We would like to thank each of you for appreciating and visiting old Merci Baku
Yours Sincerely, Kamila Verdiyeva
IT SEEMED TO ME THAT THE COMBINATION WITH THE SPIRIT OF OUR EAST AND OLD EUROPE WOULD BE VERY SUCCESSFUL, AND I WANTED TO CREATE SOMETHING EXQUISITE IN THE STYLE OF MARIA ANTUANETTA
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I DID NOT HAVE EXPERIENCE IN THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS. BUT I REALLY WANTED TO EXPERIMENT.
IT TURNED OUT THAT THIS IS A MUCH MORE DIFFICULT AREA THAN THE JEWELRY BUSINESS.
The idea of Merci Baku was born completely spontaneously. We passed by this place and saw that it was rented. I really love the Old City, and when I was still in school, I always dreamed of having a French restaurant here. I would never have thought that I could turn it on myself! I studied in France and liked the atmosphere of Provence very much. It seemed to me that the combination with the spirit of our East and Old Europe would be very successful, and I wanted to create something exquisite in the style of Maria Antuanetta. At that time, I did not have experience in the restaurant business. I have been working in jewelry for seven years. But I wanted to try a lot. It turns out that this is much harder than jewelry (laughs).
We decided to create something completely special without looking at the traditional rules of Azerbaijani enterprises. As a result, everyone was shocked by light walls and close-placed tables. In Azerbaijan, half-partitions in restaurants, separate rooms and even separate rooms have become a tradition. We have the tables were very close, in the style of a French bistro. At first it was unusual for people, but now such interiors have become fashionable! All our regular customers got acquainted here – nearby tables create conditions for acquaintance and warm relations.
We opened up more quickly than we planned. We conveyed the nuances to perfection, chose the staff … and at 11 o’clock in the evening my friends gathered in the restaurant and literally asked them to open the doors (laughs). I had to agree. We started preparing some snacks to meet guests quickly with our girlfriends. And since then, the restaurant has no longer been closed. People waiting for the table to empty were lined up in the queue at the door. It was incredible! I served the guests myself, because there was a lack of staff. I could not allow someone to go unsatisfied. But now we have a wonderful team. And I’m sure of all my collaborators.
My favorite dish in Merci Baku is Azeri Trio. This is a mixture of three salads. First, barbecue salad, which is prepared in our special barbecue machine. The machine is unique in that everything prepared on it has already absorbed the aroma of coal. Still the trio includes Shepherd salad and spinach salad. It is very tasty. In general, the favorite dishes of our guests are national dishes: dushbara, Saj, khingal. We work 24 hours a day. Therefore, at 4 and 5 o’clock in the morning we prepare national Azerbaijani dishes. We can’t change our people. They like to try something new, but return to their native home. We also love schnitzel, befstroganov and other French dishes.
Merci Baku restaurant hosts many foreign guests. We had Jah Khalib who came to see his friends in our restaurant. Here is a clip by Sati Kazanova with us. Ivanka Trump, Mila Jovovich, Sean Paul, Stephen Sigal… we are waiting for Nargiz Zakirovu soon. At the same time, our regular guests come with the stars to the restaurant, take pictures and chat. I would like to see here one more of The Hollywood stars, for example, Monica Bellucci, Leonardo Di Caprio. Of course, we are thinking on further development. We planned to open an Azerbaijani restaurant in France, but so far we have postponed this idea. But soon we will open a new Merci Baku restaurant. Wait!
