On Sunday, my husband and I visited the New World pizzeria (also written as NeWorld). The place left a mixed impression: on the one hand, a spacious dining hall and fast service; on the other, the pizza is no longer what it used to be, and the price is noticeably above the city average.
How to get inside
New World has two entrance options. You can enter directly into the café, or you can go through a Korean grocery store and a long corridor. If you go through the store, keep in mind: there are no steps, only a ramp for strollers. If you enter straight into the café, there are steps, but the first impression is spoiled by a very long floor rag at the entrance, apparently laid down by a cleaner to keep the floor from getting dirty.
Hall and atmosphere
The hall is huge and has no windows (at least, I didn’t find any). This isn’t critical, but I clearly remember when New World used to be in a one-story building with glass walls near the Navoi Theater — back then you could sit and look out onto the street, and that added a special feeling. Now only a live plant shop remains in that building.
Still, the current hall turned out to be cozy: there was no unpleasant smell, and quiet music was playing. Besides us, only one table was occupied, presumably by foreigners from Korea or China.
Service and order
The waitress came quickly. We ordered one large meat pizza and a teapot of green tea. The tea was brought almost immediately, and we waited about 10 minutes for the pizza.
Food and taste
The tea was mediocre: drinkable, but not enjoyable.
I didn’t like the pizza. In the old building and in earlier times, it was much tastier. And it wasn’t only about the toppings — the dough also seemed weak. Still, if you’re hungry, you can eat it.
My husband liked the pizza. According to him, it’s even better than at Dodo Pizza (there is also a review of it on this site). He expected a thick crust, but they served a thin one. As it turned out when ordering, there is only one crust option here, and they don’t offer another.
Payment and receipt
We paid by card, and they didn’t charge anything extra for service. Moreover, they issued an official receipt, through which you can get 1% of the amount refunded via government authorities.
Price
One large pizza and a teapot of green tea cost us 167,000 soums (~$13.7). Overall, prices at New World are above average for Tashkent, and considering the taste, this is debatable.
Conclusion
New World is a spacious and quiet pizzeria with fast service, but the pizza no longer makes the impression it once did, and the prices are above average.
Overall rating: 3 out of 5
+ large cozy hall with no unpleasant smells
+fast service
+card payments accepted, official receipt provided
– pizza tastes worse than before
– mediocre tea
– high prices
– entrance through the store and the rag at the door spoil the first impression
Who owns it
As we managed to find out on site, the entire building belongs to New World — it is a local company, but judging by the surnames, its owners may be foreigners. The Korean food store has nothing to do with them; it simply rents the space.
The company “HAEJIN NEW WORLD” LLC was registered in 1995. The official address is the same as the pizzeria’s. The company specializes in renting and managing retail space. Its charter capital is over $688,000, of which 93.70% belongs to Jung Soon Chin. He is also the company’s director.
Photos in this article are by Vladimir Medvedev.