Platan - Samarkand

We were initially hesitant due to the numerous negative reviews, but we were pleasantly surprised to find this restaurant to be a good choice in the city! The eggplant salad was delicious, accompanied by a generous serving of roasted potatoes. It was one of the few vegan options available on the menu.

The restaurant offers a variety of vegan salads and side dishes. In addition to traditional menu items, they also offer healthier options for those looking to avoid fried and fatty foods typically found at Uzbek restaurants. This is a great vegan/vegetarian choice in Samarkand, where options can be limited. This review was updated on August 10, 2022.

Great tasting food, attentive and welcoming staff, and a refreshing cold beer - what more could you ask for? This review was last updated on April 2, 2022.

The place itself is beautiful, but the atmosphere is very strange; the berry is kind of frightened or sth? they have one of these great menus with thousands of dressed with pictures and from these thousands there is no vegan main dish (not sure about vegetarian, but I very doubt.) I ordered grilled **** and they had a strong taste of meat chicks I guess they do not want to go to the same thing.

Platan is one of the most popular restaurants in town with tourists and travelers in general, but isn't much to write home about for vegetarians, vegans, and healthy eaters. It isn't the most veg-friendly option in town (the honor of that title goes to Old City, IMHO), but is an option worth considering at least once during your visit. The mostly meat-oriented menu includes a handful of lacto-veg dishes (two or three of which can be requested without cheese if language barriers don't prevent that), plus a few side dishes (e.g. grilled veggies, french fries). I had a plate of grilled veggies topped with dill and served with a tomato sauce for dipping, which had good flavor. Though it was less oily than the Uzbek norm, it still had more oil than I'd have preferred, but otherwise it was pretty good. There are three seating areas: The main indoor dining room (which allows smoking), a smaller indoor non-smoking room (that looks like a classically posh reading room, much more pleasant than the main dining room), and a spacious outdoor patio dining section. Service was mixed: Some were helpful and responsive, and others seemed not to care at all, so if the first person you ask for something doesn't come through, you might have better luck calling on another. My food was actually served fairly promptly, but it took me a total of 40 minutes to pay the bill (30 minutes and two requests to get the check, and another 10 minutes to get my change). This might have been due to the lunch rush (the place is popular with tour groups). My suggestion: Consider trying this place once during your stay in Samarkand (especially if Old City is fully booked), but try to avoid the peak lunch and dinner hours, and make a reservation if you can.