Tashkent Vegan Street Food Tour
Description
We will show you Tashkent unbeknown to tourists and visitors and cover different parts of the city including two markets: in the traditional old town and the busy city centre, each offering their best-known local street food. As vegans who grew up in this meat-heavy city we were able to pick the best-to-offer spots for local plant-based street food and wanted to share our knowledge with others and tell the story of our city in a personal and unique way. That means we don't want to make it a typical boring tour of eating food from place to place all the time. Instead we will happily customise it on the go with walks, pictures, stories and people. ------------------ Part of the money from the tour goes to support imprisoned vegan activists.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We will start the tour with the oldest and most picturesque bazaar in Tashkent located in the old town and head straight to the 'Gluttony Lane' for the all-city-known Khanum - potato pastries in rich tomato sauce. À la lasagne but faster and better.
After leaving the bustling market, we'll stroll through the narrow, winding alleys of Tashkent's Old City. Take a moment to soak in the leisurely pace of local life as we notice the neighborhood children at play. Our destination is the Xadra neighborhood, where we will sample delicious, fresh-made steamed dumplings (manti) right before our eyes. Depending on the season, you can choose from wonderful savory fillings such as pumpkin, spinach, potato, or a vibrant vegetable mix!
We will then head to Oloy market - a centrally located farmer's market. We will try Uzbek round bread staffed with traditional Korean salads popular among local school students during lunchtime.
We will end the tour at a local restaurant (not far from the National Library) that dared to adapt local dishes into veganized ones. And yes, we will try the oxymoron of Central Asian cuisine: vegan beshbarmak, a traditionally Kazakh meaty dish turned into a plant-based wonder.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Send us the name and address of your hotel and we'll meet you at the lobby area at the agreed time.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(24)
Who knew there were so many vegan options around and under your nose in central Asia! Sayyid was profession, friendly, informative, and got us lovely food. My only complaint is that the minimum booking size is two people so it becomes quite expensive when booking for 1, might be nice to have a way for individuals to join in groups to ensure the minimum amount is met without doubling the per person cost. Either way I consider it worth the money I spent :)
We had a lovely morning! The tour brought us to different places and we tried some amazing local vegan foods that we would probably have missed out on without this tour.
This was a brilliant tour whether you are vegan, vegetarian or eat meat but want to try some very tasty food. My wife (vegan), 12-year old (vegetarian) and I spent about half a day touring markets, some local restaurants and bits of the city with Akmal. We learnt about the food, Uzbek culture, history and life living in Tashkent. It was fascinating, varied and accessible. This was our first full day in Tashkent and we gained lots of tips and ideas for our holiday. We would highly recommend it to others visiting the city
Even if you don't like mutton, you can still enjoy delicious local food with vegetarian meals. I think Uzbek people are very good at seasoning, not at the level of "well, you can eat it". It will fill you up, so please join us hungry.
The tour was amazing. It provided lots of insights into the variety of vegan food available in this otherwise meat-centric city, and along the way allowed us to discover markets and restaurants across Tashkent. Our guide Sayyid spoke poignantly about his own path to a cruelty-free lifestyle and the challenges of being vegan in Uzbekistan. It's a good idea to do the tour at the beginning of your stay if possible, to learn about places and dishes you can then continue to discover on your own. The tour is worth every penny, as it includes all transportation and an incredible amount of food. That's also why it's a good idea not to have breakfast beforehand!
Very nice tour with tasty things. I enjoyed walking through the bazaar and learning about the country's culture through food with the tour guide. It's a lot of food so go hungry
Excellent, personal, casually informal tour with good food. Akmal was friendly and knowledgeable. He adjusted to our interests and the conversation was much mote than set pieces recited to us.
This was the perfect introduction to Tashkent. We explored the city and tried amazing food. The rest of our time in Uzbekistan was much easier as we knew so much more about the vegetarian and vegan food available. Thank you!
We loved the tour! Akmal is a very knowledgeable, friendly and funny guide. Not only did we learn a lot about Uzbek vegan food, but also about the culture and the city. For us it was a great introduction to Uzbek food and the country. We would highly recommend this tour, no matter how much meat you normally eat.
I really recommend to book this Tour. Akmal is such a lovely guy and gives great insides on the uzbek (food) culture as well as many interesting facts about the City. We really appreciated every Single moment
