The food scene in Baku is very traditional and casual… no jackets are required and there certainly aren’t any amuse-bouches or petits fours, instead the table is filled with authentic homemade dishes like minced lamb leela kebabs, smoked aubergine salad and thick slices of bread. Baku restaurant in London is completely different in style and feel to what we experienced in Azerbaijan, but is still excellent offering the flavour and ideas of Baku just in a much smarter setting.
Centrally located on Sloane Street, it is inevitable that this restaurant would be swanky and stylish. With the Conde Nast publication Baku (by editor Leyla Aliyeva) at the door, guests are welcomed gracefully into this sophisticated venue. The restaurant is on the first floor, the swish of shopping bags at street level are left behind as you enter a world of culinary delights. Via a cool glass staircase you find a comfy plush bar decorated in warm woody tones.
Food is based on Azeri classics with a twist of contemporary flair and innovation from the chef, making it more approachable and appealing to all tastes. The menu is pricey but I can’t fault the dishes we tried:
Gutab 3 ways: stuffed pancakes with minced lamb, herbs and pumpkin £7.50
Grilled hand dived Scottish scallops £11.50
Crispy squid with chilli and spring onion with sweet chilli sauce £7.00
A trio of starters rich in flavour and blissfully fresh, every mouthful encouraged another! Stuffed pancakes were the Azeri classic here, neatly wrapped parcels of contrasting stuffings.
Mixed kebab: lamb chop, beef tika, lamb tika, lamb Lyula and country chicken. £27.50
Honey glazed duck breast and pickled kumquat £18.50
Grilled rib eye with sesame soy and sumac mash £24.50
Spicy Aubergine with cashew nut £4.00
It was a feast, far too much to finish and yet I’m so glad I tried it all. Spicy Aubergine was an unexpected delight, cut roughly, cooked to perfection and coated in the most scrumptious sweet nutty sauce. The meat was of the finest quality, juicy and well seasoned. Better than any food we tasted in Azerbaijan, but cleverly using the ingredients and recipes for which Azeri cuisine is known.
Desserts were a treat: vanilla pannacotta with saffron poached pear, smoked white chocolate mousse and chocolate fondant… they all sound hideously sweet but were in fact well balanced in taste and immaculately presented.
Cocktails were exemplary, honestly some of the best I’ve tried in London. Innovative but classic, the best was The Lale Flower Club (named after the beautiful Azerbaijani flower, made from pine-infused Beefeater gin, Galliano l’Authentico liqueur shaken with lemon sherbet and homemade raspberry and rose petal sugar… pink, pretty and delicious.
Food here is very pricey, but you’d expect that from a restaurant on Sloane Street, in my opinion the food is definitely worth splashing out on.
The five star international hotels setting up shop in Baku would benefit enormously from an eatery of this calibre. The only restaurant offering the taste of Azerbaijan in London, they bravely put Baku on the map. Hopefully as Baku grows as a tourist destination this restaurant will too.
Baku also offers a bar and club on the other floors… if you are interested in art it is well worth visiting the temporary exhibition downstairs in the club featuring popular contemporary artists like Tracey Emin.
More information on Baku restaurant here.
