If you find yourself in Baku, you will have to incredible opportunities to experience different cuisines from throughout the Caucuses, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. In Azerbaijan a typical meal consist of Plov, which is rice dish that Azerbaijanis tend to add chicken, minced meat, raisins, pomegranate, chestnuts, and apricots. Each region in Azerbaijan has their own verity of plov and it is definitely one of my favorites. Besides plov, there is a dish called Yapraq Xengheli, this dish is pasta based and consists of lasagna like pasta with ground beef on top and yogurt. There are many food options to choose from in Baku. Though if you are a vegetarian or vegan you will have a hard time and may have to adjust your dietary practices. So here are some places that I recommend you visit.
Restaurants:
Mado: Mado is a Turkish restaurant chain and there are about five of them in Baku. You can find Mados in every mall. My favorite Mado is in the Targova area and has an outdoor patio that you can enjoy you meal on.
Firuze: Firuze is an international kitchen restaurant but they also off classic Azerbaijanian food options.
Cafe City: There are about 3 Cafe Cities in Baku and they offer an assortment of food options.
Cresperia: If you’re in the mood for Mexican food Cresperia is an sort of Authentic option.
Maya: Maya is also a Mexican restaurant owned by the former First Lady and now the current Vice President. The food is great and they have a live Mariachi band.
Chio Chio San: CCS is a Japanese restaurant in 28 May they have an amazing and affordable lunch menu.
Landmark Hotel: In the Landmark Hotel in Baku you can find a Japanese Restaurant on the lobby floor, a Thai Restaurant on the top floor, and Italian restaurant that is next to the British and Spanish Embassies in the Baku.
Imreti: Imreti is an upscale affordable Georgian restaurant. They have two locations in Targova and they both offer an enjoyable atmosphere. Try the Georgian dumplings, cheese boat, and eggplant based starters, and Georgian house wine.
Cafes:
Book House: Book House is one of the few Cafes in Iceriseher. It almost hidden so you’ll have to search google maps to get to it. There is a book store in the basement that has English, Turkish, and Russian options.
Starbucks: Starbucks in Baku offers a nice social environment and the one in Targova has very interesting architecture that you’ll like to check out.
Yer Alti: Yer Alti is a cafe on Tolstoy street. They also have a bookstore inside.
Old School: Old School is a very nice cafe in the back streets of Targova. In the inside there are old relics and a piano that people sometimes play.
Comic Cafe: Comic Cafe is a Comic book themed cafe in the back streets of Targova it is very near to Old School.
Muse Cafe: Muse cafe is more of a restaurant than cafe it is in Iceriseher and has an excellent view of the Flame Towers.
Bars:
Gramophone: Gramophone was one of the first bars I visited in Baku. I was hooked on the french fries a month. It’s a cool place and has interesting objects hanging on the walls.
Winnie Pub: Happy to say that I was one of the first customers of Winnie Pub and have been labeled and as one of the Americans that visit. There menu is very affordable and much cheaper than Gramophone.
Le Chateau: Is a classic Dive Bar. It is where the sub-culture in Azerbaijan goes to hangout. They have live music performances every week.
Soul Kitchen: I recently visited Soul Kitchen it’s a bit expensive but its key selling point is the view it has of Targova from its patio deck.
Kefili: Is a classy lounge that offers different wines from the Azerbaijanian regions. They also have cheese and meat platters.
Ethud: I haven’t been to this place yet but it is similar to Le Chateau. (Most of these places are owned by the same person)