My mouth is watering writing this and looking at the pics – Linebrew, Astana, Kazakhstan

Before going to Kazakhstan recently, I knew very little about the country and even less about the food. I had never had Kazakh food before. During my time there, I was blown away. The country is wonderful and totally undiscovered. The cities have an Asian and European feel to them. They are extremely safe, with ladies leaving their purses unattended when they leave the table. They have a lot of natural beauty. Then there’s the food. The food is delicious. Its a blend of some Asian influence, and some nomadic influence. This post is about a steakhouse we went to called Linebrew. I believe there are multiple locations around the country, but the particular one I went to is located inside the Veil hotel, which is itself a sight to be seen. This video cannot capture the splendor of the structure:

Upon walking into the restaurant, I knew I was in for a good meal. The proudly display their meats in an aging room.

If that wasn’t enough, next to the aging room, there was the grill with kebabs being cooked to perfection:

We started the meal with the grilled halloumi, how could this be anything but good?

Then some bone marrow:

For mains, we had the ribeye, and aged Kazakh beef. The ribeye was good, but the Kazakh beef was Phenomenal. The aging was perfectly done, and I could taste pure umami. One of the three most memorable aged steaks for me ever.

Some corn and mashed potato sides:

Next, the horse kebabs. I had tried horse in a Japanese restaurant in Canada once, but in Kazakhstan, its almost a staple. These were so good. Prepared just like I remember in Turkey with the meat dripping its juices over flatbread. Perfect charcoal taste 10/10.

After our meal, we had tea. Tea is on a next level in the country. They use REAL fruit and other herbs etc to make their teas. I had it with every meal almost.

Then there are the pastries. The pastries in Kazakhstan are on the same level as a great French pastry chef. The flavors are delicate and they don’t use excess sugar to carry the dessert like in North America.

Lastly, I am going to let you in on a little surprise. Kazakhstan also has some of the best chocolate I’ve ever had. I tried it for the first time at Linebrew and immediately went to the factory the next day to buy as much as would fit in my luggage.

I am going to be posting more about this amazing country in the next few days and will be launching tours there soon. Stay tuned. As for Linebrew, good service and amazing food. I would go back and suggest you go too.