Белое солнце пустыни

The "White Sun of the Desert" restaurant is located on Neglinnaya Street in Moscow, in a building with a history dating back to the late 19th century. It has housed a tavern, a French cafe, an officers' mess hall, and since 1951, the "Uzbekistan" restaurant. In 1997, restaurateur Arkady Novikov opened this conceptual restaurant, drawing inspiration from the eponymous film by Vladimir Motyl. The interior features stills from the movie, character dolls, and autographs of the director. The dining rooms feature decorative canals with sturgeon, and in the summer, there is a veranda and a courtyard shared with the "Uzbekistan" restaurant.

The menu offers dishes from Uzbek, Arabic, Azerbaijani, and Pan-Asian cuisines. Kebabs are grilled over charcoal and served on a "tagan," flatbreads are baked in a clay oven (tandyr), noodles are made by hand, and pilaf is prepared using special varieties of rice with traditional proportions. A prominent feature of the menu is the "dastarkhan" – a traditional Eastern table laden with appetizers, jams, pickles, and pastries. The head chef is Pavel Panteleev, who has worked at the restaurant for many years and previously managed the kitchen of the "Caucasian Captive" restaurant.