The ladle clangs loudly as it crashes against the side of the gargantuan cauldron. A man dressed in black leans further, stretching down to scoop another steaming pile of rice and meat from the bottom of the pot.
He emerges with his ladle overflowing and deposits the generous scoop onto a white plate, which he hands off to a waiter waiting patiently in the wings. The young server holds the plate firm as he hurries off into the huge dining room, where the babble of hundreds of diners awaits.
We’re at the Central Asian Plov Center in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. This enormous eatery has been serving Tashkent’s best plov for years. Today, it still goes from strength to strength, with increased visits from tourists adding to its popularity.
We had read about the Central Asian Plov Center before our trip to Uzbekistan and knew we had to check it out for ourselves. Here’s how we did it.
Note: The images and experiences are from a previous trip to Uzbekistan. The Plov Center has since had a makeover and looks different inside. However, the general layout and menu remain the same.
A brief introduction to the Central Asian Plov Center in Tashkent
The Plov Center in Tashkent – also called Besh Qozon – is the city’s most popular place to eat plov. Also known as pilaf or pilau, this dish is popular across Central Asia, the Middle East and beyond. However, nowhere does it quite like the Uzbeks.
The standard ingredients for plov are rice, carrots and meat. Everything is cooked together in one sizzling cauldron known as a kazan. Popular meat options include beef and lamb, but you can also choose to try horse meat.
No matter where you eat in Uzbekistan, you will almost certainly find plov on the menu. However, few restaurants are as popular as the Central Asian Plov Center.
This fast, two-story dining hall serves thousands of diners each day. The crowd is diverse – locals have been coming here for years, but there has been an increasing flow of tourists to the Plov Center, especially in the last few years.
When we visited, tourists were in the minority. However, during peak tourist season, travellers should be prepared to see tour buses bringing their groups for lunch here. Despite its popularity with tourists, it is still a favourite spot for locals. Thankfully, the prices have not increased too much.
The best time to arrive at the Plov Center
The Central Asian Plov Center is open from 9am to 11pm. However, lunchtime is the best time to go to the Plov Center. This is when the dining hall is at its busiest and the atmosphere at its best.
However, since lunchtime is the busiest time to dine, you should try to arrive early. We recommend arriving around 12pm, or possibly even earlier if you want to guarantee a seat straight away.
Arriving around 12pm will also mean you can watch the plov as it is cooked in the kazans. This is peak time for cooking, as the Plov Center gears up for the lunchtime rush.
How to get to the Central Asian Plov Center in Tashkent
The Plov Center stands in the north of Tashkent and is easy to reach by public transport. The Tashkent Television Tower is right next to the Plov Center and is a handy reference point should you get lost on your way. Here’s how to get there.
Catch the Tashkent Metro to the Plov Center
The best way to get to the Central Asian Plov Center is to catch the metro. If you haven’t yet had the chance to travel on Tashkent’s opulent Soviet-era metro, this could be the perfect opportunity.
The nearest metro station to the Plov Center is Shahriston. From here, you will need to walk for 10-15 minutes down the busy Amir Temur Avenue before turning right to reach the Plov Center.
Alternatively, you could catch the metro to Bodomzor and enjoy the walk up through the park – or directly up Amir Temur Avenue – to reach the Plov Center. This should take you around 20 minutes.
Walk from the city centre
If you’re feeling fit, you could walk from Tashkent city centre to the Central Asian Plov Center. From Amir Temur Square, this would be a long, five-kilometre trek straight up Amir Temur Avenue.
Given that the metro is so straightforward to use, we wouldn’t recommend walking unless you really, really want to.
Take a taxi
If you are in a hurry, you could catch a taxi straight to the Central Asian Plov Center. The easiest way to arrange a taxi in Tashkent is either to ask your hotel or guest house, or to order a taxi via the Yandex Go or MyTaxi apps. Depending on the traffic, it should take 15 minutes to drive to the Plov Center from Amir Temur Square.
Arriving at the Central Asian Plov Center
Outside the main dining hall, crowds of people gathered around the enormous kazans where the plov sat cooking. These gigantic cauldrons stood on stone plinths, each a metre or so high. Underneath, a crackling fire provided the heat to cook the plov.
A small army of cooks stirred and tended to the vats. Another group of workers manned the plates and dishes, ensuring a steady flow of food heading off to the hungry diners.
We were shown to a table on the second floor of the dining room. Below us, dozens of groups were already tucking into plates piled high with plov. The sound of clinking cutlery, laughter and conversation echoed around the building.
Our table stood right on the edge of the second-floor balcony. We thoroughly enjoyed sitting up here – it gave us a brilliant view across the whole dining room and allowed us to watch the choreography of the dozens of staff who make the place run.
When we visited, our menu stood on the table. We could choose from a handful of base plovs and then add additional items to your dish. These extras ranged from tiny quail eggs to a cut of horse meat. Traditional flatbreads and salads were available as side dishes.
We spent a few minutes browsing the menu before we were ready to order. When we visited, there was no English menu available.
Enjoying the food at the Central Asian Plov Center
The friendly young waiter bounded over. He spoke good English, and we had a brief chat before he took our order.
I went for a plov with Kazy – a classic slice of horse sausage popular throughout Central Asia. Whilst eating horse may be an alien concept in the West, is it part of the national cuisine here. I was keen to try it.
Meanwhile, Lucy went for the traditional Chaikhansky plov, which comes with onions and spices as well as meat and carrots.
Within a few minutes of ordering, our plates arrived piled high with large, steaming plov. The meat had been hacked into small juicy chunks and lay sprinkled on top.
The plov was excellent. Perhaps it wasn’t the best plov we had in Uzbekistan – we would have to award that to Bukhara or Khiva. However, it was still delicious, and certainly the best we had in Tashkent. We gave the bread full marks, too.
We ordered a bottle of still water and a pot of black tea to go with our plov. The tea came in a simple white teapot with two accompanying bowls.
When you dine at the Central Asian Plov Center, you are visiting as much for the experience as for the food. Nowhere else offers the opportunity to watch plov production on a mass scale like this. It’s no wonder the crowds gather around the kazans – they must be seen to be believed.
Read next: Exploring the Silk Road sites of Samarkand.
The final bill
You should expect to pay 34,000 Som (£2.30 / $2.90) for a standard portion of plov at the Central Asian Plov Center. The Kazy horse meat costs an extra 7,000 Som (£0.45 / $0.60), and a quail’s egg will set you back 1,500 Som (£0.10 / $0.12).
Three other brilliant places to try plov in Tashkent
If you want to try some of Tashkent’s other plov restaurants, these three are worth a go:
- For tasty plov and even better samsa, head to this no-frills cafe in southwest Tashkent. Like the Plov Center, you should expect a lunchtime rush.
- Plov Lounge & Banquet Hall is a more upmarket take on a traditional Uzbek dining hall. The prices are higher, and the experience is not quite as authentic, but it has the benefit of a central location just a few minutes walk from Amir Temur Square.
- Afsona is a centrally-located restaurant that leans towards the tourist market. It’s a popular spot, so reservations are recommended. The plov is popular, as is the samsa and manti. For a wide range of Uzbek food, this is an ideal place to visit.
Read next: 6 reasons why you should visit Tashkent.
The Central Asian Plov Center – our final thoughts
We loved our visit to the Central Asian Plov Center. It’s noisy, chaotic and one of our favourite experiences during our visit to Tashkent.
Whilst it’s still frequented by hundreds of locals each day, don’t be surprised to see plenty of tourists there. Nevertheless, the Plov Center maintains its air of authenticity, even after its refurbishment. The food was great, the service was friendly and the experience was unforgettable.
Just remember – arrive early to get the full experience of packed kazans and the lunchtime rush.
Last updated: January 2024