A couple of weeks ago, my friends from UzVegTours, Akmal and Sayid, discovered a newly opened plant-based café in Samarkand — the historic Uzbek city that UNESCO describes as a crossroads of world cultures and one of the great cities of the ancient Silk Road.
SamarKind, as it is called, is currently one of only two plant-based cafés in Uzbekistan. An unexpected (but very welcome, indeed) addition to the local food scene! I was intrigued: who was behind this place, and how did the idea of opening a plant-based café come about in a society where meat is such a central part of the food culture?
So I decided to find out. I spoke with Angelica and Luisa, two friends from London who, after decades of friendship, sold up and left the UK to travel the world — eventually finding themselves drawn back to Samarkand. This is the story of how their journey through Central Asia turned into an entirely new chapter of their lives, and how Samarkind Cafe came to be.
Aliya Wedelich, Veganstan News
Veganstan: Could you tell me a bit about yourselves — where you’re from, what you did before, and what brought you to Samarkand?
SamarKind: We are Angelica and Luisa, two English women from London and best friends for 40 years. Angelica ran a vegan food business in London, and Luisa was a fashion and applied arts tutor at a London college.
Two years ago, we sold up and left London to go travelling and see the world, as it’s something we haven’t had much chance to do. We travelled across Southeast Asia, Japan, Central and Eastern Europe, Turkey and Georgia. Our travels took us through Uzbekistan in August 2025.
We were blown away by the beauty of the ancient Silk Road cities, such as Samarkand, but found the vegan and vegetarian food options very limited and boring. At the same time, we were very impressed and inspired by the variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices in the bazaars. At this point, living here and opening a cafe hadn’t even entered our minds, and we carried on our travels to Nepal, Sri Lanka and India.
By this point, our funds were getting low, but we weren’t ready to return to London. We wanted to explore other options and opportunities, and our minds kept coming back to Samarkand.
Veganstan: Why a vegan & vegetarian cafe, and why here?
SamarKind: We came to the conclusion that if we were looking for vegan and vegetarian options, there was a good chance other travellers were too. Also, as lovers of coffee and people who spend a lot of our time in coffee shops, we knew that coffee had to be part of it too.
We knew the cafe had to be in that location. It’s strange to explain now, but a number of serendipitous events seemed to be pushing us towards this outcome. For instance, even our premises seemed to appear out of nowhere, in the perfect spot, on the perfect street, in an area where very little is ever available.
Vegan and vegetarian was the only option. We have both been vegetarian for 40 years and vegan for 15 of those years. Meat would never have been an option. We have both had the privilege of travelling around so many countries with a wealth of vegan and vegetarian options; it’s something we feel we understand and instinctively felt others would want too.
Our menu is 90% vegan, with a couple of vegetarian options to make it more inclusive to omnivores who want options without meat.
Veganstan: How has it been going so far?
SamarKind: We were quietly confident but humble enough to know that opening an alien concept in a completely new country and culture could be extremely risky. We were taking a gamble, but we’re pleased to say that it has exceeded our expectations, and we have been blown away by the lovely feedback, reviews and customer support.
Veganstan: How has the local community received the cafe? Have you seen interest from locals, or mainly tourists?
SamarKind: 99% of our customers are tourists from all over the world. We have a couple of locals who come in occasionally for coffee and cake, but on the whole, our menu, which is inspired by dishes from around the world, is very different from local cuisine. It’s always lovely when a local comes in to chat with us and try something new.
As veganism is an alien concept in Uzbekistan, we have the impression that many locals thought our idea was mad until they’ve seen how busy we are each day. We hope that this will encourage them to reflect on their own menus and perhaps introduce more vegan options going forward.
Veganstan: What are your hopes for the cafe’s future, and for the plant-based scene in Uzbekistan?
SamarKind: Through our cafe, we have come into contact with fellow vegans such as UzVegTours, who are on the cusp of an emerging and exciting new scene, raising awareness around animal welfare and veganism in general.
But it’s early days, and we hope Samarkind Cafe will play a part in proving that vegan food can be healthy, delicious and doesn’t need to be a collection of side dishes. It’s not just about the absence of meat, but about creating dishes that are balanced and satisfying in their own right.
