across two floors of a 1961 building that once served as a public telephone office, Aurora returned to Almaty’s cultural circuit after its 2026 renovation. The programme now includes walks with local historians, readings and vinyl evenings; one of the interior artworks has been assembled from letters left by guests.

The breakfast menu is equally cosmopolitan. There is an Asian omelette with a crisp tartine and chimichurri; eggs Benedict on pumpkin waffles, finished with yuzu hollandaise; and a Scandinavian set of sardines, Maasdam and Gorgonzola. Sweet choices include poppy-seed syrniki with white-chocolate and mascarpone cream, or Greek yoghurt with granola and house-made blackcurrant jam. The drinks alone warrant an early start: Almaty-style coffee with local sweets, a salted-honey latte and hot chocolate scented with eucalyptus.

Breakfast from 8am to 4pm

Breakfast reaches new heights here, literally and otherwise: this old-money restaurant sits high on Shymbulak. The mood is pure resort glamour — furs, oysters and Champagne, served in the sunshine on the terrace. Indoors, luxury lowers its voice: part Alpine chalet, part 1970s. Whichever setting you choose, the uplifting views across the Trans-Ili Alatau come as standard. The morning menu is reason enough to rise early: pancakes with vanilla mousse and chocolate-maple sauce, omelette Poulard with porcini, and fried eggs with horsemeat mortadella. House signatures include the Shymbulak Tourist Breakfast, with crisp tartine, pastrami and scrambled eggs with stracciatella. Then there is the RDM Guest Breakfast — luxury by another name: Kamchatka crab, asparagus, pancakes with black halibut caviar, Swiss cheese, soft-boiled eggs and a glass of sparkling wine. All for a mere KZT 29,900.

Since 2021, Benedict has held its place among Almaty’s most reliable morning addresses. There are now two versions of the idea: the intimate, urban Benedict Cafe in the old centre, and Benedict Mix in Nurly Tau, a more polished restaurant with a substantial wine list. Both menus are the work of Oleg Petrichenko, brand chef for Good Restaurants. The approach is refreshingly direct: the familiar morning repertoire of eggs, porridge, bagels, croissants and desserts, with no needless elaboration. The house Benedict is built on a potato rosti with lightly cured salmon, scrambled egg, red caviar and cream cheese. Elsewhere, look for Borodinsky toast with salmon and egg; brioche with turkey, poached eggs and truffle sauce; and mini pancakes with plombir ice cream and boiled condensed milk.

A local legend, revived. In 2025, Simple Pleasures returned Qarlygash to its original home beside the fountain in the square outside the Opera and Ballet Theatre. Inside, a wall panel traces the story of the 1967 building; in the kitchen, familiar Almaty dishes sit easily alongside modern restaurant classics. Breakfast follows the same quietly inventive line. Salmon and guacamole Benedict arrives on a potato waffle, while the omelette is paired with mortadella and fresh cucumber. Then the menu turns to childhood: syrniki with cherries and sour cream, pancakes filled with tvorog, and vanilla rice porridge with strawberries.

Wine takes top billing at this neo-bistro. Its regularly updated, 400-label list earned a two-glass distinction from Wine Spectator in 2026. Yet wine is only part of the story: TheM has a restless gastronomic energy of its own. One week brings a guest chef, the next a run of specials; even the cocktail list is arranged like an LP. Breakfast has not been overlooked, either. The selection is concise: a French omelette with prawns, steak and turkey sandwiches, a hot dog with chicken sausage, and syrniki with jam and sour cream. All are available throughout the bistro’s opening hours — naturally, with a glass of something sparkling.

At Percorso, breakfast unfolds as though morning were an Italian invention: slowly, and in the firm belief that dolce far niente is a perfectly respectable plan for the day. The menu, however, has plenty of character. Brand chef Oleg Petrichenko has built it around Italian ingredients and techniques. Pumpkin draniki arrive alongside ricotta syrniki with yoghurt and baked apples; in place of yet another slice of toast, there is panzerotti filled with turkey, egg and cheese.

This Scandinavian café occupies the historic House of TurkSib Workers, built in the early 1950s. Its interiors take their cue from the building’s architectural heritage, while the kitchen answers to neither a single nationality nor a particular hour: breakfast, dinner, or a coffee-and-bun pause all feel equally fitting. Bread and kombucha are made in-house, and Sundays bring a regular barbecue. Breakfast is designed as a set of choices: eggs and bread, then salmon or prawns, avocado or hummus, pickles or kimchi. There are composed dishes, too, including a katsu sandwich with horse tenderloin, steak and eggs, and green buckwheat with vegetables and egg. For something sweet, choose syrniki, fritters or French toast, then pause at the counter for house-made pastries, which rarely remain there for long.

Breakfast from 10am to noon on weekdays; from 9am to 1pm at weekends

Breakfast from 10am to 4pm

At Ruslan Zakirov’s Ogonyok, even breakfast comes with a little fire. The chef brings the restaurant’s signature use of the oven to the morning menu, turning out steak with a fried egg, shakshuka with chipotle and yoghurt, and flatbreads topped with avocado and mozzarella. The rest of the menu ranges more widely: a Lebanese breakfast with labneh and roasted aubergine; the «(Not) English» with roast beef and house-made chicken sausage; and a wild brisket-and-Cheddar sandwich. Sweet things are simpler: irimshik syrniki with blackcurrant preserve, and porridge with house-made jam.

Chef Dmitry Krasnov’s neo-bistro gives familiar dishes a considered signature twist. Pancakes lead the morning menu: with salmon and stracciatella, ham and guacamole, red caviar or blueberry jam. There is also a French crêpe Suzette with Brie, poached egg and sautéed button mushrooms. The substantial breakfast set is built around a salad of fresh vegetables, guacamole, toast and eggs prepared to preference, with turkey, cheese, salmon gravlax or flame-seared horse meat added to the table. Sweet options run to ricotta syrniki with jam and caramel brioche with figs and stracciatella. Cocktails and other drinks on the bar list make it easy to let breakfast linger beyond the morning menu. The room’s expressive designer lighting is a draw in its own right.

Spiros is abr’s vision of Greece in a distinctly modern mood. Sand and oyster tones replace the familiar blue-and-white palette; rather than quoting antiquity too literally, the interior makes its statement with a wall of 1,100 ceramic petals. The kitchen takes the same approach, giving Greek classics a sharper, more elegant expression. Breakfast is no exception. Flatbreads arrive with tomatoes, feta and oregano, or slow-cooked lamb, olives and cheese. Elsewhere are an omelette with feta and tomatoes; chicken gyros with egg and feta; and a potato rosti crowned with poached egg and red caviar. The breakfast for two is laid out as a generous spread of strapatsada, hummus, tzatziki and olives. For something sweet, there are syrniki with young-fig preserve and a touch of zest. Sparkling wine finds its way into the morning cocktails, offered both alcoholic and alcohol-free, while traditional Greek coffee provides the classic alternative.

Breakfast from 10am to noon on weekdays; from 9am to 2pm at weekends

Breakfast from noon until close

Syosyoshechka does not make much of breakfast. Still, we found two dishes for mornings that demand a decisive dose of calories. First up: a sandwich piled with citrus-marinated horsemeat, sour-cream sauce, fresh cucumber and a mountain of cheese. The main event is the Breakfast of Champions — fried eggs, rice and spring onions.

Breakfast from 10am to 1pm at weekends

Breakfast from 10am to 4pm

Photos: restaurant websites and social media; Yandex Maps

At Khoroshiy God, it is not only the year that is good. So are the day, the hour and — dare we say it — even the minute. The restaurant styles itself as a wine bar, a proposition we are entirely prepared to accept, along with an evening glass or two. But its breakfasts, devised by brand chef Oleg Petrichenko, deserve equal billing. The menu speaks with a Mediterranean accent: fresh, Greek-inflected flavours alongside the more languorous warmth of the East. Horiatiki salad comes with olives and feta; shakshuka with poached eggs and feta; and Greek-style syrniki with potato and feta. Less cheese-forward choices include an omelette with crab and tomatoes, and courgette draniki with avocado and poached egg. To finish, there is yoghurt with granola, almond crumble and strawberry topping, or cherry vareniki with sour cream. We would never insist. Still, a glass of Champagne suits almost any morning.

Brunch from noon to 4pm on weekdays; from 9am to 4pm at weekends