Tandyr

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Family Table Rooted in the Caucasus and Middle East

Tandyr sits in the quiet settlement of Kozyn, just outside Kyiv, and makes a clear case for why the drive is worth it. The restaurant describes itself as a place of "sincere hospitality where tradition meets the unmistakable flavours of the Caucasus and the Middle East" — and the kitchen backs that up with specifics rather than generalities.

Chef Jahangir Pulatov is the central figure here. After years of practice and hundreds of thousands of shoti loaves baked in a wood-fired tandyr, he built a menu around hand-made dough, house-blended spices, and open-fire cooking. The Caucasian and Middle Eastern kitchen he runs is anchored in technique: fluffy pita, yantyky, khinkali, manty, khachapuri, and varenyky are all shaped by hand. Mezze plates, hummus, dolma, and an olive mix fill the table before skewers, kebabs, and whole cuts arrive from the coals.

Weekend Dishes Worth Planning Around

Three dishes rotate through the weekly calendar and have become fixtures for regulars. On Friday evenings, a whole lamb is slow-roasted in the tandyr. Saturday brings lagman — noodles pulled by hand and cooked over an open flame, with the pot opened at 14:00. On Sundays, chef Pulatov prepares Marghilan plov: devzira rice with lamb ribs, chickpeas, dried grapes, and apples, cooked outdoors over fire — a recipe he traces directly to the Fergana Valley city of Marghilan.

The Wine List and the Drinks Table

The curated wine collection earned the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2023, recognition that reflects a serious approach to pairing within a menu built on bold, aromatic flavours. Beyond wine, the drinks list extends to a global vodka collection, arak, ouzo, brandy, calvados, and a Bloody Mary bar — an unusually broad range for a restaurant of this scale.

Space for Every Occasion

The property offers several distinct spaces: a stone hall for up to 150 guests with a wood-burning fireplace, a terrace for up to 100, a wine hall and grill hall each for up to 30, and private veranda rooms for smaller gatherings. A landscaped courtyard with a fountain serves as an outdoor ceremony location for weddings. For families, there is a dedicated children's room with weekend cooking classes, an outdoor playground, a children's menu, and a separate mother-and-infant room — making this one of the more genuinely child-ready restaurants in the Kyiv area.

The Caucasian and Middle Eastern cooking at Tandyr is the kind that rewards a longer table and a slower afternoon — dishes built from real process, in a space designed to hold a crowd or a family in equal comfort.