Cafe Zarafshon — Restaurant in Khiva

Situated on perhaps the most beautiful spot in Khiva. Service is ok, attentive staff walking around, always smiling. Good local wine and comfortable seats. Inside is as beautiful as the view outside. Only nitpick is the way the manager offered me the bill before I even asked for it. It gave me a feeling that he wanted me to leave - which, I hope, was not the case. Tip for the restaurant: only offer people their bill if asked, you might miss business (like in my case, I actually was pretty interested in the desserts and coffee, but alas, the bill was already printed). Addendum: reading reviews drom other solo eaters and even couples I realize that this restaurant only caters groups. Fine by me, but please follow hospitality rules: once a guest is accepted, serve them well. People have literately come from the other side of the world: be honored that they even want to eat at your restaurant. Unacceptable policy towards solo...

The food was nice, however, the front of staff ruined it for the hard work of everyone else.

One, over pleased waiter, initially tried to get us to pay extra to reserve a table. When we asked if there was any space instead of checking, he just went on Instagram in front of us, making me repeat my initial request. They then reluctantly let us sit, despite there being multiple spare tables.

The young staff were rude and obnoxious. And the smirking to each other throughout made for an uncomfortable experience.

We asked beforehand if could we pay by card - to which they confirmed. At the end of the meal they insisted this was not possible. It turns out it was, they had just run out of receipt roll and couldn’t be bothered to get some more. Again with great reluctance they corrected that.

They haven’t cottoned on yet to what entices tourists and what makes it an enjoyable experience. I hope they learn...

We ate at this restaurant a couple of times and sat outside on both occasions. The location is great with views of the minaret. The menu is a little short but sufficient. All the food we tried was very good. The prices were a little high but in line with the other tourist options. The staff spoke English well.

My only complaint is that the pricing is a bit of a moving target. The bill was wrong both times and the waiter would verbally tell us what was wrong with it and the true amount we owed. On our second visit, I noticed that we were charged more for one of the kabobs than was on the menu. I pointed this out to the server but he insisted that the price had changed. It was wrong based on the menu but I paid the slight difference to avoid making anymore of a scene. They also charge a 10% service fee that's not disclosed beforehand (unfortunately, this was the case at most Khiva...