Urgench

Eat

Eating out in Urgench can be a challenge. Waiters usually don't speak English and sometimes only Russian. The menus are mostly written in Cyrillic, and either in Russian or in Uzbek. (Nearby Khiva is more adapted to foreign tourists in this respect.) More informationon Urgench restaurants can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/theurgenchrestaurants/

Gavhar Milliy Taomlari, The restaurant with the best view of the park, the Shavat Canal and the city, if you can get a place on the terrace. The food is good but their choice of wines is surprisingly limited. The young waiters are not really familiar with the concept of a "dry" wine and you might be served unchilled white and cold red wine.

Mangal, A Korean restaurant. Again, most dishes are meat dishes. Urgench is not the ideal place for vegetarians.

Garage Burger Probably the best place for real hamburgers in this city. Hamburgers are often called burgers or just cheeze. Do not confuse them with the ubiquitous "gamburgers" which are pieces of doner kebab in a little pocket of bread, often served with a little bit of greens (cut up spring onions) and tomato sauce.

Drink

Urgench is not a place for wine drinkers. The standard wine is about 25,000 soms (May 2019), Not for the connoisseur but certainly drinkable. You are lucky if the white wine is chilled. Otherwise you could ask for ice. Don't be surprised if they serve you a chilled red wine.

Bavaria, A good place for beer drinkers. They brew three different kinds of draft beer. There is a large hall and a small balcony if you want to sit outside. This is probably the best place for the Western tourist to feel at home.

Leo, The Leo pub has the widest range of beers. Some are on tap but a huge fridge full of different brands.

New York With a wall full of old American (not just New York) photographs and TV screens presenting American concerts (country, blues and more) it tries to create a New York atmosphere. A nice change from the often somewhat baroque interiors of other restaurants.

Connect

Urgench and its approach highways have 4G from all Uzbek carriers. As of Sep 2024, 5G has not reached town.

Go next

Khiva - the historical city with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre of Itchan Kala Konye Urgench (Old Urgench) - the original city, now a , abandoned in the 17th century after a river shifted course and left it without water