Have you tried Uzbek food before?
Uzbekistan is on our list of travel destinations for the near future. The architecture, history and food looks insane! (p.s. very intrigued by the popular horse meat!). Thankfully, a city like London is home to restaurants from all around the world. It’s very difficult to think of a cuisine that you can’t find in the English capital. There are a couple of spots that we can think of that do Uzbek food and here we tried out one of them: Uzbek Corner in the Queensway Market.
The decor
You’ll find this inside the Queensway Market, which is a unique market (like a random flea market for mobiles) that has one particular creepy part (palm readers/fortune tellers – do not visit!), but has some hidden gems in there too. From them is this. The decor of the place charming and rusting. The tables are set up in rows and there’s some authentic wall decorations, but most importantly the menu also has some authentic Uzbek offerings. We ordered quite possibly the two most popular and famous of them: Plov and Somsa.
Plov
Plov is Uzbekistan’s answer to the meat Pilao or Afghan pilao or China’s polo. Rice cooked in seasoned broth with slow cooked meat and carrots and raisins. I’m usually not a carrot and raisin fan especially with rice, but it was pretty good here. What made this dish tasty and unique was the roasted garlic served alongside. Soft and flavoursome, when added to the meat and rice it really brought the dish to life and took it up a couple of levels.
Somsa
Somsa is Uzbekistan’s answer to the samosa. Puff pastry filled with meat and onions. This has the potential to be too meaty, but thankfully here it wasn’t. It was cooked to perfection and along with their secret sauce this was also tasty. It’s quite filling this one, so order accordingly.
There was one gentleman serving and cooking by himself on the day we went, so there was some delay in the food coming out, but he apologised numerous times and he did say there’s usually a couple of them there. A very nice man who was very welcoming and had this constant warm smile. These little things make all the difference!
And no, they don’t do the infamous horse meat here. Even though it’s not illegal in the UK, it’s very rarely even available.
So, which would you try? The Plov or Somsa?
Getting there:
Parking: Q-Park Queensway (just be wary of parking there, this doesn’t have the best of reputations – check Google Reviews)
Nearest Mosque: Queensway Market Mosque
Nearest station: Queensway
