Bella Ciao — Restaurant in Almaty

Beautiful Restaurant. Friendly Staff.

September 10th, 2025

Tonight marked our final dinner together.

I told Professor Anunaki that I wanted to treat him-both in gratitude for the lessons he's shared over the past three months, and in celebration of something very simple: that we made it through without losing our heads to the Talibans.

Our choice was symbolic-we "flew to Italy" without leaving Kazakhstan. The restaurant, Bella Ciao, offered an atmosphere that was as remarkable as its name suggested. The décor was stunning, and it turned out to be the kind of place where you can unwind with a 3,000 KZT (about $6 USD) glass of wine and let the art and ambiance do the rest.

And why are so many of the Russian-owned restaurants here designed with such flair? There's a story behind that. To hear it, visit Sun Hostel and ask for Jean, the licensed barista. He'll fill you in-I'll spare my fingers from typing...

Nice decor but that’s where it all ends. Ordered pizza and ravioli chicken and while the waiter was serving us pizza and regaling us with how authentic the Italian pizza was, I was about to bite into what I later realized was ravioli with raw chicken inside. I thought it was cheese inside until I opened one up and it was completely pink. No one apologized, from the waiter to manager to the chef. Nothing. They just offered to make it again in 7 minutes (is that even long enough to safely cook chicken from what was obviously frozen ravioli?). When we asked for the check and told the waiter that we were surprised about their lukewarm reactions to what they did (btw the pizza also came out lukewarm, just like the Italians love it!) the waiter just responded with “who’s paying”.

Currently waiting the 6-72 hours to see if I get Salmonella. That’s the first time I’ve ever written the work salmonella in a...

Hi, I would like to share my worst experience. I went to this restaurant in the evening and asked the lady for a sofa seat, but she told me I could only take a table with chairs, not a sofa. I assumed maybe the sofas were meant for larger groups, so I agreed. But after I settled down, another couple arrived, and the same lady offered them a sofa. Although I felt bad, I didn’t say anything.

Later, she brought us a Russian menu and said they didn’t have an English menu. We struggled to translate each page ourselves. After some time, the lady went inside, possibly to take other orders, and another staff member noticed us struggling. He immediately gave us an English menu. This incident was extremely disappointing for me. It was clearly evident that the lady did not want us to dine there.

If you are Indian, or simply someone who believes in equality, I urge you not to visit this restaurant under any...