Every student wants to have a good time. Every visitor seeks to find some friends. There are many ways to satisfy these demands but there is an old, classic, and foolproof method – going to bars.
The problem is that some of the best bars in Almaty are hidden. So the KIMEP Voice selected five pubs in Almaty that locals visit and tourists miss.
While this story was written for people new to Almaty, it very well could be a revelation for locals.
Svetloe budushee – The Bright Future
Address: Tole-Bi str. 72
Clientele: Students, young people
Best food: Chebureki, 890 tenge
Best drink: Local beer, 1090 tenge
One of the nearest places to KIMEP University is Svetloe budushee, a place with cheap and loud live music on weekends. It definitely has a Soviet aesthetic with a big red flag and furniture that is usually found at one’s grandparents’ house.
The food, such as chebureki, a meat-filled pastry and marine blue macarons – Macaroni po flotski offers that Kazakh comfort. The bar offers live music on weekends.
The owners always feature a local beer but alternate it with other types so a returning customer will always have a new choice.
The average bill is around 2500 tenge.
“I like the atmosphere because it is very Soviet, the food is pretty delicious and the price is affordable,” said Oinatz Mintegi Alvarez, a master’s student from Spain.
Red Beer Bar
Address: Tole-Bi str. 45
Clientele: Wide variety
Best food: Cheeseburger
Best drink: Vodka with blackberries
Red Beer is an absolute center to members of the local creative community, namely designers, musicians, photographers and artists.
It is a great launching pad for the night’s worth of adventures and includes a wide assortment of people. A billiard table in the middle of the bar helps people build new connections one game at a time. This place is more expensive than other places, the minimum price for a beer here starts from 2500.
The average bill here is 4000 tenge.
101 Dump Gallery
Address: Panfilov str. 101
Clientele: Young people
Best food: Sandwich
Best drink: Vodka with Red Bull
This gallery is placed in the basement of two residential towers – and is one of the unofficial sights of the city. They have a showroom, a bar, a vinyl record player and shelves filled with books.
This is a place for long sensible conversations in a small group of friends. Just pick your favorite records, ask a bartender for a cigarette (yes, they give cigarettes for free), order your favorite wine and the night is already great.
The average bill here is 3000 tenge.
Kooperativ Lyubov – Love Corporate
Address: Zhibek Zholy ave. 50, bloc A
Clientele: Young people
Best food: Pizza
Best drink: Nastoika
It is hidden. Visitors have to type a code – 1789, the year of storming of the Bastille to be able to enter the bar.
This place is famous for their so-called nalivki– hard drinks made from different liquids and cost no more than 1200 tenge. It has a vibe of an old European Castle with all of these portraits and wooden furniture. And they have chess.
“It is a perfect combination of all my vices and virtues,” said Aqeel Gill, an international student from Pakistan. “Beer flows like poetry and food. The vibe is a warm hug from your favorite bad decision. It is where you come for the drink, stay for the food, and return for the life-changing epiphanies you will forget by morning.”
Barbolsyn
Address: Valikhanov str. 47
Clientele: Young people, almost teenagers
Best drink: Almageddon
In Kazakh language barbolsyn literally means “let it be a bar.” And this bar is very Kazakh, they even have beer with qumis – a traditional drink made from horse milk.
This place is very popular among Almaty’s leftist youth. The Kazakh reflections of this bar mean that it often serves as a place to conduct different cultural and art events, such as literature readings and lectures. It is an important place to meet local people and understand their practices.
The average bill here is 3500 tenge.
“The dimmed lighting and calm atmosphere makes the bar perfect for conversations, which is what makes a great bar,” said Tekla Solberg, an exchange student during the spring 2024 semester from Norway.