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Azerbaijani cooking over a wood fire

Yeddi Ocaq is a small dining room with fifteen tables and an open wood hearth in the middle of it. The menu is short because everything is made from meat and vegetables bought that same morning.

One hearth, one table

The fire sits in the middle of the room and the kitchen is not hidden behind a wall. From your table you can watch skewers going over the coals and bread coming out of the tandir oven. That is not decoration — it is simply how the food is cooked, and we would rather you saw it. The menu follows the season. We do not serve tomato salad in the months when tomatoes have no taste, and in aubergine season aubergine turns up in three different dishes. Portions are built for sharing: putting several plates in the middle of the table and eating from all of them is the normal way here. We are not in a hurry, and we will not hurry you — dinner should take longer than an hour.

Menu

Starters

Kükü11 ₼
Herb frittata with dill, coriander and spring onion, served with cold yoghurt.
Qutab (3 pieces)9 ₼
Thin flatbread folded over herbs, pumpkin or minced beef, cooked on a sac griddle and brushed with butter.
Smoked aubergine dip10 ₼
Aubergine charred over the coals with tomato, pepper and garlic. Comes with tandir bread.
Shepherd's salad9 ₼
Finely chopped tomato, cucumber, onion and herbs with pomegranate molasses and olive oil.
Cheese and olive plate16 ₼
Motal, shor and çəmi cheeses with olives, walnuts and honey.
Vine leaf dolma15 ₼
Vine leaves rolled around beef and lamb, served with garlic yoghurt.

Main courses

Piti in a clay pot17 ₼
Lamb, chickpeas and tail fat cooked slowly in a sealed clay pot. Served with sumac and raw onion.
Lamb buğlama32 ₼
Lamb steamed in its own juices under a heavy lid, with potato and tomato.
Sweet plov26 ₼
Saffron rice with lamb, raisins, dried apricot and chestnut, with the crisp qazmaq crust served on the side.
Lamb sac34 ₼
Lamb fried on an iron sac with aubergine, pepper and tomato. Enough for two.
Dovğa8 ₼
Warm yoghurt soup with herbs, rice and chickpeas. Available with or without meatballs.
Whole roast sea bass30 ₼
Baked whole with lemon and herbs, with vegetables cooked over the fire alongside.

From the coals

Lamb tikə kebab22 ₼
Cubes of loin, kept in nothing but salt and onion juice. Served with onion and sumac.
Lülə kebab14 ₼
Hand-minced beef pressed onto the skewer, served wrapped in tandir bread.
Chicken kebab13 ₼
Breast and wing together, marinated in saffron and yoghurt.
Lamb ribs27 ₼
Cooked slowly at the edge of the fire so the centre stays juicy. Finished with pomegranate seeds.
Fish kebab24 ₼
Seasonal white fish skewered with bay leaf and lemon.
Vegetable kebab10 ₼
Aubergine, pepper, tomato and mushroom, smoky from the coals. Cooked without meat.

Sweets and tea

Baku paxlava7 ₼
Walnut, saffron and honey syrup. Two diamonds to a plate.
Şəkərbura5 ₼
Pastry crescent filled with hazelnut and cardamom, from dough made that morning.
Firni8 ₼
Rice flour, milk and saffron, dusted with cinnamon. Served warm.
Sheki halva9 ₼
Layers of fine rice-flour threads with hazelnut and sugar syrup. One piece is plenty.
Tea service7 ₼
Tea brewed and poured into armudu glasses, with homemade preserves, lemon and dried nuts.

How we do things

A few things worth knowing before you come, so nothing about the evening is a surprise.

  • An open wood fire

    Kebabs and sac dishes are cooked over the hearth in the middle of the room. We do not use gas or electric grills, which is why a kebab takes a little longer to arrive.

  • Dough made each morning

    Tandir bread, qutab and pastry dough are mixed early and baked in small batches through the day rather than all at once.

  • Vegetables in season

    Herbs and vegetables are bought from Baku markets the same day. If something is out of season, it is off the menu until it is back.

  • Terrace and indoor room

    From April to October the terrace adds around 20 seats. The indoor room runs all year, whatever the weather is doing.

  • Live music on Friday and Saturday

    Tar and kamancha are played in the evening, kept at a volume you can still talk over.

  • Groups and celebrations

    We set aside a private room for up to 30 guests. We agree the menu in advance so the food reaches the table hot and all together.

Set menus

Menus chosen in advance for larger tables. It lets the kitchen cook everything on one timeline and cuts the waiting in half.

  • Lunch set

    24 ₼per person

    Weekdays only, served between 12:00 and 16:00.

    • Soup of the day: piti or dovğa
    • One starter: kükü, shepherd's salad or aubergine dip
    • Main: lülə kebab, chicken kebab or dolma
    • Tandir bread and fresh herbs
    • Tea
  • Featured

    Hearth set

    45 ₼per person

    Laid out down the middle of the table and meant to be shared. Ordered for two guests or more.

    • Four starters: kükü, aubergine dip, shepherd's salad, cheese plate
    • Mixed kebabs: lamb tikə, lülə, chicken
    • Vegetables from the sac
    • Tandir bread and fresh herbs
    • Sweets: paxlava and şəkərbura
    • Tea with lemon and homemade preserves
  • Celebration table

    68 ₼per person

    For birthdays, engagements and family gatherings. Six guests minimum, confirmed a day ahead.

    • Six starters and two hot appetisers
    • Sweet plov, lamb buğlama and mixed kebabs
    • Whole roast fish, if you want it
    • Seasonal fruit plate
    • Sweets: paxlava, şəkərbura, Sheki halva
    • Tea service until the end of the evening
    • Private room and table layout
  • Children's set

    14 ₼per child

    Smaller portions, cooked without sharp spice or heavy smoke.

    • Small chicken or lülə kebab
    • Mashed potato or plain rice
    • Sliced cucumber and tomato
    • Homemade fruit kompot

Prices are per person. A 10% service charge is added to the bill. Please confirm a set menu at least one day in advance.

Kitchen and floor

It helps to know who is doing what in the room.

  • Elchin Muradli

    Head chef

    Writes the menu around the season and picks the meat and fish himself. Buğlama and plov come from his station.

  • Narmin Safarova

    Second chef

    Everything made of dough is hers: tandir bread, qutab, paxlava and şəkərbura.

  • Rufat Aliyev

    Fire cook

    The one on the coals. He decides the salt, when the skewer turns and how hard the fire runs.

  • Aysel Gadirova

    Floor manager

    Takes the bookings, plans the group menus and is the person who meets you at the door.

What guests say

The notes below are written samples for this template, not real guest reviews.

  • We sat at the table next to the fire and watched our kebab cook until it arrived. It had been a long time since I ate something this plain and this well cooked.
    KamranDinner for two
  • Came with the family on a Sunday. There was a proper set for our daughter, nobody rushed us, and the bill was no bigger than I expected.
    LalaSunday lunch
  • Eight of us from work. Because we had picked the menu in advance, everything reached the table hot and at the same time.
    TuralWork dinner
  • I am vegetarian and usually make do with two options. Here the kükü, vegetable kebab and herb qutab added up to a full table.
    SabinaGuest

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to book a table?

On weekdays before 19:00 there is usually a free table. For Friday and Saturday evenings, and for Sunday lunch, please call a day ahead. We confirm every booking by phone or WhatsApp message.

Can you take a group?

Yes. For groups over 10 we set aside a separate part of the room, and up to 30 guests can have the private room. In that case we agree the menu beforehand — the options are in the set menus section.

Is there parking?

There is street parking on the road in front of the building, though it fills up quickly in the evening. The nearest paid car park is a five-minute walk away; mention it when you book and we will send directions by message.

Are children welcome?

Of course. We have high chairs, there is a children's set on the menu, and the open fire is on the far side of the room from the walkways. Step-free entry for prams is on the ground floor.

What about vegetarian or other dietary needs?

Kükü, aubergine dip, shepherd's salad, herb qutab, vegetable kebab and meat-free dovğa are all cooked without meat. If you avoid gluten, dairy or nuts, tell us before you order and the chef will say plainly which dishes work.

Which nights have live music?

Friday and Saturday, from 20:00 to 23:00, with tar and kamancha. On other nights there is only quiet background music, so the room stays easy to talk in.

Do you take cards?

Yes — cash, Visa and Mastercard, and contactless payment by phone. If you want the bill split at the table, tell your waiter in advance and we will prepare it separately.

Opening hours

Monday
12:00 – 23:00
Tuesday
12:00 – 23:00
Wednesday
12:00 – 23:00
Thursday
12:00 – 23:00
Friday
12:00 – 00:30
Saturday
11:00 – 00:30
Sunday
11:00 – 22:00

The kitchen takes its last order one hour before closing. Hours change over Novruz and Gurban Bayram — please call that week to check.

Find us

Address
Xaqani street 00, Sabail district, Baku

Let us hold a table

Tell us how many of you there are and what time, and we will take care of the rest. Say so if you would like the terrace.