By John Redmond.
Named after the second largest city in Uzbekistan, Samarkand restaurant boasts a unique atmosphere it shares with its namesake.
The 2,750-year-old city is most noted for its central location on the Asian Silk Road between China and the West. In 2001, it was inscribed by UNESCO on the World Heritage List as Samarkand - Crossroads of Cultures.
The Samarkand restaurant is not nearly as old, in fact I first discovered the place five years ago, and seeing there is no ``since’’ date outside the entrance, judging by the decor, my guess is that its been around for at least a decade.
Located in Dongdaemun, the textile trading center of Seoul, Samarkand is clearly Uzbeki, though the diversity of its customers reflects a more international feel.
The interior at Samarkand is very simple and practical, resembling more a cafe than a restaurant, with small tables, prints on the wall and a TV at one end of the room playing Russian dramas, giving it a true sense of authenticity.
Seating 40 indoors and room for about eight outdoors, when crowded it tends to be a little noisy.
The clientele is usually mixture of Uzbeki fabric traders and Korean and American businessmen.
Though the menu is in Russian and Korean, an inability to speak or read Russian is not a problem. The menu has a photo of each dish. It’s a simple case of point and nod. If you speak Korean you’ll do much better as most Uzbeki’s speak better Korean than English.