Where should I eat in Bukhara, and which local food or drink is worth trying?

Osh-i-Sofi has a local cooking tradition in which components can be prepared separately. Samsa is often baked in a tandyr; non bread and chaikhana tea culture are integral to the food experience.

Bukhara-style plov is often called Osh-i-Sofi and can involve separately prepared rice, meat, carrots, raisins and spices before assembly. Samsa is baked in a tandyr with meat, pumpkin or other fillings. Shashlik is grilled skewered meat; lagman consists of noodles served in soup or stir-fried forms. Traditional non bread is stamped and baked against a clay oven wall. A chaikhana is a teahouse serving drinks and meals in a social setting, particularly around the historic center. Uzbek tourism distinguishes Bukhara's pilaf from regional versions in Samarkand or Tashkent.

Rice simmers in a kazan while bread is baked in a hot clay oven and tea is served in bowls.

Plov is a family of regional preparations, not a national recipe with identical ingredients everywhere.

• 1. Buy non or samsa from a working bakery.
• 2. Try Bukhara-style plov for lunch.
• 3. Spend time in a traditional chaikhana.

Rice dishes can contain animal fat and meat stock; popular special batches may sell out before late evening.

Continue with in the Bukhara / Uzbekistan group for the related question.