Alex Resto & Bar — Restaurant in Khiva

We had a late lunch here and were disappointed. We were a group of four people. We were the only people in restaurant. We sat at the table and the waitress showed us QR code with menu(?) We scanned it, but had to use our own hotspot, because it doesn't work without internet. That could be a big problem if you don't have uzbek data. The WiFi is not working. So we chose our meals, on the phone. About the prices. It was ridiculous. Something was normally priced, like shashlik (25 000) something was overpriced and in kg (like Plov), the chips were the same price as bread (20 000) etc. I don't know what was that supposed to mean and why do they do it that way.🤷‍♂️ We ordered: 2 Shahliks 1 pt of chips 1 pt of fried potatoes Idaho 2 pts of lentil soup 2 pts of Unashi soup (broth with noodles and meatballs) 2 pts of Shivit Oshi (Green noodles with meat and potatoes) 1 kettle of black and one of green tea The waitress didn't understand english or russian well, or at least it looked like it, well, I am not sure if she understood anything or even she was spiritualy on Earth. But we somehow ordered what we wanted. And then we waited for at least 20 minutes. Since we were the only people in restaurant and ordered several soups, we expected less waiting. While we were waiting, we had enough time to "explore" the surroundings. The light was blue, there were some jungle plants and parrots, cheap-looking lamps, the bit depressing music was very loud, it was dark and overly not very aesthetically pleasing. After 20 minutes of waiting, the first items arrived. Not tea or soups. Chips and fried potatoes! Very small portions of them with weird dip and with too much salt. Then came average tasting tea, ok lentil soups and also ok shahliks. The Unashi soups were served with cream in it, so when we started eating, it mixed up and looked like water with glue. The taste was also very similar. The meatballs from minced meat were hard as stone and tasteless and the noodles were probably the cheapest they could find. For that green noodles we waited for another 20 minutes, just to get cold noodles drowning in cream, two miniature pieces of meat and potato. Cherry on top was that because of cheap kettle somewhere from market for 1 sum I spilled the tea on myself. We paid at the counter, where we paid 20% mandatory tip/service fee, which we were not informed about in the menu, or to be absolutely clear, about the height of it, the most out of all restaurants in Uzbekistan we visited on our 18 day trip for very bad service. We finally left, but we thankfully checked our check, and found out that we were charged for soup we didn't order! So we came back, got our money back, but only for the soup and not the 20% of it as "service fee", so we paid 8.000 more for nothing. This nightmare called "VIP Cafe&Pub" cost us 356.000 sum. We paid less for far better food in more touristy areas like center of Samarkand. Don't go there. It was the worst restaurant we've been to in Uzbekistan. Edit for the owners of this scam: We can afford it. We would be ok with that prices. We knew about that. The problem was with value of your food and service. The value was zero. Sum, dollars,...

This place is a real hidden gem. Honestly, I was about to leave Khiva earlier than planned because it is really hard to find good, normal priced food. The two menu thing (one for tourists and one for locals) just feels wrong, but they don't do that here. So, I was determined to find a normal restaurant, and ideally, one that serves alcohol. Ice cold draft. I found it! Just a few minutes from the city walls in a residential neighborhood is the place to eat in Khiva. Great environment with both inside AC and outside seating. A very kind woman will make sure you are taken care of. English menu is on an IPad. There are separate tabs for salads, meat, etc. Just ask. Google translate can help. This will be where I eat for the rest of my week here. The biggest problem you will have here is eating it all. Total bill for 4 beers, 2 kebabs. fries, salad and bread, 140,000 soms. No additional service fee. Just honest, good food at a fair price and served with a smile...

Even though I risk an aggressive response from the owner, as another contributor received, I have to say how disappointed and irritated I was by this place. Three times I trudged out there to find it closed despite the opening times saying otherwise, but I wish I hadn't bothered. The staff mainly consisted of baseball cap wearing teenage boys shambling around. I don't expect them to speak English, but I do expect them to be welcoming and not forget one's order. The music was too loud and I was surprised to see smoking in the restaurant. Most of the menu was unavailable, but prices were reasonable. Two Uzbek customers told me they thought the service was poor. The owner needs to be more hands on and...