I’ve visited Ethno for several years in a row now, while guiding groups on photo tours, or privately with my partner and / or friends as dine in or takeaway order. The outdoor terrace and setting is so relaxing, I love the atmosphere. Overall, my impression has always been good, but as with every restaurant in Kyrgyzstan, this place is no exception when it comes to the staff’s general chaos.
The food is excellent and comes at what is comparable to but a little lower than average European prices. They’ve got an English menu, serve tasty drinks (with plastic straws, always) and delicious soups. Plenty of vegetarian dishes available, although the menu is unfortunately very meat-heavy. I can highly recommend the fried aubergine salad of which you can find a picture attached.
The staff, as mentioned before, is generally chaotic and brings dishes in an order that is less logical than building a ski resort in Dubai. My partner and I joke around the fact that in Kyrgyzstan, time works differently (10 minutes can mean 1 hour), and this restaurant is a great example of that.
However, if you have a local guide who can pre-arrange a group meal, like with our guided groups, the service of this restaurant is great and everything arrives on time. That kind of priority is just not felt when visiting as a foreigner, whether you’re alone or with friends.
Some small details explaining added costs:
- a 15% service fee is added to the total price
- a small fee is added to your bill when someone is singing / making music on the podium, whether you like it or not
- when ordering takeaway, a small fee is added for the plastic trays in which the food is put
Lastly, the men’s bathroom has been incredibly smelly every time I’ve visited, so I’m hereby urging the owners of this place to do something about the cleanliness there. It’s horrible!
When in Osh, I’ll surely visit Ethno again, as it remains to be one of the nicest restaurants in the city.
The service was horrible. Half an hour after we ordered, the waitress realised that they went out of the dish I wanted to order. 30 minutes later me friend's food came, 20 later my dish. The taste wasn't good at all. They used sauces from the supermarket and the portions were very small. That's why we also got shashlik, that I literally got a food poisoning from. I got very sick. I never come back again
