Gastronomy
Baku, One Table at a Time
Wild-caught Caspian Osetra sturgeon is one of Azerbaijan’s most prized delicacies. Food is not an addition to this journey—it is the way the city is introduced.
At the table
From morning to evening
Each day begins at Merci Baku and each evening reveals a different side of Azerbaijan's culinary culture.
Breakfast at Merci Baku
Every morning begins at the same table: warm bread, local cheeses, honey, strong tea.
Caviar in the morning
A signature of a Caspian city, served the way it should be—simply, and early.
Azerbaijani breakfast traditions
Preserves, herbs, eggs cooked slowly, and conversation that runs long.
Premium local restaurants
Rooms the city chooses for itself, not the ones built for visitors.
Contemporary Baku dining
A younger generation reinterpreting a very old kitchen.
Regional recipes
Dishes that change with the region they come from.
Local wine
Azerbaijani wine poured alongside the included dining programme.
Hospitality and conversation
Dinner here is a social occasion, not a tasting exercise.
Caviar in the morning
The day begins with caviar
In a Caspian city, caviar is not reserved for the evening. It belongs on the breakfast table, served plainly and without ceremony.
Warm blini, crème fraîche, freshly baked waffles and strong tea. What follows is only a glimpse of a morning table that changes each day.
The larder
From the Caspian, and from the land
Azerbaijan's wealth begins with its ingredients. Almost everything on the table is local, and the menus follow what arrived that morning.
Caspian fish
Sea bass, kutum and sturgeon-family fish, eaten a few kilometres from the water they came out of.
Caviar
The signature of a Caspian city—served in the morning, without ceremony.
Fruit
Goychay pomegranates, figs, apricots, quince and summer melons.
Meat
Mountain lamb, charcoal kebabs and slow-cooked local beef.
Vegetables and herbs
Bowls of tarragon, dill and cress on every table, all year.
Grains and pulses
Rice for plov cooked with pomegranate or chestnut, lentils and chickpeas.
Dairy
Sheep's cheese, house yoghurt and clarified butter at breakfast.
Honey, nuts and spice
Mountain honey, hazelnuts, walnuts, saffron and sumac.
Wine and tea
Wine from Azerbaijani vineyards, and strong tea poured continuously.
Seasonality
What is local, when it is best
Nothing is fixed. Spring brings herbs and young lamb; summer, fruit and tomatoes; autumn, pomegranates, chestnuts, mushrooms and the year's wine.
Rather than importing luxury, the week is built around local producers, fishermen and markets—the reason the food tastes of this place.
The host
Every table chosen by hand
The six evenings are not a list of popular restaurants. They are rooms Kamila has returned to over years—places where the staff remember her name, the menu can be adjusted, and the evening feels like being received in a private home.
What matters more than formality is trust: the relationship that lets her shape each dinner around the guests at the table.
Six evenings
Six distinct evening experiences
The six dinners are deliberately unalike: a stone courtyard, a contemporary room on the water, a family dining room, and a farewell table at the end of the week.
Not every meal is formal. The week should feel luxurious but warm, personal and genuinely enjoyable.
The Tea Experience
Five expressions of Azerbaijan.
One country. Five very different cups.
In Azerbaijan, tea is brewed patiently. It is given time to deepen, served slowly, and shared as part of hospitality.
During the Merci Baku journey, mornings introduce a changing selection of Azerbaijani black teas and local herbal infusions — several expressions rather than one standard cup.
Taste them side by side.
- 01Lankaran Black TeaDeep · fragrant
- 02Saffron TeaWarm · aromatic
- 03Lemon ThymeBright · herbal
- 04Mountain HerbsWild · fragrant
- 05The Fifth CupA seasonal surprise
The selection changes with season and availability. The ritual remains the same: taste, compare, discover.
From Lankaran
Where Azerbaijani tea begins.
In Azerbaijan’s subtropical south, tea has been cultivated around Lankaran for generations.
Its deep black tea is the foundation of the tradition — and the starting point for the wider collection of teas and infusions we introduce throughout the journey.
The Azerbaijani Way
Not just what we brew.
How we brew it.
Azerbaijani tea is allowed to develop patiently.
The brew is concentrated, the serving unhurried, and the strength adjusted at the table to suit the guest.
Alongside classic black tea, mornings can introduce thyme, mountain herbs, saffron and other local infusions.
A familiar respect for the ritual.
For Japanese guests, there is something immediately recognizable in the attention given to preparation, presentation, season and time around the cup.
The traditions are different. The respect for the ritual is not.
At the Tea Table
More than tea.
The cup arrives with the small pleasures that belong around it — preserves, honey, nuts, dried fruit and something sweet.
Together they turn tea from a drink into hospitality.
- White-cherry preserve
- Walnut preserve
- Local honey
- Nuts & dried fruit
- Seasonal sweets
Wine
Local wine and hospitality
Local wine, water, soft drinks and local beer are included with the selected dining programme. Spirits and premium imported alcohol are not included.