Ultima Guide: How Yandex is creating a technological gastronomic guide for the country
Some restaurants are easy to find, and then there are those you want to tell your friends about. Ultima Guide, developed by the premium Ultima service in Yandex Go, is a guide that knows exactly where to find gastronomic gems. Created using artificial intelligence, it helps users discover not just trendy spots, but places they’ll want to return to.
New gourmet assistant
Izzat Shukurov, CEO of Yandex Uzbekistan, explains: “Ultima Guide is an independent project with its own philosophy. Its goal is to promote gastronomic culture and help good restaurants become visible. The guide is shaped by a neural network, independent experts, and real visitors. This approach makes Ultima Guide a project you can truly trust.”
Ultima Guide was born from a close study of user experience in Yandex Go’s premium Ultima service. Research showed that even the most discerning clients had unmet expectations when it came to food delivery and restaurant services. That’s why the guide doesn’t focus solely on haute cuisine. “We’re not only interested in glossy restaurants with white tablecloths. We’re looking for hidden gems: local spots where the food is excellent but still under the radar. It could be a cozy bakery serving the city’s best croissants or a wine bar with real character,” say the guide’s creators.
When technology meets taste
The foundation of Ultima Guide is machine learning. The AI analyzed more than 3,000 venues using over 100 criteria – from search queries like “terrace with a view” or “signature cuisine” to reviews, repeat visit frequency, and even menu structure. However, candidates less than three months old, as well as classic bars, coffee shops, food halls, and chain restaurants, were excluded from consideration. According to the methodology’s authors, these formats require a different approach and evaluation criteria.
Since AI cannot actually “taste” food, Ultima Guide’s methodology includes voting by local experts and guests. The expert panel consists of 39 restaurateurs, chefs, food critics, and gourmet business and media representatives from Tashkent. Guests involved in the voting are those who previously interacted with specific restaurants via Yandex Go services.
“The questionnaires for experts and users differ. For users, we ask whether they liked the interior or if the food tasted good. Experts are asked the same, but broken down into categories – ingredient quality, menu balance, and so on. In our methodology, expert votes carry more weight, but user votes are greater in number,” the Ultima guide’s team notes.
This approach makes the guide both vibrant and credible. Expert insight is enhanced by user feedback, while AI helps process large volumes of data without losing nuance. The results will be verified by an independent consulting company. The guide’s methodology was developed with the help of Ekaterina Pugacheva, chair of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants jury in Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Russia.
photо: пресс-служба Yandex
An investment in Uzbekistan’s culinary future
Ultima Guide operates without advertising or paid promotion – this is its core principle. “For us, it’s an investment in the ecosystem, in culture, in how the country’s gastronomic map is shaped,” says Izzat Shukurov, CEO of Yandex Uzbekistan.
The restaurants selected for the Ultima Guide will be announced at a ceremony on May 22. The guide will be updated annually and is available in both Uzbek and Russian.
