Qaynana - The Azerbaijani Restaurant in Baku Old City
Hello everyone!!!
This is another post from my Azerbaijan trip. I had gone to Azerbaijan with my wife and her family (her father, mother and sister). So we were five of us, looking for a place to have lunch on our second day in Baku. Once again we were in Icherisheher (Old Baku City), and some research brought up the name of Qaynana restaurant, located in Icherisheher. So once again we followed Google Maps and reached the place. The restaurant was located on the ground floor and was easy to find and access.
About the Restaurant
The word Qaynana literally means "Mother-in-Law" in Azerbaijani language. In Azerbaijani culture, mother-in-law is seen as the ultimate authority in cooking traditional, home-cooked meals. Thus the name itself signifies that the place offers traditional Azerbaijani cuisine. The restaurant has traditional looking interiors which reflects Azerbaijani culture. Online reviews mentioned that the place is almost always full, and usually has a waiting time before one can be seated. When we reached the place it was almost full, and we had to wait for about 10 minutes before getting a table for the five of us to sit.
The Food and Service
After sitting down, we were handed the menu. The menu had a variety of options of salads, vegetarian dishes, meat dishes, pilaaf among other local delicacies. We ordered a chicken salad (Olivier), Kelfi Becha (rustic chicken cooked in wine), Piti (Azerbaijani Lamb Stew), Chicken Pilaaf, their freshly cooked bread and black tea pot.
The servers brought out all of the dishes one after the other in quick succession, but had forgotten to bring the chicken salad. Once we reminded them of the dish, it was immediately brought to our table. The salad was very creamy and delicious, Piti was full of flavour, the Pilaaf was good, the chicken dish cooked in wine paired with the pilaaf was unique in taste and the bread was fresh. Out of all the dishes, the chicken salad and the Piti were our favorites. Overall the food and service provided was good.
| Food Item | Price in AZN (Local Currency) | Price in Steem |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken Salad (Olivier) | 6 | 55 |
| Piti | 11 | 101 |
| Kelfi Becha | 17 | 157 |
| Pilaaf | 17 | 157 |
| Bread | 2 | 18 |
| Tea Pot | 5 | 46 |
My Final Thoughts
Qaynana offers great options for both vegetarians and non vegetarians, though they offer more to non vegetarians, as do most Azerbaijani restaurants. The restaurant is frequented by many locals which is a sign of them providing authentic local delicacies. The five of us enjoyed both the ambience and the food of Qaynana. It is certainly a restaurant I would recommend to anyone travelling to Baku.
📍Date of Visit: 25th January 2026
📍Google map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/eQn6S7U98W5hyrD39
📍 Steem-atlas:
[//]:# (!steematlas 40.36860997 lat 49.83596921 long Qaynana Restaurant, Kichik Qala d3scr)
📍 Complete address: Kichik Qala, Baku, Azerbaijan
⏲️ Operational Hours: 8.00 am - 11.30 pm