House of Tatar Cuisine

Cityscape magnets, plates and mugs – that’s not really about Kazan. The best keepsakes to take home from Kazan are chak-chak, kyzylyk (kazy) and argamak: smoked delicacies and sweets can be easily transported over long distances, whereas peremyach, echpochmak, elesh and gubadia cannot, so better enjoy them while you are still there.

Location: 31/12 Baumana Street, Kazan

Average bill: PPPP

Cuisine: Tartarian

Tel: [phone]

Open: 11am — 11 pm daily

To be in Kazan and fail to partake of the local food is a grievous offence, above all, against your own self. The best place to start exploring Tatar gastronomy is the House of Tatar Cuisine. Located in the very heart of the city in a pedestrian area on Baumana Street, it is a place that you simply can't miss.     

For more than half a century, the establishment has treated its guests to the most exquisite food. Back in Soviet era, head chef Yunus Akhmetzyanov singlehandedly invented contemporary Tatar cuisine. Here, you will be offered horse (kazy) or lamb (tutyrma) sausage, bridegroom's dumplings (kiyau pilmene), Tatar shulpu broth and lamb manti, as well as delicious ethnic pastries and desserts.

For the main course, chefs recommend that football fans try kyzdyrma. This is a traditional Tatar hotpot made with different meats. In the House of Tatar Cuisine, they serve veal kyzdyrma.

The snack menu boasts a rich assortment of pastries. Try Kystybai, for example, an unleavened flatbread stuffed with delicate mashed potatoes. Or delve into the world of pies: there is peremyach, a fried meat pastry, an echpochmak, a small pie filled with meat and potatoes, or elesh, a chicken pie that closely resembles the Russian kurnik.

For dessert, try gubadia, a layered pie with fried cottage cheese, eggs, rice and raisins.