A culinary travel guide: how to eat well in Baku, Azerbaijan
I rarely have a dud meal when travelling. Why? Because I spend weeks researching restaurants and must-try dishes. Often spending more time on trawling local recommendations than the actual travel. But I love this immersion. Top tip: don’t ever venture out of your hotel in the hope of stumbling upon a charming neighbourhood joint. You’re guaranteed to end up in a tourist trap.
Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, a former Soviet Republic has been on my bucket list for a while, so with direct FlyDubai flights in under three hours, and the added bonus of the same time zone as Dubai, we book a three-night Eid break. Overlooking the Caspian sea, this East meets West country is flanked by four nations – Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Iran. The language, to me, sounds like a Turkish-Persian hybrid – reflected in the culinary scene. Baku cleverly manages to juxtapose the old (think UNESCO World Heritage sites) and the new (think Dubai-like skyscrapers) to create a wonderful pristine walking city. The city hosts the F1, and later this year Cop29.
The culinary travel guide that follows covers tried and tasted recommendations for restaurants with must-try dishes, hotels, sightseeing tips and general housekeeping (visa, weather and the like) – along with a photo gallery. I have also added these tips to a Google maps link.
You’ll also find my do’s and don’ts for researching restaurants that may help with any upcoming travel.
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