KZBlog

I was amused by one of the searches that popped up twice recently in my list of searches that bring people to this site: “if invited to dinner in kazakhstan what time.” It seems like someone who might have a concrete dinner invitation and wonder either a) what time do people have dinner in Kazakhstan? or b) what is the etiquette surrounding dinner invitations and punctuality.

I thought I would answer because I was recently subject to what in the US would be an unforgivable sin. The invitation for dinner was at 5pm and the host didn’t show up until 7. Not because there was bad traffic or something awful occurred, but because he was tired from a long day and decided to take a nap. He didn’t oversleep mind–he had planned to be there 2 hours late! This is not typical in Kazakhstan but it does give you an idea that being late is not a problem here and if you show up on-time or early, expect to be there alone. I would say add half-an-hour to any invitation and don’t worry if you are an hour late.

As for when people have dinner parties, it can vary. Often people dine late because the working day ends at 7pm. And you have to give people the time to get out of work, go home to change, buy flowers or gifts. Most dinner invitations on a work-night will be 8 or 8:30, sometimes later. It is not strange to be invited for dinner at 9 or 10pm! On weekends, dinner can often start much earlier, 5pm or 6pm. And every invitation to a party or celebration will be an invitation to eat. So even if the invitation is for 3 or 4pm, expect a full meal.

Don’t be surprised if even business associates invite you to a restaurant for what you think is a working meal. It is common to eat whenever you assemble people together, even if the main purpose is work. And if you are traveling to do business, the host organization will usually make dinner plans after any business, both to celebrate the (hopefully) successful meeting and to make you feel welcome. Expect to be taken to a Kazakh restaurant. Expect to eat politely horsemeat (at least one piece) and to drink a bit of vodka to show that you are an alright sort of guy.

Other than that, etiquette does dictate that you bring a gift, commonly flowers or chocolate for a woman and vodka or wine for a men. And have a good toast prepared; you will be called upon to say a few words.

Hope that is useful information for people being invited out to dinner in Kazakhstan.

EDIT: Check the comments for Chris Merriman’s posts on these subjects. I meant to include the links but couldn’t find them at the time I wrote this article.