Samovar Opens in Rockville

The new Russian and Central Asian restaurant Samovar opened Monday at Rockville Town Square.

Solijon Nasimov, the former owner of a famous tea house in Tajikstan’s capital Dushanbe, is the owner of the new restaurant that opened at 201 N. Washington St. His daughter, Ika Nasimova, told Bethesda Beat he sold the tea house after a Civil War tore the Asian country apart in the mid- and late-1990s.

Ika Nasimova and her husband, Farkhod Abdulaev, own the European Delight Market on Rockville Pike, which specializes in Russian food and groceries.

On Monday, a belly dancer performed at Samovar to celebrate the opening and, in videos posted to the restaurant’s Facebook page, guests could be seen dancing with the woman.

The restaurant has white tablecloths, a wood floor, beige walls and big windows. The main dining room is filled with booths capable of seating eight or more people, as well as smaller tables.

The menu features signature Russian dishes such as caviar, borsch and beef stroganoff as well as Uzbek dishes such as plov—a rice dish with lamb, carrots, garlic and spices—and dimlama—which is described as lamb boiled in a clay pot for several hours with vegetables.

The restaurant also has an extensive bar menu that includes vodka infused with horseradish, cranberry, pear and Sea Buckthorn fruit, among other flavors. Behind the bar are large jars filled with the infused vodkas. A waitress said Wednesday the restaurant is still infusing many of the flavors it will eventually serve. She said it takes about 40 days to properly infuse the vodka.

The Russian beer Baltica and the Ukranian beer Obolon are on tap and the restaurant also offers a menu of other Russian, Ukrainian and Czech beers. Many of the wines served at Samovar are from the Eastern European country of Georgia.

The restaurant is also planning live performances by Russian bands and other entertainment. On Thursday, the belly dancer—Nimeera—returns for a second performance starting at 8 p.m.

Beers on tap and infused vodka at the bar. Credit: Andrew Metcalf

Samovar Menu