People expect Ulaanbaatar to be a city of boiled mutton. It is partly that, and we are fond of the boiled mutton, but it is also a city where a Japanese baker has a lunchtime queue, an Indian kitchen has been open since 1997, and a vegan restaurant founded by a pop singer is one of the most reviewed places in town. This is where we actually eat, on a Tuesday and with guests. Twelve places, grouped by what they do best, with what to order.
A few things about eating here
Lunch is the big meal for most Mongolians, and many kitchens are at their best between noon and two. Meat is the point of the cuisine, mutton and beef above all, with horse as a delicacy in winter. Vegetables have improved enormously thanks to greenhouse farms outside the city, and every place on this list can feed a vegetarian if told in advance. Dishes you will see everywhere: buuz (steamed dumplings), khuushuur (fried meat pastries), tsuivan (stir-fried hand-cut noodles), khorkhog (meat cooked with hot stones in a sealed pot) and suutei tsai, the salted milk tea that arrives before you order.
Mongolian
Modern Nomads
The chain that taught the city how to serve its own food to visitors, open since 2003 with several branches. We use the downtown ones near Sukhbaatar Square. English menu, staff used to questions, honest food: order the khuushuur, a plate of buuz, and the lamb noodle soup if it is cold. If a group wants khorkhog without driving to the countryside, this is where we bring them.
Mongolian's Restaurant, Shangri-La Mall
On the fourth floor of the Shangri-La Centre on Olympic Street, open since 2008, decorated like a museum of nomadic life with a terrace in summer and gers to eat in during winter. It is the place we take guests who want the full range: beef brisket tsuivan, khuushuur, a steamed sheep's head for the brave, and sweet and spicy horse meat for the braver. Private rooms for anything from two people to a wedding.
Great Mongol Restaurant and Pub
A large beer hall in the centre, open since 2011, that looks German and eats Mongolian. Come at dinner time for local families, office parties and a band on some nights. Order the round fried khuushuur and the local draught. Nobody comes for refinement; everybody comes for a good night.
Modern Mongolian
Khara Khorum at the Kempinski Hotel Khan Palace
Named after the old imperial capital and set on the ground floor of the Kempinski in Bayanzurkh, this is the polished version of the national kitchen: tsuivan and steamed dumplings plated properly, a good wine list, and a khuushuur the hotel treats as its signature. We book it for a welcome dinner when guests want to taste Mongolia without the beer hall noise.
Steak and grill
Bluefin The Steakhouse
In the Bayasakh building on Namyanju Street in Bayanzurkh, a big room with private booths, which is how Mongolians like to celebrate. Mongolian beef is grass-fed and lean, and Bluefin knows how to cook it. Order the lamb chops, which regulars return for, or a ribeye, and let the staff steer you on the cut of the day.
Choijin Temple Restaurant
On Olympic Street at the east gate of the Choijin Lama Temple Museum, five minutes from the square, with an interior of handmade artwork that borrows from the temple next door. The kitchen is Mediterranean with local produce and Italian wine. Order the bone marrow risotto and a steak; the salads are the best in the city for anyone who has spent a week on mutton. This is our default for a farewell dinner.
Italian and Asian
DeQuattro's by Rosewood
Chef Cliffe Arrand's Rosewood Kitchen was the reference Italian kitchen here for over a decade and is currently on an extended break; his DeQuattro's in the Tumen Center carries the torch. Homemade pasta, thin-crust pizza, ciabatta baked that morning. Order the vodka pasta or the chicken Milanese, and the garlic bread whatever else you choose. Dinner runs Monday to Saturday.
Hazara
The first Indian restaurant in the country, open since 1997 in Bayanzurkh behind the Wrestling Palace, with tables set into tented nooks and a balcony running round the room. The cooking is Mughlai: gentle spice, cream, dried fruit. Order the tandoori chicken, a naan basket, and a vegetable curry for the table. We send guests here on a first night when they want something warm and familiar.
The Bull Hot Pot
A local chain with several branches, including one on Seoul Street. Nine broths, thin-sliced beef, mutton and horse, plates of vegetables, and a pot bubbling between you. It is the meal our drivers ask for after a long trip. Order spicy and plain broth in a split pot, plenty of greens, and noodles to finish.
Sakura Bakery
Three minutes from the State Department Store, run by a Japanese chef and his Mongolian wife. There is a queue at lunchtime and you should not linger once you have eaten; the people waiting will let you know. Order the katsu curry or the udon, and take a slice of the fluffy Japanese cheesecake away with you.
Cafes
Millie's Cafe
On the west side of the Choijin Lama Temple Museum, facing the square, and an institution among people who have lived here for a long time. It is where we meet visiting partners for breakfast: eggs, hash browns, proper coffee, and Cuban dishes that are a surprise the first time. Order the breakfast plate, or a Cuban sandwich at lunch, and the tres leches cake. Closed early on Sundays.
UBean Coffeehouse and Roasterie
On the second floor of the Mongol Namyangju Cultural Center in Bayanzurkh, across from the Night Market. It grew out of a community centre, roasts on site, and is full of students and people on laptops. Order a pour-over of whatever they roasted this week.
Vegetarian and vegan friendly
Luna Blanca
On Tourist Street in Chingeltei, close to the Fine Arts Museum, founded in 2008 by the singer Nominjin and run by a team of women. Everything is vegan, most of it is made in-house, and it is alcohol and smoke free with a children's menu. Order the vegan buuz and the mock-meat khuushuur, which convert sceptics, and whatever soup is on. Guests who eat no meat tend to make it their second home.
How we use these on a journey
- First night: Hazara or Modern Nomads, depending on whether you want comfort or the country straight away.
- Welcome dinner with a group: Khara Khorum or Mongolian's, both take private bookings.
- Before a morning flight south: The Bull, early, then bed.
- The day you come back from the countryside: Choijin Temple for the salads and a steak, or DeQuattro's if you have been dreaming of pasta.
- Last breakfast: Millie's, then the airport.
Talk to us
Tell us what you like to eat and what you cannot, and we will book the tables, order ahead where it helps, and warn you which places need a car. We reply within four hours in office time, and we design the rest of the journey around you.
