June 2025
Osh Pa Lao Bar Restaurant is a slice of Uzbekistan in a corner of Bnei Brak. But Uzbekistan never looked so good.

Osh Pa Lao Restaurant brings a modern version of an ancient culture to the table. This is a colorful restaurant with clean lines, dotted with charming Uzbeki touches. The menu is a mix of classic Bukharan dishes and the Israeli grill kitchen. The result is a young and fun atmosphere with great food and drinks and a nod to the Kavkaz.

Osh Pa Lao is about to celebrate its second year in its location in the Bnei Brak business district. As we took our seats with the early lunchers in the lovely sun-drenched front room with a full glass wall facing the street I wondered what took us so long to find this restaurant. We would not have found it at all, were it not for a chance meeting in one of the offices in the building.

The restaurant is tucked away at the far corner of a row of restaurants accessible through an outdoor courtyard. By day these restaurants service the offices in the buildings with table seating and take away lunches. Things liven up in the late afternoon/night at the bar and at the tables. On Tuesdays and Thursdays there is live toe-tapping Uzbek music from 8:30pm.

Owner Dean and his partner Alon opened Osh Pa Lao with many years of restaurant experience. You'll see it right away in the polished way this restaurant works. The foods are prepared at a large bustling open bar in the center of the inner room. The tables are in varying sizes, with especially long tables for groups. This is a colorful restaurant, with decorative plates with ethnic designs and gold-colored cutlery. The staff are all dressed in matching aprons with the restaurant logo. The staff is especially friendly and welcoming making me wonder what they put in that Oshpalo, after all.

Bukharan foods are characterized by slow cooked stews and savory and sweet filled pastries. Bukharan is Central Asian cuisine, with similarities to Afghan food, with elements from the Moroccan kitchen. Earthy foods and root vegetables like sweet potatoes and carrots, dominate. And of course, there is the rice.

Oshpalo, the restaurant's namesake, is Uzbekistan’s national dish. This is a rice "pilaf" that is slow-cooked with chunks of meat, thin slices of carrots, onion and chickpeas, punctuated by the unique flavors of the Kafkaz. The Jews of Bukhara, an ancient city in Uzbekistan, brought this cuisine with them to Israel, where we have all learned to appreciate it.

The day starts at Osh Pa Lao at 6am, when the cooking begins. A 30-kilo pot of meaty Oshpalo slow cooks over a low fire throughout the day. Another 2-3 kilo pot is put up without meat, for the vegetarian clients. A generous portion is spooned out to diners throughout the day.

The people at Osh Pa Lao don't like to see people at the table not eating, so before we started, they brought us a bowl of pickled olives, gherkins, and a wad of pickled cabbage, a nice introduction to the flavors of the Kavkaz.

The meal began with the traditional Bukharan Bickak, a large pastry triangle filled with a savory pumpkin and root vegetable mix, on a decorative plate. Bickak is a delicacy traditionally served on Rosh Hashana and Sukkot, available at Osh Pa Lao every day. Look out, this is not as innocent as it looks. As I cracked the pastry dough steam poured out of the filling. Both of us enjoyed the unique flavor.

We went on to enjoy a bowl of freshly cut Uzbek salad. The vegetables were coarsely cut, as opposed to the chopped Israeli style. This salad was heavy on the tomatoes and cucumbers, and was served with a pleasant dressing.

And then came the Oshpalo, of course. My companion chose the meat version and I went with the veggie dish. These main dishes were beautifully presented. Generous portions. Rice at the base topped with carrots and dotted with chickpeas topped with roasted peppers. It was a huge portion that could easily be shared, if you can agree on the version.

Filled pastries are a feature of the Central Asian kitchen. The Bukharan pastries are all handmade in house and are baked in the restaurant taboon oven. We were intrigued by the menu section entitled Bukharan taboon. Cheburski, fried pastry filled with ground meat, dill and onion. Mantu (5 pieces) steamed dumplings filled with beef, lamb fat, and onion.

They save the best for the last at Osh Pa Lao. We often skip dessert after a big meal like this. Skipping dessert at this restaurant would be a mistake, as the menu offers authentic, hand made, Uzbek sweets. A full platter with a selection of these sweets will run you 80 shekels.

We lingered over a pot of tea, beautifully served in bowls with Navot, Uzbek rock candy, and cubes of green pistachio halva from the dessert menu. This is a real treat, not to be missed.

Getting there:
Derech Sheshet Hayamim is a double lane artery running east-west through Bnei Brak. The service lane will bring you to the restaurant. There is parking all along the service lane but it is tight during working hours. After 5 pm when the offices close there is no shortage of parking.

Osh Pa Lao offers an economical business lunch from 12 noon to 4pm. There are two versions: traditional Uzbek menu or the Israeli grill menu. The eLuna discount coupon is valid throughout the day for the main menu, and does not apply to the business lunch.

From the Menu: Oshpalo with meat/vegetarian NIS 65/NIS 50 Bickak NIS 19 Cheburski 3 pc NIS 64 Mantu NIS 70 Uzbeki salad NIS 42 Meat platter for 2 NIS 200 Spring chicken skewers NIS 42 Grilled goose liver skewers NIS 128