Popular Venetsia sits beside the little Malaya Almatinka River and its outdoor terrace is a great place to eat on a summer evening. There's a huge choice of Central Asian and Caucasian dishes, including Kazakh beshbarmak (flat noodles with meat cooked in a vegetable broth which is eaten separately), and the many varieties of shashlyk are among the best choices.
For accompaniment order the zakuska kavkazskaya, a huge plate of fresh greens. There is typically live music in the evenings.