Housed in one of the three Flame Towers that dramatically dominate Baku’s skyline, a visit to the Fairmont Baku Hotel is a must.  Even if you only take the funicular up the hill from the Old Town to stand in the grand lobby with its chandelier that looks like a jeweled necklace, consider it time well spent.  And if you have a bit more time to spend, why not enjoy Lunch at the Fairmont Baku Flame Towers?

The dramatic chandelier in the lobby of the Fairmont Baku Flame Towers hotel.

During my visit to Baku, I had the opportunity to dine at Le Bistro.  When you enter the restaurant just off the main lobby, you are transported into a place of good food and relaxed luxury.

I was lucky to sit down with the Marketing & PR Manager of the Fairmont Baku and share a meal while learning all about this beautiful hotel that is currently celebrating its 5th anniversary.

I visited Le Bistro as a guest of the Fairmont Baku, but all opinions in this article are my own.

The Food

First things first…let’s start with the food. I read plenty of restaurant reviews that spend paragraphs going on about the color palate and the choice of seating fabric. That’s great and I will definitely get to the restaurant’s interior, but no amount of decor and design is going to win me over to a restaurant if the food is not good.

Luckily, Le Bistro at the Fairmont Baku Flame Towers has nothing to worry about.

The hotel describes Le Bistro’s menu as Mediterranean with a local touch.  Think fresh fishes and vegetables, crisp salads and delicious grains. Most of the dishes seemed to err on the side of healthy, but did not skimp on flavor or creativity.

The Choban Salad at Le Bistro restaurant

I started with a Choban Salad; a local dish of chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and white cheese. It was fresh and delicious and reminded me of something I might get in Greece or Lebanon.  The salad was served with a rustic roll that came in a cute paper bag rather than a bread basket.

Given the size of the dish, I could have stopped there. Maybe adding a cup of coffee to round out the meal. But who am I kidding?  I like to eat almost as much as I like to travel, so additional courses did follow.

After the salad, I ordered an entree from the main menu; a perfectly prepared roasted salmon.  It arrived cooked with mushrooms, hazelnuts and a lemon sauce – a flawless mix of flavors and textures.

My main dish of perfectly prepared roasted salmon

Dessert? Well…I shouldn’t. Really, I shouldn’t. Wait did you say, Honey Cake??  I have never had Honey Cake before.  But I like Honey and I like Cake.  And, well if you  insist…

A traditional Azerbaijani dessert, Honey Cake may be my newest love.  It looked a bit like a French mille feuille, but with even thinner layers of cake and cream and no icing on the top. It was H-E-A-V-E-N-L-Y and I may have had thoughts of storming the kitchen and demanding the rest of the cake stash to take home with me.  I resisted, but just barely.

Probably my favorite dish in all of Baku – the simply delicious honey cake.

I knew I had some more sightseeing to do after lunch plus the Formula 1 races to attend, so in the effort to ward off food coma, I ended the meal with a nice strong cup of coffee.

While I ordered off the main menu, Le Bistro also offers a Business Lunch menu to cater to the people working in nearby offices. This menu had just launched at the time of my visit and it provided lighter options, quick service and a reasonable price for people stopping in between meetings or even for a meeting. My host ordered off of this Business Lunch menu, and his food looked just as delicious.

The Business Lunch menu at Le Bistro

The Restaurant

After passing through the grand entrance of the Fairmont Baku’s lobby, head to the right side of the check in desk and you will find your way to Le Bistro. Follow the grey and white tiled floor to your table. Sink into the pearl-colored leather booth seats or the tan leather chairs and lay a crisp white napkin across your lap.

Pull up a seat and enjoy a lunch at Le Bistro

The decor feels luxurious but not stuffy. Located just off a large patio area, a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows brings in a lot of light, adding a warmth to the neutral colors of the restaurant’s decor.  You will find ceam, silver and grey fabrics with marble accents and dark lacquer tables.  A large and open dining area still manages to feel private with low dividing walls and creatively placed tables.

The restaurant’s decorations are subdued and not overwhelming. Most of the walls have large mirrors and a few black and white photos of historic Baku.

The hostess stand in the restaurant’s foyer.

Floor to ceiling windows let in the light from the hotel’s patio

The Service

The service at Le Bistro is just as you’d like it to be for a restaurant catering to business people and hotel guests.  From the host to the servers to the cleaning staff, everyone was polite and helpful without hovering.

Upon being seated, the server quickly appeared with our menu and was ready to provide suggestions and answer questions about the food. Everyone I met spoke fluent English as you would expect at an international business class hotel.

Plates arrived and were cleared with minimal interruption and at the pace appropriate for a business lunch.  I never felt rushed, but at the same time things kept moving in case I had to get back to an office cubicle.  Thank goodness, I did not!

Table setting details at Le Bistro

The Hotel

The only thing wrong with my visit to the Fairmont’s Le Bistro restaurant?

The fact that I couldn’t retire to my own room after lunch for a well deserved food-coma inspired nap. But that’s OK. I will be back one day to enjoy all that this AAA Four-Diamond Award winning hotel has to offer.

Over lunch, I had plenty of time with my host to discuss some of the features of the Fairmont Baku Flame Towers.

Cala lilies in the Fairmont Baku’s entryway

In addition to their normal luxury rooms, the hotel also offers Fairmont Gold which gives you more exclusive access in an already luxurious hotel.  With a private check in area, special access to a lounge for afternoon tea and complimentary happy hour and stunning views from the 10th – 26th floors, this, folks, is where you’ll find me on my next visit.

Can’t get enough of the hotel and ready for a longer stay? Well, there are also 19 serviced apartments that you can rent for 1 week, 1 month or 1 year.  With free WiFi, discounts on spa treatments and food at the on site restaurants, plus free access to the gym and pool, I’m sure an apartment at the Flame Towers is quite affordable. Oh wait…you still have to pay for those beautiful views of the Caspian Sea. Guess you’d better keep saving up your Azerbaijaini manat.

High ceilings in the Fairmont Baku lobby soar about the check in desk.

While I am not sure when I’ll be back to Baku, I do hope to visit again. I have so much of the city and the surrounding areas to continue exploring. And when I return, I plan to lay my head on the down pillows of the Fairmont Baku Flame Towers.  The iconic location, views of the city and top notch service put this hotel on my Pinterest list of  Hotels I’d Love to Visit.

Even if you have not booked a room at the Fairmont, I definitely recommend a visit to Le Bistro restaurant. The food, vibe and service I experienced during my visit were all part of a beautifully, relaxed lunchtime experience.

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