Uzbek food in Pittsburgh is having a moment, thanks to recent Central Asian arrivals to the ‘Burgh. The reasons for a spike in Uzbek immigration are multifaceted, but a wave of new Uzbek neighbors means more opportunities for delicious food. Many came to Pittsburgh to work as truck or rideshare drivers, meaning there’s a demand for restaurants with late hours, big portions, and a casual setup. However, there are now enough Uzbek joints for anyone’s taste, whether you’re looking for upscale or casual.
Pittsburgh’s Uzbek Food Scene is Flourishing. Try These 5 Restaurants to Learn More About Central Asian Cuisine.
Kavsar
16 Southern Avenue
Kavsar is Pittsburgh’s first Uzbek restaurant, open since 2014. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, they closed their dining room and became a takeout-only business. But you can now once again dine in at Kavsar and enjoy their cheese bread, borscht, lagman handmade noodles, and manti dumplings. Their interior space is charmingly Silk Road-inspired and it’s an enjoyable night-out spot. The food stands well enough on its own that it maintained takeout-only status for almost five years.
Chaykhana
410 South Main Street
Not far from Kavsar, Chaykhana on the West End has become one of Pittsburgh’s best known Uzbek restaurants. Their menu is casual but creative, embracing the spectrum of Turkish, Chinese, and Arab influences on Uzbek cuisine with dishes like doner, labneh, and dumplings. Its name, Chaykhana, refers to a tea house, and there are pots of tea available to pair with the food. Chaykhana was such a success that owner Sarvar Abdurashidov later opened another restaurant, Piyola.
Piyola
663 Washington Rd
The newest addition to Pittsburgh’s Uzbek food scene takes a more elevated approach, sprinkling in influences from Abdurashidov’s time working in Italian restaurants. While Chaykhana’s main clientele was the Uzbek community, with Piyola owner Sarvar Abdurashidov hopes to share Central Asian cuisine with everyone. Abdurashidov comes from a family of Uzbek restauranteurs, and the business comes naturally!
House of Shish Kebab
1926 Spring Garden Avenue
House of Shish Kebab took a proverbial leaf out of the book on Google-based marketing strategy: their domain name is simply uzbekfood.net. It’s fitting for a no frills-type restaurant like this one, open from 11AM-11PM and serving up steaming platters of plov and somsa for all who come through their doors.
Pizza Bari
955 Liberty Avenue
You may think “Uzbek food in a pizza shop?” but rest assured, Pizza Bari is not just pizza. It’s something of an open secret that despite having pizza in the name, Pizza Bari has plov, kebabs, and manti on the menu. (There is also pizza, for the record). Make sure you bring a friend, though, because the portions are huge.
Story by Emma Riva
Photo courtesy of Piyola
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