
Tasty Osh
Osh is the real gastronomic capital of Kyrgyzstan. Here, at the first sound of the morning call to prayer, entire neighbourhoods come alive with a variety of street food. Large tandoor ovens are fired up to a red heat to bake fluffy, crispy flatbread, generously covered with cumin.
Starting in the early morning, you can visit local cafes to taste fresh, thick rice soup called “mastava,” spiced with rings of fire chili. It pairs perfectly with ayran, a cool and tangy yogurt drink popular throughout the Middle East and Central Asia. If you want something simpler, then order an fragrant shorpo soup with crispy grains of black pepper.
For lunch, the famous Osh samsa is a must-try! While samsa is a very popular dish all over the region, only in Osh can you find the most authentic tandoor samsas in such delicious variety. Make sure to also sample savory kebabs, which are a favorite of both visitors and locals, especially Osh’s popular minced meat lula kebabs.
For those who are a little tired of meat dishes, we suggest enjoying a taste of the most famous steamed mini-manti, little dumplings filled with mashed potatoes and chickpeas, seasoned with mouthwatering chunks of tail fat. For dessert, please don’t forget to try the local varieties of halwa, a light and nutty traditional treat!
Osh is a never-ending feast of flavours. If you like a dish, thank the chef and be sure to ask for his name. In Osh, in search of the best kebab, samsa or pilau, the focus is always on the cook.
Locations of the Tour
- Shashlik!Shashlik! This delicious dish, beloved all over Central Asia, is an Osh specialty for good reason. Almost every cafe offers many kinds of shashlik. There are lamb ribs, pieces of lamb with tail fat, lamb liver, tender pieces of beef, seasoned chicken, and several kinds of lula kebab.
- Pamil TeaIf you want to enjoy a cup of properly brewed fragrant green tea, Osh is the place to do it! Here, even in the height of summer, the locals sip hot green tea in the shade of plane-trees, sitting on a traditional tapchan.
- Navai-Nan: Delicious Flatbreads of the SouthNowhere else in Kyrgyzstan is there such a variety of tandoor flatbreads as in Osh! In almost every quarter there is a tandoor stand, where mouth-watering hot flatbreads are sold from daybreak onward. To prepare them, the master bakers get up as early as 3:00 in the morning, kindle the tandoor, and knead the dough. The smell of freshly baked flatbreads wafts over the city blocks as a signal that morning has come.
- The smallest mantiMaida manti is the most popular vegetarian dish in Osh cuisine. In the past, they were called “Chychkan-manti” (or “mouse-manti”) because of their small size. Another common name was “eki tyiyn manti,” a reference to their Soviet-era price of 2 kopecks apiece. Today, of all the names, only “maida manti” remains.
- Original Samsa is in Osh!Together with pilau, samsa is one of the five culinary staples of Osh. It is difficult to imagine Osh cuisine without it. Unlike the samsa common in South and Southeast Asia, Osh samsa is much bigger, fuller and tastier!
- Osh PilauPilau, or “ash” in Kyrgyz, is Osh’s signature dish! It’s probably no coincidence that the name of the city and of its most famous food sound so similar. In Osh, they cook a classic variant of pilau, which differs from those found in Tashkent or Samarkand. There are similarities with the variations of pilau in Andijan and Margilan in Uzbekistan and Uzgen in Kyrgyzstan.

Other Locations
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Artisans Quarter
Artisans Quarter is one of the favorite urban subjects of Osh painters. After Suleiman Mountain, it is the most recognizable location portrayed by local landscape…
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Original Samsa is in Osh!
Together with pilau, samsa is one of the five culinary staples of Osh. It is difficult to imagine Osh cuisine without it. Unlike the samsa…
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Asaf Ibn Burhia
Asaf ibn Burhia Mausoleum is located on the southeastern slope of Suleiman Mountain, and was built in the 18th century in the traditions of the…
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“Zero Milestone”: At the foot of Suleiman Mountain
The square at the foot of Suleiman Mountain’s north face has not always been the open and lively place it is today. Until the 1970s,…
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Blacksmiths’ Row
The blacksmiths’ row is situated on the bank of the Ak-Buura, in the most colourful part of the old bazaar, as it has been for…
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Osh Pilau
Pilau, or “ash” in Kyrgyz, is Osh’s signature dish! It’s probably no coincidence that the name of the city and of its most famous food…
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Teshik-Tash
Teshik-Tash is one of the oldest and most colorful passageways to the bazaar, dating back to ancient times. Long ago, it was the most common…
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The road to the Pamirs starts in Osh!
The Pamir Highway begins in Osh! The Pamir Highway, one of the highest mountain routes in the world, is an extraordinary landmark and starts right…