Barmaglot Bar — Restaurant in Almaty

We had gone on Thursday, 3rd October 24 at around 7 PM and asked the waiters there if we need a reservation to come at 10 PM. Two waiters and both said no. At 10 PM we went to the bar and 2 bouncers were standing. They asked us if we have reservation, we said no. They said you can't enter. When we told them that we had come at 7 and asked, your people said that on Thursday no reservation is required. Then the bouncers asked us for 10000 Tenge to enter. We refused and asked for the Manager. After lots of insistence he went and then two gentleman came out. One of them said that he's the Manager. I told him the story and then he was said the bouncers are right. I could smell something is fishy. He wasn't the manager. The second person was a local Kazak who wanted to help, but the bouncers would ask him not to interfere. I then made it a point to address only to that gentleman. He then spoke to the bouncers asking them why they were not allowing us. He was such a nice human being that he requested us to come inside and the bouncers repented. This had hurt our ego, but because this second gentleman was so nice to us, we went in, but immediately came out. Then we took the photos of the two crooks who wanted a bribe and am posting them.

Hope the management will see what's happening and how they are loosing business because of these scoundrels. My views......The power to refuse entry should be withdraw from these unscrupulous bouncers and every refusal should be sanctioned by the Manager.

Forgot to add that when asked for their names, one of the said Ibrahim (not sure if that's the...

If you are looking for a friendly bar to have a relaxing evening, keep walking.

We approached this venue expecting a great night out. Instead, we were greeted by two unfriendly young men at the door who looked like they were auditioning for a secret agent role rather than working hospitality. No greeting, no communication, just hushed words exchanged in another language, a walkie-talkie, and the surreal instruction to us to “look into the camera.” Moments later, a curt hand gesture dismissed us entirely, without a word of explanation. They refused to talk to us or engage further.

The complete absence of English made the experience, the lack of communication and the dismissive hand gestures were not just confusing but frankly unwelcoming. It felt like trying to enter a nuclear bunker.

We only wish we had read the other public reviews beforehand that echo the same experiences.

To the management of Barmaglot: if you are going to post your venue on public platforms and describe it as welcoming or upscale, your door policy should be made transparently available. Guests deserve to know what to expect. If there’s a selective entry process, say this clearly and upfront.

To fellow travellers and locals alike: there are far better venues in Almaty. Ones that won’t judge you at the door, speak in code or wave you away without a word. We don’t support discrimination, covert or otherwise and we suggest you...

It was okay. I'd give the food three stars but then the service was great so I bumped the overall rating up to four stars. We went with a couple friends from work. One of us had sushi, it tasted like any generic sushi and pizza joint sushi would, one had salmon it was okay, a little over cooked for salmon, but I think that's a think here in Kazakhstan because I've noticed a pattern at restaurants, one had the dorado, it was good, and I had the shrimp salad, it was probably the best out of our four dishes and that's not saying a lot because it could have been better. There were pros and cons. It had a cranberry sauce with a bite to it I really loved and the shrimp were perfect, but they put way too much dressing on the whole thing, I couldn't taste the vegetables at all. You know when you give a little kid the dressing bottle and they pour half of it on their salad before you notice? That's what it felt like while I was eating the shrimp salad. The flavor was great!! There was just too much of it! I couldn't even finish it. I gave the last quarter of my salad to my husband. My salad!! I couldn't finish a salad!!! So, if you're one of those people that actually likes salad or, heaven forbid, you're on a diet, I can recommend their shrimp salad but ask them to use half the normal amount...