Must-see restaurants in Azerbaijan

  • Paris Bistro

    Baku

    It's hard to believe you're more than a few metres from the Champs-Élysées in this perfectly pitched French masterpiece. It hits all the right Parisian…

  • Saat Meydanı

    Azerbaijan

    Brand new in 2019, this multi-restaurant complex is ranged around a large stone courtyard featuring central fountains and the photogenic mechanical…

  • Borani

    Azerbaijan

    Borani brings Lәnkәran an urban vibe with contemporary beats, good-looking hipster waitstaff and an airy modern sense of 21st-century style. Their thin…

  • Calğalıq Restoranı

    Azerbaijan

    The most characterful restaurant for miles around, Calğalıq is packed with more antique handicrafts than the average museum and the enchanted garden is…

  • Şirvanşah Muzey-Restoran

    Baku

    On an unassuming backstreet, this enticing place started life as a 19th-century bathhouse but is now a veritable ethnographic museum of handicrafts and…

  • Chalet

    Azerbaijan

    At the top of the Yatmish Gozal cable car (L6), Chalet is not just a great place to sit amid the mountain scenery, but also serves the best-quality…

  • Paul’s

    Baku

    It's inconspicuous, comfortably unpretentious and the menu is short. But if you want perfectly cooked, top-quality steak, this German-Austrian yard-garden…

  • Gala Bazaar

    Azerbaijan

    Packed with imaginative decor that incorporates elements from Moorish stone arches to southern French shutters, this place really does base itself on the…

  • Təbəssüm

    Azerbaijan

    Təbəssüm is a particularly appealing small-scale rural restaurant-resort that prides itself on not cutting down any trees. Indeed some foliage grows right…

  • SAHiL

    Baku

    Faultless Azerbaijani and Persian cuisine in a suave-but-relaxed setting right on the Bulvar. It's one of few places to offer shah plov (a giant ball of…

  • Chalette

    Azerbaijan

    Surely the only non–ski restaurant in the Caucasus to be accessed by its own private cable car, Chalette specialises in chill-aged steak both local and…

  • Buzxana

    Azerbaijan

    One of the nation's more unusual dining experiences, Buzxana serves local standards (dolma, piti – soupy meat stew with chickpeas and saffron, etc) in a…

  • Teleqüllə

    Baku

    Dining at this revolving restaurant is the only way to gain access to Baku’s iconic Soviet-era TV tower. Views are stupendous and the upscale menu…

  • Deniz Hotel & Restaurant

    Azerbaijan

    Deniz offers, and partly delivers, a phenomenal menu that includes a wide range of different lәvәngi dishes (local stuffed fowl), Caspian fish, salads,…

  • Muğam Club

    Baku

    This historic two-storey caravanserai wraps its alcoved stone walls around a coverable courtyard featuring two dwarf fig trees and a trickling fountain…

  • Mayak 13

    Baku

    If you liked Altay Sadikhzade's cartoon-esque work at Baku MOMA, you'll adore the interior of his eccentric Mayak 13 Cafe. Marvellously absurd rope-tied…

  • CafeCity

    Baku

    Picture menus offer mouthwatering arrays of both Azerbaijani and international cuisine and there’s a special section of sağlam həyət (healthy-eating)…

  • Partizan

    Baku

    Fun, full of character and not as kitschy as it might sound, this theatre-dining experience has waiters dressed as Soviet soldiers who demand a password …

  • Sərin

    Azerbaijan

    The speciality here is a slow-cooked local stew that includes bozport (lamb with kəvər greens) or buzdamac (beef with carrots and garlic), served in small…

  • Passage 1901

    Baku

    For good, fair-priced Azerbaijani food in an unusual setting, visit the main restaurant section in this cavernous former market hall, which uses many mid…

  • Bullet Steakhouse

    Azerbaijan

    In another marvel of Naxçivan eccentricity, Bullet mixes country-cottage, jazz and hunting themes in the basement of a green-glass building designed like…

  • Qaynana

    Baku

    Big glass windows illuminate a plethora of pickle jars and hanging rugs, festive musical rhythms create further atmosphere and at the back, big təndir …

  • Səngər Qala Restaurant & Hotel

    Azerbaijan

    Even if you don't eat here, it's worth a quick stop to photograph this restaurant, which takes the form of a fantasy castle built within crenellated dark…

  • Qəbələ Xanlar

    Azerbaijan

    Various differently designed thatched dining platforms are set behind a series of amusing water-powered mobiles at one of Qəbələ's longest-running and…

  • Samik Cafe & Restaurant

    Baku

    Though it's one of the cheapest central places around, Samik has a certain degree of elegance with touches of gilding on its arched vaulting and…

  • Çələbi Xan Restoran

    Azerbaijan

    This ever-popular restaurant has a pine interior that's as eccentric as a cuckoo clock while its striking exterior combines classic şəbəkə (stained-glass…

  • Cizz-Bizz

    Baku

    Stone floors, hanging flower baskets, a shady terrace and contrived but well-thought-out attempts at old-world decor all combine to make spaciously open…

  • Zeqa

    Azerbaijan

    Colourfully decorated with window frames, alarm clocks and painted keys, this youthful place offers pizzas, salads and a selection of Russian, Turkish and…

  • Firuzə

    Baku

    Fountains Sq's long-lasting subterranean favourite is an attractive stone-walled basement draped in local carpets with tablecloths embroidered in a…

  • Xan Lәnkәran Restoran

    Azerbaijan

    Attatched to the eponymous hotel, this restaurant is a fine if you're waiting for a bus. The menu offers local lәvәngi dishes, quality soup, rice plates…

  • Lahıc Restaurant

    Azerbaijan

    This inviting restaurant has lovely tree-shaded garden seating with mountain views high across the river, while the main dining hall is festooned with…

  • Meydan Dönər

    Azerbaijan

    Yes, it just serves dönər, but this little kebab shop gets our vote as one of the best in Azerbaijan. Seats are comfy, women are not shy to come in, there…

  • Terrace Garden

    Baku

    Climb three storeys to escape the Old City tourist throngs in this glass-sided rooftop restaurant with views across to the Maiden's Tower. Azerbaijani…

  • Chinar

    Baku

    This fashion-conscious lounge-restaurant sports a ‘theatre kitchen’ producing sophisticated East Asian and Asian-fusion dishes, plus steaks and real…

  • Imereti

    Baku

    There are several fancier places with similar menus, but this unpretentious little basement remains our long-term favourite in central Baku for genuine…

  • Qaqarin Restoranı

    Azerbaijan

    Hugely popular with local diners, Qaqarin – named for the cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin – has mostly simple outdoor seating but it's a fine place to dine with…

  • Art Club

    Baku

    A flight of silver doves over the doorway welcome diners into what is as much a gallery as a restaurant with canvases on the walls and artefacts beneath…

  • CafeCity Five

    Baku

    Decorated with book spines and framed old photos, this inviting branch of the small Baku chain occupies a grand Stalin-era building close to the Hyatt…

  • Museum Inn

    Baku

    The eight-room hotel is a tad kitschy but the front two tables of the upstairs restaurant have the best view of the Maiden's Tower of any Old City eatery…

  • JW Marriott Absheron Hotel

    Baku

    Several of Baku's best-regarded restaurants and lounges are within this major international hotel, notably the Azeri-Mediterranean Zest 'lifestyle' cafe …

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