We honestly loved our stay in Baku and truly tried to make the most of our visit there in 2025. We stayed for almost a month in September leading up to the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. We arrived a couple of weeks before the race, as we wanted to take in the city on our own time and go on day trips to explore even more. We honestly loved trying out new restaurants, and we did discover a few favourites! We mainly stayed in the central area by Nizami Street, which is where you’ll find most of these restaurants on this list! This guide shares our take on the best places to eat in Baku, where to find them, and what to eat!
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Where to Eat in Baku – Interactive Map
Where to Eat in Baku: My Top 6 Choices!
1. Han Restaurant Baku
Hours of Operation: 9:00 am – 1:00 am Daily
Price: $$
Location
We loved our time at Han Restaurant Baku, and this is one of my top recommendations for you to try! It has such a unique atmosphere, as the restaurant feels like you are dining in an outdoor courtyard and garden. It has stone walls lining the outside and a tent-like canvas ceiling. It really is a unique environment and certainly worth checking out!
It has a great location in the Old City, making it a convenient place to rest and enjoy a variety of local food. Although we came for lunch, they do have live music in the evenings, which certainly could be a really fun option as well! We really enjoyed having the crispy eggplant tower and beetroot hummus! I hadn’t had crispy eggplant before visiting Azerbaijan, and trust me, it is soooo tasty!
2. Nergiz Restaurant
Hours of Operation: 12:00 pm – 1:00 am Daily
Price: $$
Location
Nergiz Restaurant was a bit of an unexpected gem, and this really should be considered a must. The restaurant is located near the famous Nizami busy shopping street, and it is actually underground! It feels like you are dining inside a castle underground. You’ll walk through what feels like a tunnel while making your way to your table. Our table was seated in the far area, so we got a great chance to see the unique layout. There is a long hallway, with pockets of dining areas off one side. The decorations are also very interesting, with a feeling of stone walls all around!
We loved ordering the local favourite dish of Shah Pilaf here. This is a pastry crust enclosed around saffron rice cooked with meat, onion, dried fruit and nuts. It honestly was so good, and we were glad to finally have had this dish! We also ordered grilled vegetables with some tea and really enjoyed our food here. This is certainly a must-try while visiting Azerbaijan!
3. Mado
Hours of Operation: 8:00 am – 12:00 am Daily
Price: $$
Location
While walking around Baku, we kept seeing signs for a “business lunch” deal, so we finally decided to try it out at Mado! Mado is also in a great location as it’s right in the hub of the busy touristy area of Nizami Street. Although they have seating inside, I’d recommend dining out on the patio area out front. It’s a busy street, so there is lots to see, especially when the weather is nice.
For our business lunch, we ordered the soup special, which came with either a coleslaw or side salad, along with some buns. It was a light lunch, and it tasted so good!
They have a variety of items to choose from on their menu and are especially known for their Turkish Coffee and their kunafa and baklava desserts!
4. Crazzy Mosquito Restaurant
Hours of Operation: Monday to Thursday 1:00 pm – 2:00 am & Friday to Sunday 12:00 pm – 2:00 am
Price: $$
Location
The Crazzy Mosquito Restaurant is in a great location right along the Baku Boulevard, right along the water. The decor is so bright and colourful with nice outdoor lighting, and so we found ourselves coming here in the evening!
One time we came, we opted for some late-night snack eats, and so we ordered the Crazzy Beer Set. This was awesome as it came with several items including chickpeas, dried meat, mozzarella cheese, and more! We also ordered a couple of cocktails, which were really great too!
We liked having their local beer Xirdalan here, which has an orangey flavour. So when we weren’t coming for food, this was a great place for a drink. They do have a large menu, so there is plenty of great food and drink options to choose from.
This is a great spot if you are looking for a place to lounge and relax, especially in the evenings. This is also right near the area of the F1 fan zone during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. So if you are looking for a cool spot nearby, check this place out!
5. Hatay Usulü Dönər Fəvvarələr Meydanı
Hours of Operation: 11:00 am – 2:00 am Daily
Price: $
Location
Okay, I know what you are thinking. Yes, I know it’s a fast food restaurant, but Hatay Usulü truly deserves a spot on this list! I’m not kidding when I say that this place became our local spot. I mean, we ordered from here multiple nights…in a row. Almost to the point where I felt embarrassed because the staff would recognize me haha. We would order online through the Bolt food delivery app and would choose the pick-up option in order to get our steps in. It’s a balance, am I right? haha.
They have the BEST doners in the city (in my humble opinion), and every time we ordered, it tasted the same – amazing! It’s the reason why we kept coming back. They are located in the busy Nazami area and honestly, do yourself a favour and order a doner from there!
6. Gaumarjos GEORGIAN CUISINE Грузинский ресторан
Hours of Operation: 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm Daily
Price: $$
Location
We were really excited to try our first taste of Georgian food at Gaumarjos! We had walked by this restaurant so many times, and finally planned to go there before leaving Azerbaijan. We came here for lunch, and it wasn’t busy at all. I do wonder if it picks up more in the evening.
Everything we tried was soooo good! We ended up ordering the spinach with nuts appetizer, cabbage side salad, and of course the Khachapuri, which is a Georgian cheese bread boat. The cheese bread boat was the highlight for me! I have seen this dish before, but it was finally my first time trying it!
If you are looking for some great Georgian cuisine, then this is where you want to go!
My Favourite Local Snack: Qutab
There are SO MANY amazing local snacks and eats to try in Baku, but nothing matches my favourite: qutab. I loved qutab so much that I almost had one every single day. Qutab is made up of a flatbread called saj that has minced meat inside, and it is typically sprinkled with sumac. We often got them at the grocery stores in the ready-made section; however, you’ll find plenty of little spots that sell them as well.
I enjoyed this hidden gem located a bit far away from Nizami Street. I highly recommend you pick up this local snack while visiting Baku!
FAQ’s About Where to Eat in Baku
What are the best restaurants to eat along Nizami Street?
I would highly recommend going to Nergiz Restaurant and Mado as my top choices for this area. We honestly loved dining at both of these places and loved trying the local food! Now, in this central area, there are so many restaurants, so I would recommend just going exploring and trying a few places out!
What are the best restaurants to eat at in the Old City?
The Old City is also a great place to find a number of restaurants. It’s also quite close to Nizami Street, so you can easily walk between the two areas depending on where your hotel is. With that said, I would have to recommend Han Restaurant Baku. This restaurant is truly unique, and I loved the courtyard dining environment that it has. Although we went for lunch, I saw in the reviews that it does have live music in the evenings!
Is Baku worth visiting?
Baku is an incredible city to explore and certainly worth visiting. We ended up staying almost one month in Baku, both before and after the F1 Race. The city is easily walkable, and this made it very convenient to explore the central area, Old City and Baku Boulevard. There is lots to do in the city itself, and it’s very easy to book day trips from the capital as well!
How many days in Azerbaijan are enough?
I would recommend spending around 5-7 days in Azerbaijan. I would designate at least 3 days to exploring Baku itself, and add a few more days on top to explore the rest of the country. This would be an ideal amount of time in order to not feel so rushed and truly take in Azerbaijan. I would spend at least 2 days outside the capital in the Shahdag area and enjoy the adventure activities that that area has to offer!
How many days is the Azerbaijan visa?
This can certainly vary per country, so you’ll have to look into this before applying. We needed to apply online for the visa ahead of time, and our visa allowed us to stay for 30 days. If you are staying longer than 15 days in Azerbaijan (even with having a 30-day visa), then you’ll need to register your stay with the Migration Services Department. Read more about our experience and how we registered during our month-long visit to Baku.
Final Thoughts on Where to Eat in Baku
Baku is a great city to explore, and you really can’t go wrong when looking for authentic dishes to try! I would really like to highlight going to Nergiz Restaurant and Han Restaurant Baku. Both restaurants were true standouts for me, and the food and service were amazing! If you are looking for a quick bite, then hands down you have to try a doner at Hatay Usulü. I don’t even want to look at the Bolt food delivery app to see how many times we ordered from there haha. Despite being there almost a month, there are so many restaurants that we haven’t tried, which I’m sure could be added to this list.
It is worth mentioning that smoking is allowed indoors at bars. We didn’t really notice this at restaurants, as it was mainly pubs and bars where this was permitted. Smoking may be permitted on patios at restaurants, but this could vary between establishments.
I hope that this guide helps you plan out our next trip to Baku! We really enjoyed our stay there, and the food scene was awesome!
