By evening in Astana, the temperature drops and the city's lit towers come up against a dark steppe sky. You will see people moving between dinner, a bar and, later, a club, with taxis covering the distances between the older streets north of the Ishim River and the newer districts to the south.
Astana's nightlife is spread out rather than concentrated in one strip, and it runs from neighbourhood bars and shisha places to upscale cocktail bars and large clubs. It suits visitors who are happy to move around by taxi through the evening, and who want a mix of Kazakh drinking traditions, live music and late dancing rather than one single party district.
Where to go out in Astana
1. The bar and pub cluster near the river
The block around Harat's Irish Pub, close to the river, holds a number of bars within easy walking distance of each other. Harat's itself is an Irish-style pub that draws a mixed crowd, with live music on many nights and a fuller room later in the evening. The surrounding block is described as a good place to find yourself in summer when you are thirsty.
This suits a night that starts with beer and conversation and stays flexible, since you can move between venues without long taxi rides. Expect prices at Harat's to be on the higher side for the city.
2. Cocktail bars in the city centre
Dark Side on Prospekt Mangilik Yel is an upscale cocktail bar that is popular with younger people in Astana. It gets very busy on Fridays, Saturdays and Wednesdays, when it runs a two-for-one offer on cocktails, and a table can be hard to get on those nights without a reservation.
Choose this for a dressed-up early evening or a first stop before a club. Booking ahead is the practical point worth remembering.
3. Steakhouse-turned-bar venues
Line Brew on Kenesary Street is part of a well-known local beer brand. It works primarily as a restaurant during the day, then becomes more bar than steak house as the evening turns to night. It is quite expensive, and a reservation is recommended on Friday and Saturday nights.
This suits a group that wants to eat and drink in the same place without changing venues, and it rewards planning at weekends.
4. Chain bars with live entertainment
Pinta is a popular chain with locations across the city, serving food and drink and featuring live entertainment from DJs and bands on Friday and Saturday nights. Panayehali is similar but slightly more upscale, also with several locations.
These are useful when you want a reliable, easy-to-find option near wherever you are staying, particularly on a weekend when live music matters more to you than a specific address.
5. Shisha bars
Shisha bars are described as ubiquitous and popular in Astana, and shisha is also offered at some bars, including Winners Pub near Baiterek Tower, which is reasonably priced for its central location and also does karaoke.
This suits a slower, seated evening, either as the main event or as a bridge between dinner and a later club.
6. Nightclubs
Nirvana is a cheap and cheerful nightclub, basic compared with the city's more upscale venues, but close to a lot of bars and usually busy every day of the week, filling up more around 1 AM. Bla Bla Bar, in Abu Dhabi Plaza, is described as Astana's premier nightclub, with long lines on Friday and Saturday nights, face control and stricter age restrictions for men, though foreigners appear to be exempt from those restrictions.
Nirvana suits a casual, late and low-cost night; Bla Bla suits a weekend night when you are willing to queue and dress for entry control.
How a night out unfolds
The sources describe bars that begin as restaurants in the daytime and shift toward drinking as the evening turns to night, and clubs that get busier around 1 AM, with the busiest bar and club nights falling on Fridays and Saturdays. Beyond that, they do not set out fixed dinner times or closing hours, so treat the timing of your own evening as something to arrange locally rather than to a schedule.
Festivals and events worth timing a trip around
- The festival of the capital — 6 July, the city's day, celebrated with concerts and other events.
Frequently asked questions
What is there to drink in Astana?
Local options include kumis, a slightly fermented mare's milk that can contain alcohol and is sometimes a little salty, and shubat, a fermented camel milk that also contains some alcohol. Supermarkets stock a wide range of vodka and cognac at prices from very cheap to very expensive. Shots tend to be drunk rather than mixed with anything, and with toasts common at celebrations, you are not obliged to down every one.
Which nights are busiest?
Fridays and Saturdays are the busiest for bars and clubs. Dark Side is also busy on Wednesdays for its two-for-one cocktails, and Nirvana is described as busy every day of the week.
Do I need to book ahead?
For Dark Side on its busy nights and for Line Brew on Friday and Saturday nights, a reservation is recommended, and without one you may struggle to get a table at Dark Side.
Is there anything to do in the evening besides drinking?
Yes. Astana Opera seats 1,500 in a hall with internationally renowned acoustics, the Kazakhstan Central Concert Hall sits next to the presidential palace, Kinopark 8 shows a screening in English on Tuesday nights, and the Astana Circus occupies its distinctive building on Qabanbay Batyr Avenue. Sports venues including Barys Arena and Astana Arena also host evening fixtures.
Decide which part of the city you want to end up in, book where the sources say booking helps, and plan your evening around the night that suits you.