OLD BUKHARA — Restaurant in River Edge

This was the most interesting dining experience I’ve had since maybe forever. Me, wife and young son come in on a Saturday at around 9pm. While waiting for a table I’m admiring all of the colors and decorations. 5 minutes later we’re seated in a nice little secluded booth in the back. The waitress comes, she’s very nice and answers some questions I had about items on the menu. We order grape leaves for an appetizer and three dinners. My son got a cheeseburger/fries, wife got Caesar salad with chicken, I got combo kebabs, chicken and beef. Shortly thereafter all the lights go out and club style lighting takes over while the music is blasting. It’s not any type of music I recognize but sounded middle eastern. Just about the entire place got up and started dancing. I could see why they put us in the corner table in the back now. A while later our appetizer came out, then 10 minutes later my wife’s salad came out then 10 minutes later my kebabs came out and then finally 10 minutes later my son’s burger came out. It seemed as though the food came out at whichever time it was done in no particular order. As far as the food goes, I thought my kebabs were absolutely delicious. The meat was grilled to perfection and was also juicy with a really good flavor. The grape leaves were also delicious. They were meat filled which I haven’t had that anywhere. My wife, who’s picky, said her salad was okay. My son did not like his burger and I could see why. The meat wasn’t like your typical burger, it tasted like it was made with some type of spices and maybe a beef/lamb combo. I could be wrong on that but it definitely wasn’t just regular ground beef formed into patties. It had that middle eastern flavor. I thought it was pretty good but can see why others may have been caught off guard. The french fries and rice were normal and really good. I asked the waitress what the occasion was and she said it was a birthday party. She said every weekend is like this though. I thought what a lively crowd for a place without a bar. It is BYOB and I saw a wine bottle on one of the tables. Maybe if I brought a bottle I would’ve been hitting the dance floor but unfortunately on this particular night, we were the lame-Os in the corner. Overall I had a pretty good time, it sure beat the hell out of ordering pizza or Chinese takeout. The wife and son weren’t as...

SHAME, SHAME, SHAME! Made a reservation for 6 ppl three weeks in advance. Came to the restaurant on time, exactly at 7 pm. Place was packed with no empty tables. Yes, sometimes this happens and hostess or waiter tells you to please wait and we will have table for you shortly. No one approached us and every time I was trying to ask what is the situation with our table, I was completely ignored or given a dirty look with the meaning " " stop bothering us, we have nothing for you". Waitresses and waiters were running back and forth because there were more people then they could handle. After several attempts to find out the situation about our table, I was finally told that place has a force major and booked more tables then there is a space for. There was another party of 12 ppl who also made a reservation 2 weeks in advance, they came to celebrate birthday. There was no table for them either. Staff started to bring tables from the outside with the mesh seats chairs which are absolutely inappropriate for the indoor seating and setting them up in the middle of the dance floor. Just ridiculous and disrespectful! After waiting for 25 minutes and being completely ignored we left this place. Management and staff have no clue how to run the place, how to treat customers and what the word "reservation" means. If they are overbooking the place worried that people would not show up, why not to call customers to reconfirm the reservations they have for today, like many restaurants do? By the way, I called earlier to reconfirm the reservation and was told that all good, my name is on the list. I called the restaurant next day, asked for speak to the manager who was unavailable and briefly described what happened the day before. Manager was not available. I left my phone number, my name and asked him to call me. He never did, I guess I do not deserve his time and attention, like we did not deserve a table with the confirmed reservation. Learn how to run business and how to manage reservations and most of all, learn the meaning of the phrase "respect your customers". SHAME SHAME SHAME ON WHOEVER OWNS AND...

Before 1991, one may recall that this country was one of fifteen nations that gained their independence after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Once a key stop on the Silk Road, Uzbekistan, being doubly landlocked, is the most populated Central Asian country. Its diversity can be observed in food across different regions sourced from farms, such as bread, rice, noodles, and sheep.

It is a blend of the cooking traditions of Turkic and Persian peoples with a history dating back thousands of years.

Located on Kinderkamack Road in River Edge, we were excited to try this local establishment. A reservation was easily made by calling Old Bukhara (an ancient city) for a party of four Saturday evening.

Upon arrival at two levels of seating, we were greeted inside to a welcoming, surprisingly spacious vibe with intricate decor and traditional furnishings that added to the overall dining experience. We were led to a table in the back on the main floor as a large birthday party occupied the main dining room.

As appetizers, my partner, our friends, and I decided on the Cheburek, Tandoori Crispy Samsa, and Cheese Stuffed Mushroom. For our main meal, we opted for the national Uzbek dish—Samarkand Plov, Beef with Mushrooms in a white sauce, and Grilled Branzino.

The ingredients used were fresh, and everything was cooked to perfection. However, some of the dishes came out very oily and had fatty pieces in the meat.

Timing is very important, especially in the food industry. While we were enjoying our appetizers, our main meals arrived shortly thereafter.

We learned that one of us didn’t receive his meal and watched us eat. When the server finally brought the grilled branzino to the table, we refused it.

To add insult to injury, that item was never taken off the bill. I went to the manager, and he accommodated me by taking that item off. The staff wasn’t attentive and never showed his present afterwards; our server was “Austin.”

Old Bukhara didn’t deliver that authentic Uzbeki culinary experience that we had hoped for and left us disappointed, which we...