Eating in Ulan-Ude means trying Buryat food, which is heavy, meaty, and built for cold winters. The signature dish is buuz (sometimes called pozy) — large steamed dumplings of minced lamb or beef, eaten with the fingers by biting a small hole, sipping the hot broth, and finishing the meat. A plate of five plus a glass of strong tea is a meal.
Buuza Cafe chains can be found across the city centre — cheap, reliable, and authentic. Tengis and Modern Nomads are slightly more polished sit-down restaurants serving traditional Buryat and Mongolian dishes alongside Russian standards. Shenehen serves Inner-Mongolian Buryat cooking and is a favourite of locals.
For Russian and European food, the cafes along Lenin Street and around Soviets Square will do the job. The pedestrianised section has a handful of pleasant terraces in summer. International cuisine is limited — you are deep in Siberia.