Samarkand Grill

It goes without saying that there aren’t many options for trying food from Uzbekistan in Orange County – until recently, that required either a drive up to Los Angeles or a flight to the former Russian republic, located in central Asia next to Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, and three other countries. Thankfully, Tustin’s Samarkand Grill opened in 2023, sparing those interested in exploring Uzbek food the need to travel, while paralleling (but not duplicating) some of the menu from Dolan’s Uyghur Cuisine in Irvine.

Highlights include Samarkan’s pastry-style Samsa – an oversized, bun-like version of what Indians call samosas – and delicious grilled kebabs, including lamb, beef, and chicken. We also liked (but didn’t love) the steamed Manti dumplings, which appear all across Silk Road-influenced cuisines as regionally specific riffs (Korean mandu, Afghan mantu), and here with beef filling and a sour cream dip.