Zargaron Restaurant — Restaurant in Samarkand City

One would think that a restaurant attached to such a well-known hotel would be top-notch – one would be VERY wrong!

If I could give minus star marks here, I would!!!

A friend and I ordered a bottle of wine, a shish kebab each, some grilled vegetables, and rustic potatoes. The wine came – and, by the way, the price of the wines is more than the double the price of the same wines in Bukhara!

We waited and waited. There were on 25 diners and NINE teenage waiters hanging around playing on their phones.

Over forty-five minutes after our order was accepted, the callow youth who took our order sheepishly came to explain that he was very sorry that “the” chef had gone home and shish kebab was no longer possible. After my ensuing remonstrations, we were finally told we could order some soup. It was getting late, so we accepted.

The soup itself took an age to arrive AND, to add insult to injury, during this time, we saw chunks of grilled meat delivered to another table (admittedly, they had ordered before us).

There was evidently a problem with a bill at another table. The person who looked like he might have been in charge tried to speak to me and tried to speak to the other table but, for both cases, seemed to need help from the table’s waiter as he spoke little English or German.

One can never choose the day’s meteorological conditions; the following day was cold and damp.  After a of sightseeing, we didn’t feel like braving the elements in search of food. We came back here in trepidation. We ordered the exact same things as the night before. The wine came and then we waited. After 30 minutes, a waiter approached us to tell us they had run out of mushrooms! We asked for peppers instead. A further ten minutes later, our OK but not exceptional food arrived.

THIS RESTAURANT NEEDS A GOOD TRAINING PROGRAMME AND A RADICAL CHANGE...

!!!!SCAM ALERT!!!! Last week, I visited Zargaron in Samarkand, drawn by its appealing view. As one of my first dining experiences here, it was deeply disappointing. We ordered appetizers and two mojitos—one regular and one with vodka—which took far too long to arrive. The bill showed the vodka mojito priced double. My wife, a Samarkand native, asked about this in Russian, but the staff gave vague, contradictory explanations. We suggested they inform customers of such price differences upfront and let it go. The real issue emerged during payment. Despite confirming card payments were accepted, the young waitstaff demanded cash, claiming their card machine was broken. Unknowingly to the staff, my wife understands Uzbek, which they were speaking amongst themselves, assuming she was a tourist like me. She overheard them mocking us and scheming to exploit the situation. I pointed out their machine issue wasn’t my problem, and suddenly, the machine “worked.” They swiped my card, claimed the payment failed due to a “failure ,” and kept pressing for cash. When I showed proof on my phone that the charge had already processed, their scam attempt was undeniable. Tourists should avoid Zargaron at all costs—you will be targeted!. To the owner: closely monitor your staff, as their dishonesty may also be...

We visited this restaurant as a group, and unfortunately, it turned out to be one of the worst dining experiences we've ever had. The staff seemed completely disinterested, and several of the dishes we ordered were never even brought to the table. When the food finally arrived, it was completely bland and clearly made without any care. But the worst part came after the meal: 4 people from our group ended up with food poisoning. This kind of negligence is unacceptable – not only was the service poor, but it also put our health at serious risk. Definitely stay away...