Alcohol in Ashgabat is technically available but increasingly restricted — President Berdimuhamedow has imposed periodic bans and restrictions on its sale, and the situation changes. The safest places to find a drink are the bars and restaurants of the large international-style hotels: the Grand Turkmen, the Oguzkent, and the Yyldyz are the main options. These are marble-clad, largely empty, and expensive by local standards, but function reliably for foreign guests.
The Grand Turkmen Hotel, near the central government district, has a bar that serves beer, wine, and spirits and is used by the small population of foreign businesspeople and NGO workers in the city. It is not a place for atmosphere — the decor is Soviet-era grandiose and the clientele sparse — but it is functional and air-conditioned. Coffee is available at most hotel lobbies and at a small number of cafes on the main commercial streets, though the cafe culture common in neighbouring Iran or Uzbekistan has little equivalent here.