Rubai — Restaurant in Astana

Great ambience but food not very tasty. We went Friday evening around 9 PM to find only one other table occupied with live music on the stage. The place is beautifully decorated and enormous!

The menu was overpriced compared to many other restaurants in the area. Our waiter tried to push us towards a local red wine bottle. I tried to find the price in the menu but couldn’t so finally asked him the price - 100$ plus… and this without really letting us know that what he was suggesting was outside the price ranges we saw on the menu.

For food items, he was also pushing towards the more expensive item which is understandable— but every item he “upgraded” to seemed to come with heavier sauces. My beet salad was spoiled with a heavy layer of sauce at the bottom. Don’t order a salad if you think you are getting something healthy or ask to bring without any sauces. The other appetizers were also so-so in taste; nothing to note in particular. We decided to stop at appetizers and not taste any more (expensive) dishes.

The ambience is nice (could’ve used more customers but I guess it’s pretty expensive for locals). I would suggest looking for more authentic...

I had such a great experience at Rubai in Astana! The food was amazing – I tried baursaks, pilaf, shashlik, and of course tea, all of which tasted really authentic and homemade. What surprised me even more was the atmosphere. The restaurant is full of vintage pieces, including beautiful Kazakh furniture at the entrance that’s 100–200 years old. Some items were even bought from museums, which makes the place feel like a mix of a restaurant and a cultural journey. If it’s your first time in Astana and you want not just to eat but also to feel the spirit of Kazakh culture, Rubai is definitely the...

Total disaster. We came for a quiet Kazakh dinner — ended up in a nightclub. Music was insanely loud, couldn’t hear each other. Asked to be moved — they refused, even though they clearly could’ve made it work. Food was below average. Waiter was nice but inattentive (we got our own napkins). If you're looking for Kazakh cuisine — don’t go here....