Under the Sky: Tashkent's Top Terraces

Kaspiyka is famous for its rich menu with fifty kinds of fish and seafood. Want to enjoy oysters, eat mussels, or try the unique crab dog? That’s the place. The restaurant’s terrace deserves a story of its own. The sand on the floor brings to mind up images of the seashore. This theme is supported by corals on the tables, decorative fishing nets, and other sea life accents. Spending time on the terrace feels nice even in the burning hot Tashkent summer, as it’s cooled down by the City winds thanks to its convenient location.

Located in the Trilliant business park, this ethnic cafe gives an insight into Kazakh cuisine. Here, traditional flavors meet modern approach to serving. The signature dishes include beshbarmak, tea with milk, and the Tary Sweets selection of desserts. The cafe’s minimalistic interior features modern art and Kazakh decorative elements. On the terrace, white tablecloths meet colorful dishes and rays of sun.

If French breakfast were to move to Tashkent, it would definitely choose this place. Hidden cozily in an eco park, surrounded by alleys and bushes, La Cantine Park seems to have always been there with its light, relaxed, and a tad foreign atmosphere. La Cantine’s terrace is more than just some tables outside. It’s morning sunshine, views of the park and the pond, dishes clinking, conversations across the table, turkey benedict, green smoothies, and, of course, coffee, which smells a little stronger than usual.

Here, the morning begins with the smell of fresh bread and coffee rituals. The space is filled with unhurried coziness with its light interior, lots of wood and plants, and pastries and baguettes in the shopwindows blossoming like flowers at a French market. Here, you don’t have to choose between what’s delicious and what’s healthy: just take both. The Breadly’s terrace opens to a busy street, but the relaxed atmosphere and easy wind sfoten the noise.

Ribambelle’s terrace with a view of Tashkent City Park seems to be hiding from the noise right in the heart of the city. The sun peeks through the surrounding skyscrapers and flirts with the guests while the tables await visitors in the shade of numerous interior plants: everything tells you this is the place to relax and breathe out. If you don’t know where to start exploring the menu, take a closer look at the Four Cheese pizza, creamy tagliatelle in carbonara sauce, and the gluten-free chocolate hazelnut cake.

Here, the air smells of Georgian spices and urban chic. This is all due to the restaurant’s location in the premium Mirabad Avenue residence. Time seems to slow down here. Is it wine? Or does it simply want to try everything in the menu? Pkhali are served in a characteristic way with ragged edges. Khinkali are small and filled with mushrooms and truffle languor on parmesan sauce. The «drunk» tomato stuffed with cashew paste will turn your idea of taste upside down.

Both branches of this trendy cafe feature terraces. At Benedict NRG, it’s located on the first floor level and has blankets from a collaboration with Dildora Kasimova. At Benedict Mirabad, the terrace is on the ground floor level. The architects made use of the wind rose, so it feels comfortable even in the summer heat. The menus in the branches differ, but both focus on European cuisine as well as healthy nutrition. Regardless of which branch you choose, there’ll always be socialites, owners of famous businesses, and generally high society.

This family restaurant (this applies both to its format and the atmosphere inside) has a spacious terrace set in lush shade, which is nothing short of luxury. Zinaida’s interior is vintage without the refined nostalgia. The same motifs can be traced on the terrace filled with antiquities and pot plants. The menu is unpretentious yet sound. Baked mushrooms with chicken stuffing or cabbage with truffle sauce are like a new interpretation of familiar classics. It’s beautiful, tasty, and made for coming in a big company to share.

In early spring, the familiar chain of bakeries changed its format and now represents itself as a restaurant of Swiss cuisine. If you love cheeses and fondue, it’s definitely worth paying a visit to the new branch (at Said Barak Street, 16B). By the way, you can join a cheese tasting event and choose cheeses while sitting outside with a glass of wine. Just follow the announcements. The terrace offers guests hidden under marquees a view of the bustling Sayyid Baraka street, a perfect place to see people and be seen.

The Silk96 terrace is a world of its own among the fuss of the capital city. It’s a cool and quiet enclosed courtyard overwhelmed by greenery, with a quietly murmuring fountain and a fireplace. In addition to the fireplace area, the courtyard features a wooden terrace and a separate space called the library. The menu centers on wine. There are no questions about which starters and appetizers to pair it with. However, you’ll be in for a surprise when it comes to ordering the main dish: you’ll find meat grilled on wood and pan-Asian dishes alongside all kinds of pastas and traditional soups.

The capital’s first pub seems to have introduced a fashion for terraces on Shevchenko street. As soon as it gets warmer than +15 °С, the pub’s guests stream to its summer part. A small balcony on the pub’s first floor has been, is, and will be its most popular place. As the pub only has three tables, booking a place on the terrace in the warm season might turn out to be a particularly difficult task. In terms of the menu, it’s your classic pub selection with various beer snacks and meat.

Bonus track No. 1

Spending time on the terrace of an art space called Meros Gallery will be quite an original solution. This place is a gallery, coffee house, showroom, and meeting room placed in a traditional house right in the heart of the mahallah. All parts of Meros are united by a common courtyard where you can drink coffee, chat, or read a book.

Address: Mironshah passage 2, 11A

Bonus track No. 2

Located an hour’s drive from Tashkent’s center, this farm features a huge terrace. Of course, the restaurant also has an indoor area. But the most beautiful part is along the lake shore: there are wooden tables in the shade of trees for large and small companies. Next to the terrace is the farm itself with rabbits, camels, deer, and ostriches. On the hill there’s a smart village with co-working space and hot air balloons. All together it sounds like a great plan for the weekend. The menu is mainly based on produce grown on the farm. The organic selection with rabbit and fish (which you can catch right here) dishes is a cross-cultural mix of Central Asian cuisine.

Address: Tashkent Region, Parkent District, Samsarak aholi punkti

Photo: Websites and social media restaurants.; Yandex Maps