Restaurant Sandyq — Restaurant in Almaty

A Local’s Honest Take on Sandyk Almaty!

The decor is absolutely gorgeous—seriously, this place nails the ambiance. But when it comes to the food? Pretty underwhelming. The flavors were just okay, and the meat quality felt cheap.

I visited Sandyk in Almaty with high hopes, especially after having a wonderful experience at their Shymkent branch. As someone who comes from this culture and understands this cuisine deeply, I was excited to revisit the flavors I grew up with. Unfortunately, this visit left me disappointed.

The food in Shymkent had something special — a unique character, elevated presentation, and a touch of fine dining. In Almaty, the dishes felt ordinary. The sauces were basic, the plating was uninspired, and there was nothing remarkable about the flavors.

The menu was also different — both in terms of selection and the feel of the dishes. Some items I was looking forward to weren’t even available. I specifically asked the server if the baursaks came with sour cream, not jam, and she confirmed yes. But when they arrived, they were served with jam. Sour cream was brought out only after we had finished the baursaks and started our mains. To top it off, there was an unexpected ₸600 charge for the sour cream, even though it wasn’t listed as a separate item on the menu.

We ordered two meat dishes, and both were tough and difficult to chew. For a bill of nearly ₸70,000, the quality didn’t come close to justifying the price.

Service also fell short!!! A nearby table of international guests spent most of their meal trying to get the staff’s attention without success. A call button system or more attentive staff would help a lot. The floor manager also seemed unaware of what was going on in the dining room.

On a positive note, the interior was beautiful — stylish, full of character, and very inviting. But even here, I felt the Shymkent branch had more warmth and soul, despite its smaller space.

Honestly, I’ve had bad luck with this chain lately. I once visited their café in Chicago, driving 4 hours just to try it. But almost nothing was available — they were out of ingredients, no kurt, no signature dishes. I ended up ordering a truffle mushroom soup that looked unappetizing and tasted even worse.

I truly hope the Shymkent location has kept its high standards. Next time I’ll head straight there — this one didn’t live up...

I don't know what went wrong - our 3rd visit and although the previous ones were somewhat between 4* - 5* (the service was a bit chaotic at times) our last visit was not more than 2*.

We ordered some starters and 4 mains for 4 people. Starters were ok but nothing superb. Samsa was tasty but tiny and the dough was hard (dried out) at the corners. Crispy aubergine was a miss for me - the combination of kurt sauce and sweet chilli just didn't go together. I was expecting more of tempura style fusion but what we got was barely crispy, greasy battered aubergine. I would avoid this one as there are better options on the menu.

First big issue for us came when the first main was brought to the table. The dish was great (the only one...) but for the next 15 minutes no other mains arrived? This just isn't acceptable at the establishment of this level.

Next to arrive were kuurdaks. Oh my what a disappointment. Or first dish at Sandyq was actually kuurdak and it was lovely! This time the potatoes were not cooked together with the meat (they didn't taste anything like it) and the meat was burned and leathery, super overcooked. It grew in my mouth when I tried to eat it. We were hungry so the food was eaten - with no enjoyment.

Last to arrive was beshbarmak. Little meat, the darker one was like a shoe sole and the noodles were so salty they would sink in a dead sea. I finished some of the noodles and the meat. The broth was fine but not salty so I wonder if they used the same broth for cooking the noodles - I don't think so.

In the end we complained, we got an apology, an offer to redo the kuurdaks (declined on our side - we were already waiting for too long) and half a portion of the kuurdaq to go as a goodwill gesture. This is all appreciated but the review is about the food and the service and that was most of the evening sub par. I really wonder what happened in the kitchen - was the chef on holidays so the apprentice...

came here after doing research in reddit on where to eat kazaksh food. what a fancy and beautiful place. the lady who greeted me at the front wear beautiful dress and hair accessories. she is like a princess. the servers all wear traditional-style outfit. love the service and ambience. ordered fermented horse milk (i.e.i thought it was normal milk until i taste it! the server didnt explain it properly).

ordered horse meat (which includes white corn).i ask to replace white corn with grilled veggie (which was agreed), but then again...when the food come and i question it, the server mentioned replacement is not possible (which he didnt mention) and they are not willing to 'take back' the not-needed-replacement.

long story short, my taste bud disagree with the horse meat (it was like big slab of steak). after 2 bites, i gave up (basically i almost didnt touch it). manager came by and asked if all is ok. i said the restaurant is good. its just my tongue's problem.

manager offer to recook (slice them in pieces and pan friend both sides). WOW, THATS another level of service! i'd never imagine restaurant is willing to recook to make it more palatable to client's taste bud. lol. it is impressive!

Really appreciate it and i did finish the more palatable version!

Less 1* due to server's not properly trying to understand the request on the first round. But still appreciate his quick response when I push further (i.e.questioning), and checking up on me (he alerted the manager about my almost untouched meat).

Highly recommended!

theres also show happening, but unsure about the...