Cafe SAMARKAND — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

Very nice new restaurant and cafe for delicious Uzbek and Russian food. I think they recently expanded their menu some more after I already went, but even when I came and tried a more limited menu, everything was quite good. I got to try their Samarkand plov/osh, Samarkand bread/naan/non, Napoleon cake, and the suzma.

I really enjoyed nearly all of the items. Starting backwards with the suzma, this was kind of like labneh, the Turkish yogurt dish. Quite good, but this felt a little more liquidy while still being rich. Very strong whole milk flavor.

The Uzbek bread is always delicious. They give you a huge piece of bread that is crunchy at the sides and soft in the middle. Perfect for eating any of the main entrees with, especially kebabs. Nice seed topping as well.

The Samarkand plot was quite nice too. My first time ever having plov, finally! Glad to try it from this place. They give you a nice serving size. The rice is a little bit oily, and I typically like the rice to be cooked longer (it still had a pretty strong bite to it), but the flavor was nice overall. Savory from the meat, sweet (almost a bit too sweet) from the carrots, and richness from the spices and oil. I really liked that they included chickpeas as well.

All in all, I quite enjoyed this place. Probably not my favorite Uzbek in the area, but still, very good. I would like to come back to try some of the other...

This review is long overdue--we ate at Cafe Samarkand a month ago on the first day of Ramadan--but hopefully better late than never.

We had a lovely first dinner at Cafe Samarkand. The owner and staff were incredibly welcoming and friendly from the time we arrived until we left, often checking on our experience without being intrusive. They also helpfully explained the menu and the presence of some special treats already on the table when we arrived--there for guests coming to break their fast for that day of Ramadan.

We very much enjoyed everything we ate, starting with a Samosa and Shuba (with the awesome translation of "Fur Coat"), and through our main courses of Plov, Layered Uzbek dumplings, and steak with rice. The Plov and layered dumplings were particular standouts for generous servings of perfectly seasoned dishes with complex flavor--seem like they would be particularly great entry points for folks less familiar with Uzbek cuisine.

We were too full to eat dessert, but took home some honey cake for dessert. That was reminiscent of baklava with its layers of crispy cake and honey, but also very much its own thing, and definitely something I will be ordering next time, too.

I worry folks will miss this local gem down at the end of the Kuhn's parking lot, and hope the word gets out--it's definitely...

We frequently go to another Uzbek restaurant west of the city. Cafe Samarkand is comparable. Since it is newly opened, I think it needs a chance to get on it's feet. The Lagman, and Xonim were very good, and arrived at the table hot. Also ordered a small tomato, cucumber & onion "salad" which was fresh and nicely portioned. After ordering 2 different "dumplings", neither of them were available. We had to ask for the bread (the menu states bread and tea come with the entree) we also had to request the tea which came with the entree. The waiter did not inform us that only the black tea is included in the order. We had the lemon tea and we noticed on our bill the charge was $3.50. You can ask for glasses of water to avoid the charge for bottled water. The service was a bit awkward....The dining room was very clean. Only BIG issue was the restroom, dirty, dirty, dirty!!!! It was the only restroom, So....are the employees using it as well??? This leaves me with a...