Six Evenings in Baku

Six Tables. Chosen One by One.

Six dinners · Azerbaijani wine throughout the journey

No two evenings were chosen for the same reason.

Across six nights, the table moves from deeply Azerbaijani cooking to the generosity of the grill, from the Caspian waterfront to dry-aged steak, refined national cuisine and, finally, a farewell surrounded by the memories of old Baku.

Together, the six restaurants tell a story of how this city eats — generous, sophisticated, traditional, contemporary and deeply hospitable.

The morning ritual

Mornings at Merci Baku

On six mornings, the day begins at the Merci Baku table in the Old City — not at a hotel buffet.

Six signature breakfasts, each one different, each one built around what arrived that morning: warm bread, sheep's cheese, mountain honey, herbs, slow-cooked eggs and strong tea poured continuously.

Caviar is served on each of those six mornings — a daily ritual rather than an occasion, the way a Caspian city has always eaten it.

This is also where the day is shaped. A member of the Merci Baku team is with you at breakfast: plans are made, reservations moved, questions answered, and the evening ahead is introduced before anyone leaves the room.

Six mornings: Days Two through Seven, at Merci Baku rather than the hotel
Caviar each time: Included on all six breakfast mornings
Hosted by the team: Hosted in person by the Merci Baku team, with Japanese-language guest support arranged for your departure

On the mornings

Caviar, bread from the oven, eggs cooked slowly — the morning table, in full.

See the gastronomy

On the evenings

Merci Baku is the house of the morning. The evenings belong to the city — six restaurants, each one a separate chapter.

01ShurNight 01 · The First Taste of Baku
02GünaydınNight 02 · The Generous Table
03ChaykiNight 03 · A Summer House by the Caspian
04MangalNight 04 · Where Steak Takes Its Time
05SumakhNight 05 · Azerbaijan, Beautifully Refined
06ShirvanshahNight 06 · A Farewell Through Time

Night 01

The First Taste of Baku

Shur

A beautiful introduction to Azerbaijani cooking — generous, deeply local and exceptionally well made.

We chose Shur first for the food.

Its kitchen takes the flavours Azerbaijanis grow up with and presents them with unusual care — rich without being heavy, familiar without feeling ordinary.

As the evening settles in, live music becomes part of the room. It is not a performance built around dinner; it simply adds another layer to the warmth of being out in Baku.

Kitchen: Azerbaijani cooking, beautifully presented
Atmosphere: Warm, polished and quietly musical
Why we chose it: The first dinner should make you curious about the five still to come.

From the table

Badımcan ləvəngi — baked aubergine filled with walnut and pomegranate, at Shur in Baku — Badımcan ləvəngi — baked aubergine with walnut and pomegranate

A glazed lamb skewer with sesame over wilted greens, plated at Shur in Baku — Glazed lamb skewer, sesame and wilted greens

Sauce poured over a sizzling cast-iron dish of chicken with herbed rice at Shur in Baku — Cast-iron chicken, sauce poured at the table

Dovğa — warm yoghurt and herb soup served in porcelain at Shur in Baku — Dovğa — warm yoghurt and herb soup

A salad of tomato, cucumber, olive and white cheese with purple basil at Shur in Baku — Tomato, cucumber and white cheese with purple basil

Night 02

The Generous Table

Günaydın

Anatolian grilling at its most irresistible — meat, fire, warm bread and a table meant to be shared.

Günaydın is the evening when restraint gives way to abundance.

Kebabs arrive from the grill, butcher cuts are made for sharing and the table gradually fills until dinner feels less like an order and more like a feast.

We chose it because this kind of generosity belongs to the hospitality of the region — lively, uncomplicated and enormously satisfying.

Kitchen: Anatolian kebabs & butcher cuts
Atmosphere: Lively, generous and social
Why we chose it: One of the six evenings should feel gloriously abundant.

From the table

An overhead view of a long silver kebab platter for the table at Günaydın in Baku, with bread, salad and wine — The long platter — grilled meats down the centre of the table

Close-up of a mixed grill at Günaydın in Baku — adana köfte, chicken and lamb over flatbread — Mixed grill — köfte, chicken and lamb over flatbread

Raw lamb cutlets on a blue ceramic plate beside an Azerbaijani red wine bottle and dry-aged meat at Günaydın in Baku — Cutlets chosen before they meet the fire, with Azerbaijani red

Slow-cooked lamb served over smoked aubergine purée on an engraved silver tray at Günaydın in Baku — Slow-cooked lamb over smoked aubergine purée

Pistachio kadayıf dessert with whole pistachios on a speckled ceramic plate at Günaydın in Baku — Pistachio kadayıf to finish

Night 03

A Summer House by the Caspian

Chayki

A garden, the waterfront and a lighter expression of contemporary Azerbaijani cooking.

Chayki feels as though someone placed an elegant summer house beside the Caspian and invited you in for dinner.

Greenery softens the room, the waterfront sits just beyond it, and the evening moves at an easier pace.

The kitchen takes Azerbaijani flavours in a more contemporary direction, making Chayki a graceful counterpoint to the richer tables that come before and after it.

Kitchen: Contemporary Azerbaijani cuisine
Atmosphere: Garden verandas beside the Caspian
Why we chose it: For one evening that feels airy, graceful and unmistakably Baku.

From the table

A stone saj of lamb, aubergine, sweet pepper and tomato with lavash at Chayki in Baku — Saj — lamb, aubergine and sweet pepper on hot stone, with lavash

The glazed all-season terrace at Chayki Restaurant in Baku, planted and set for dinner — The terrace at Chayki Restaurant — glazed and planted, open all year

A copper brazier of mixed grilled meats, lülə kebab and herbs at Chayki in Baku — The mixed grill — lülə kebab, ribs and chicken over coals

A roasted rack of lamb with young potatoes and sauce on a wooden board at Chayki in Baku — Rack of lamb with young potatoes

Lamb ribs carved to order onto lavash at Chayki in Baku — Ribs carved to order, onto warm lavash

Qutab — thin folded flatbreads with herb and cheese fillings, sumac and pomegranate, at Chayki in Baku — Qutab — herb and cheese, with sumac and pomegranate

A board of Azerbaijani sweets — pakhlava, shekerbura and walnuts — with a glass of tea at Chayki in Baku — Azerbaijani sweets and tea, in an armudu glass

A berry millefeuille with cream and mint at Chayki in Baku — Millefeuille with summer berries

Night 04

Where Steak Takes Its Time

Mangal

Dry-aged beef, intense heat and a restaurant that treats meat as a craft.

Mangal is for the evening when the steak itself becomes the destination.

The beef is dry-aged before meeting the concentrated heat of the grill, creating the depth and tenderness that only patience can produce.

The room has a sense of theatre, but the pleasure is reassuringly simple: exceptional meat, properly cooked, good wine and nowhere else you need to be that evening.

Kitchen: Dry-aged steak & charcoal cooking
Atmosphere: Warm, dramatic and celebratory
Why we chose it: Because one evening should simply be an outstanding steak night.

From the table

Sliced aged T-bone steak carved on a wooden board with rosemary and olive oil at Mangal in Baku — Dry-aged T-bone, carved at the board

Flames rising from the open grill trolley as the grill master works in front of the guests at Mangal in Baku — The grill, worked in front of the table

A spread of Azerbaijani mezze with grilled peppers, vine leaves, yoghurt and warm bread at Mangal in Baku — The table before the fire — mezze, vine leaves and warm bread

Cold starters of olives, roasted peppers, herbed yoghurt and hummus on a wooden table at Mangal in Baku — Cold starters, laid out all at once in the Azerbaijani manner

Glass dry-ageing cabinets lined with cuts of beef on Himalayan salt blocks at Mangal in Baku — The ageing room — beef resting on salt, dated by hand

Night 05

Azerbaijan, Beautifully Refined

Sumakh

Traditional flavours, regional spices and one of Baku's most polished expressions of the national table.

Sumakh takes recognizably Azerbaijani food and gives it just enough refinement to let every detail stand out.

Spices, herbs, grilled meats and familiar recipes remain at the heart of the kitchen, while the presentation and setting bring another level of precision.

We chose it for that balance — unmistakably local, quietly sophisticated and never so polished that the food loses its soul.

Kitchen: Refined Azerbaijani cuisine
Atmosphere: Local character, quietly sophisticated
Why we chose it: Tradition elevated without being transformed into something it is not.

From the table

Grilled Caspian fish with herbs, lemon and salt-baked potatoes at Sumakh in Baku — Grilled Caspian fish with herbs, barberry and salt-baked potato

A platter of lamb chops, tenderloin and lülə kebab with herbs and tomato sauce at Sumakh in Baku — The kebab platter — lamb chops, tenderloin and lülə

Azerbaijani dumplings arranged on a wooden board with sour cream, dill and barberry at Sumakh in Baku — Dumplings on wood, with sour cream and barberry

A cast-iron saj of chicken with aubergine, peppers and lavash carried to the table at Sumakh in Baku — Saj of chicken and aubergine, carried to the table

Grilled lamb chops with charred tomato, sumac onion and herbs on a stoneware plate at Sumakh in Baku — Lamb chops with charred tomato and sumac onion

Pan-fried fish steaks with herbs, lemon and red onion salad at Sumakh in Baku — Fish from the pan, with red onion and herbs

Night 06

A Farewell Through Time

Shirvanshah

One last Azerbaijani table, surrounded by the objects, music and memories of another Baku.

For the final dinner, we wanted somewhere that could hold more than food.

Shirvanshah is a museum as much as a restaurant — rooms filled with carpets, copperwork, photographs and objects from Azerbaijani life.

Regional dishes arrive as traditional music moves through the house. After six evenings of discovering Baku one table at a time, it feels less like another dinner than a fitting place to say goodbye.

The week closes with the çay dəsgahı tea ceremony, hosted by Kamila Verdiyeva — or, should she be unable to join, by a senior member of the Merci Baku team on her behalf.

Kitchen: Regional Azerbaijani cuisine
Atmosphere: A museum of old Baku
Why we chose it: The final dinner should feel like a conclusion, not simply restaurant number six.

From the table

Tərəvəz dolması at Shirvanshah in Baku — stuffed eggplant, tomato and pepper — Tərəvəz dolması — stuffed eggplant, tomato and pepper

Saffron plov with dried apricot and raisin, served with lamb and chestnut stew at Shirvanshah in Baku — Plov with saffron, apricot and raisin

Beef braised with onion and dried cherry, served in an earthenware bowl at Shirvanshah in Baku — Beef braised with onion and dried cherry, in earthenware

Tomato salad with cherries, red onion and basil at Shirvanshah in Baku — Tomato salad with cherry, red onion and basil

One City. Six Evenings.

Baku, one table at a time.

A restaurant can tell you something about a city that a monument cannot. That is why dinner changes every night.

Six kitchens, six rooms and six different ways of understanding Baku — all chosen before you arrive, so that each evening adds something new to the journey.

Azerbaijani wine accompanies all six included dinners. The order of the evenings may change with venue availability and what the city offers that week; the number of evenings, the standard of the rooms and the care of the Merci Baku team do not.

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How the evenings work

What every evening includes

Hosted in person
The Merci Baku team hosts you in person, with Japanese-language guest support arranged according to your group’s needs.
Transfers
Transport between the hotel and the venue whenever it is needed.
Azerbaijani wine
Local wine, water and soft drinks with all six included dinners.
Arranged in advance
Dietary requirements are discussed with each venue before you arrive.
Your table is held
Every reservation is secured in advance. Nothing to book, nothing to chase.
Six different rooms
No evening repeats a setting, a kitchen or a register.

Mornings at Merci Baku

The First Taste of Baku

The Generous Table

A Summer House by the Caspian

Where Steak Takes Its Time

Azerbaijan, Beautifully Refined

A Farewell Through Time

Baku, one table at a time.

Hosted in person

Transfers

Azerbaijani wine

Arranged in advance

Your table is held

Six different rooms