Almaty - Post Report Question and Answers
What typical restaurants, food delivery services, and/or takeout options are popular among expatriates?
There are many Asian food restaurants especially Korean, Chinese, some sushi places, a couple of Indian and Thai places, lots of Turkish, Georgian and Uzbek cuisine places, lots and lots of nice cafes and breakfast places, all at least as cheap as eating out in the US. Many take outs and deliveries, Wolt, Glovo. Grocery deliveries are popular too. - Sep 2023
Tons of fast food restaurants are available: Burger King, KFC, Hardees, and McDonald's is coming soon. There is even a Hard Rock Cafe. There are also European fast food restaurants like Carlson and Paul. There are a few quality restaurants, but eating out is expensive. Costs are comparable to D.C. but variety and quality are not. - Aug 2015
Burger king, pizza hut, hardee's. There are A LOT of good restaurants. They can be pricey. I would say they range from US$25-$50 an entree. - Jul 2013
Western fast food has just come to Almaty - we have Burger King and Hardees. It's expensive ($15 a meal) and strictly a treat. There are lots of local places for shashleek, doner and samsa on every corner. Most expats get sick of this really fast. - Feb 2013
The only western chains in Kazakhstan are KFC, Pizza Hut, and Hardees. There's also one Cinnabon at the largest mall in town. Street food here is mostly meat pies (samsa) or turkish donor kebabs. Going out is quite expensive: it's difficult to have a beer and dinner for less than $30. That said, there are some gems. Korean restaurants are quite good. There's also good Georgian, Uzbek, Indian, and Italian. There's a Thai restaurant that I think is the most expensive restaurant in the city. There are a ton of sushi places, but the quality varies dramatically. - May 2012
No American fast food, though there is a local company affiliated with KFC here and also a Pizza Hut. Both seem a little more expensive than in the U.S. Generally restaurants are expensive. Fresh juice will easily cost $8-10 at a normal restaurant, but the national dish of kebabs (shashlyk) is relatively affordable. Typical cost of a dinner would be around $30-40 including a glass of wine or a beer for one person. Food is difficult for vegetarians, but there there are a couple of Indian restaurants, including one that is run by Hare Krishnas (pure vegetarian, and no alcohol). - Mar 2010
There is no fast food ( that teenagers would consider fast food). There are many restaurants in Almaty, they're all VERY expensive and not worth the cost. A dinner for 2 with a beer for each diner can cost US$70-80. We just don't go out, and have learned that it's much less frustrating avoiding the meals-out thing. - Mar 2008
