NAVAT — Restaurant in Bishkek City

Visited in August 2025. Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬 Bishkek.

Navat caught our eye with its vibrant, authentic vibe—colorful decor, traditional carpets, and a warm nod to Kyrgyz culture that pairs well with its promise of classic cuisine. It’s a cozy spot, but our experience didn’t quite live up to the inviting atmosphere.

FOOD:

The menu is a feast for the eyes, with tempting pictures that make you want to order everything. We tried a few dishes: chebureks and fried manty were a mixed bag—the dough was perfectly crisp and thin, but the meat filling was a letdown, dry with occasional chewy sinews. The manty’s onion helped mask the issue slightly, but it wasn’t enough. The okroshka was a highlight, fresh and well-balanced with a generous mix of vegetables and a refreshing broth. The plov, however, was limited to one option and came out dry, with tough, chewy meat that lacked the depth some dried fruits or onion could’ve added for juiciness and variety of flavor. The veal on the skillet was the biggest disappointment—tough, sinewy, and borderline inedible.

SERVICE:

The service was underwhelming, despite our waiter’s friendly smile. He was charming but disorganized, mixing up orders and leaving us waiting far too long. When we raised concerns about the poor-quality veal, the manager admitted their supplier sent subpar meat but didn’t remove the dish from the bill, even though we barely touched it—an odd and unprofessional move.

VERDICT:

We’ve had better experiences at other NaVat locations, so perhaps this branch was an off day, but the dry, sinewy meat and lackluster service left us disappointed. The manager’s handling of our complaint didn’t help. With so many other spots in Bishkek offering better quality and professionalism, I’d...

I’m leaving this one star for those people (like me!) who read the 1-star reviews to know what the worst experience could be. Here’s the warning:

During our visit, a staff member came over and asked if they could take our photo. We said yes, thinking it was for their social media or something similar — but no one told us that this was actually for a printed souvenir photo that costs 1000 KGS (about 10 EUR). When we were in the middle of our meal they presented the photo and said we had to pay for it right away, separate from our meal.

We honestly thought we were just being kind by saying yes — as a fellow photographer, I just felt bad for someone having to go around asking people for photos for social media (which happened before in Kyrgyzstan in a different place), and I didn’t want to refuse. If they had simply told us there was a cost involved before taking the picture, we could have politely declined or agreed but instead, it turned into a very uncomfortable moment in the middle of our meal which kinda really made the experience just weird because we felt scammed. Which we didn't expect in a restaurant that's supposed to be good.

That said, I do want to mention that our waiter was very sweet and clearly stressed — the restaurant was busy and he was doing his best. The food itself was okay, not the best we had in Kyrgyzstan, but decent enough for a restaurant chain.

So: be aware about the photo situation, and clarify beforehand if you don’t...

What a horrible experience from a "restaurant". After coming in and being seated we ordered drinks and had a look at the menu. Before we ordered meals we were told they have no ice so drinks will be warm...okay we agreed and got our warm Long Island ICED tea and Mojito. We wanted to order Mantu(dumplings) a pretty common dish and Besh barmak. The waiter told us there is no more mantu so my friend had to choose an alternative choice. He took our order then.

5min later he came again saying they have no bech barmak. At this point I was upset and just wanted to leave the restaurant. They had NONE of the things we asked for.

We finished our warm disgusting cocktails and offered to pay for the drinks. HUGE ISSUE - they want us to pay for the food my friend ordered instead of Mantu as they started to prepare it already.

The waiter called in the manager, they barely spoke English so communication was difficult. NO EMPATHY FOR CUSTOMER. They kept insisting on us paying. I offered to pay the drinks and went to get my things from the cloakroom. THEY WOULDNT GIVE US OUR THINGS. basically they were holding us hostage. I suggested they call the police to which they finally listened and just brought the bill for drinks. We tipped the guy 20% and left hungry and very very disappointed by this kind...