Baku Palace Restaurant

We had the best time EVER! So much food, friendly staff and the show was so much fun! After midnight the place kind of turned into a club which was FIRE ! The music, the lights, the ambience was pretty cool

My boyfriend and I celebrated New Year's in Baku. The food was delicious, the show beautiful and we danced a lot

for fans of the Russian atmosphere. The food is delicious, the service is not in a hurry, the prices are reasonable.

I had an extremely disappointing experience at Baku Palace. The food was poorly prepared and lacked flavor, clearly not up to the standards one would expect for the prices they charge. The waitstaff were rude, unprofessional, and seemed to have no idea how to do their jobs properly. The pricing did not reflect the quality or service at all. To make matters worse, the music was unbearably loud and outdated, making it hard to enjoy the meal. The performers appeared to be lip-syncing, which only added to the lackluster atmosphere. As for the management, it was a disaster. The manager was completely incompetent, seemed intoxicated, and was more focused on personal matters than overseeing the operations of the restaurant. I would not recommend celebrating weddings, birthdays, or any special events here. This place is far from what it claims to be, and I would never suggest it to anyone looking for a quality dining experience.

My wife and I hosted our wedding here. Wow! We got so many compliments from our family and friends. They were blown away by the azeri level of service, the quality of food and the volume! (Kutavi, Lamb chops, plov and smoked fish are amazing). This place is elegantly decored inside, with modern sound system and lighting. Their visting entertainment lead by Nourdain is also outstanding. Great range in singing performances and DJing and coordinated well with an outside band. They made our special night truly a night to remember. Shout out to El Dar and the excellent wait staff. Bravo.

LOVE and PASSION.flowers Was very happy to cooperate with the personel and hosts of the restaurant. Significant place! Wonderful food! You should have a dinner here! We loved it! You also wil

Kevin was our server and he did such a great job! Omg, he was so kind, taking care all the clients (allergy restrictions) and taking pictures if any client asking, checking if everything is okay, making to go box(that was so surprising in the US,otherwise it is usual in Europe) even he gave us additional 20% discount. I wish all America would have such a great server, he proofs how the real server should be. Thanks to his parents for giving him such a great behavior and mentality! And yes the food was delicious, obviously, Azerbaijani food is really one of the best!

Baku Palace is one of the BEST restaurants in Brooklyn! Their food is amazing their service is amazing and their atmosphere is incredible. The manager (Gabriel Nektalov), the waiters, everyone is very kind! They have incredible live music by the one and only amazing, stunning and wonderful singer Anastasia Baast with her wonderful and euphonious voice. They as well have a beautiful show every Saturday night starting at 11pm! You will truly be amazed by this fantastic restaurant Baku palace! Come and join, you won't regret!!!

Went here with my friend who was born in Baku ! So it was definitely a test to see if the food is authentic or not. She told me the dishes we tried just similar to what her grandma used to cook. The ambiance is family and relaxed, although we see some group were hosting a birthday luncheon. Service was friendly and quick. We sat in a small corner on the second floor, but didn't feel we were forgotten by the busy staff. Overall great food and experience!

I don't recommend, not at all . Food and services are not good at all. Don't waste your time and your money.

Generous food portions, beautiful party room. Great entertainment and courteous staff.

That's the only place that left in south Brooklyn that withstood the time and kept the still have great food exceptional service and entertainment. Thank you guy we had a great time yesterday!

My family and I were looking for a nice restaurant with outdoor dining today. Enter: Baku. It had considerably more seating than the other restaurants nearby and was above 3 stars (Signature was a 3-star rating so forget about it entirely). Still, not being 4 stars put me in a quandary, but I went with it, and I'm so glad we did! Everything was delicious and super filling, from the bread to the salad to the entrees. We got the Prime Ribeye Steak, Branzino fish, and Saint Peter's fish. The former fish is "oiled," while the latter is grilled, but the difference upon serving is minuscule. The fish come with a dip that has an underlying mustard taste, but I'm not sure what else it's made of. As for my steak, wow, the portion size was huge!!! I ended up giving a third of it to the rest of my family members. There are also potato wedges, pepper slices, onion bits and even pineapple circles on the side, though some are quite charred. For dessert, the options are limited to Napoleon or French Napoleon (Napoleon with fruit haha). We got tea and jellies alongside it. Tea is good for balancing the sweetness of the Napoleon dessert, but I just ate the sour raspberries and strawberries to counter that. Why the star off? The service overall was decent actually. The waiter promptly gave us our single-use menus, answered questions we have, took away our finished appetizer plate, and checked up on us a couple of times. What we didn't like was that halfway through our meal, we noticed many of the waiters were no longer wearing their masks properly. Some simply left their masks on their chin, one didn't have one at all, and a couple others had their noses exposed from their mask. Maybe it's because they forgot to put it back on amidst the frenetic nature of being a server, or they wanted to appear more personable? Personally, we think safety is more important and are fine if the hospitality aspect takes a small nosedive. Additionally, many patrons were not wearing masks, meaning they're not required to. I know restaurants probably just want the business, but seriously, people should be required to. There was no sanitizer provided--at least on the outside of the restaurant--luckily, we brought our own.

My friend Irine had her sons Arthur and Annas wedding in Baku Palace. The food was very well prepared and served to perfection. She said the waiters went out of their way to please every guest. The ambiance is beautiful!!! Gabrielle the head waiter and manager checked in with them throughout the night to make sure that everything was perfect. She couldn't believe how much effort everyone in the restaurant put in to see that every guest had a good time and enjoyed themselves. It was definitely a five star experience!!!

Plastic plates, dirty utensils, paper napkins, butter in single serving packages as well as ketchup....but 20$ salads and 42$ previously frozen fish...overdone grisselly steak. Horrendously slow service....I guess soviet/eastern block expats are all used to this kind of service because that was the clientele. I guess you paying for the view of water

This is what Baku Palace served me as a main entree for a vegeterian. A plate of raw cucumbers and uncooked tomoatoes. Someone please help them with some vegeterians entrees!! For appetizers I had a burrata salad and beet salad. Meanwhile everyone else had lobster, lamb, turkey, duck, chicken, ham etc....I hope the chef takes some lessons And that the owners refund the bride and groom some money. I left the Baku palace hungry even though I spoke to the maitre di and 5 waiters during cocktail hour (where I had some crackers and cheese-nothing else at all vegetarian)

Beware! They stole my money out of my wallet that was in the inside pocket of my coat hanging on a chair in the main room and then insinuated that it could've been someone from my friends.

The best restaurant in NY. We came from California and had the best experience. Delicious food, friendly helpful and professional staff!!!! Highly recommended, will come again for sure!

Terrible management. I reserved a table for my husband's birthday 2 weeks in advance. When my guests and I arrived at the restaurant, the manager told me that my reservation had been canceled because they had other banquets, and that they called me 20 times, although I did not have a single call from them. They didn't leave a message on the phone either. Due to their lack of professionalism, my guests and I had to look for another restaurant to celebrate my husband's birthday. I am ashamed that this restaurant bears the name of the city where I was born.

Went there for my Birth Day party. Food was decent but over priced. Short Ribs were tiny and tough. F potatoes wee from frozen potatoes. Seeice was slow bread didn't taste fresh. But the worst was when we got the bill. They charged for tap water and without prior notice billed for credit card use. Our bill was over $600 and I resent being nicke and domed like that. Forget this place lots of better places to dine and party

Whoever is giving these 5 star reviews must be getting paid well for the reviews ... Agree with the below people on the horrible service. At a point I was so frustrated with the rudeness that I had to tell the waiter to keep his attitude down. There is no such thing is a good customer service there. We came for my moms birthday party, after hearing how good the revamped the place and regret ever giving it a chance. The waiters were beyond rude, they gave us a different table than what we asked for, they brought out the dessert while the appetizer fish was still on the table ??? You ask the waiter what fish they are bringing they just say fish they don't know what king of fish - salmon sea bass etc ? There are so many better options in the area. I would never go here again.

I celebrate my 55th . loved everything. Starting from manager , personal, food , music. By the way today we are going to celebrate ours friend 80th!!!!

Excellent delivery. Food portion and quality in terms of taste is great. Not one bad thing on the menu. Personal favorites I recommend to all food junkies: Lamb chops. Pan fried branzino. Pan fried potatoes.

Don't know where to start we came here on a Saturday night with couple of friends we're having a good time the service was OK the food wasn't so good had a little smell Well that was not an issue When the night was coming to an end as the weather to give us the bill when the bill arrived we did not even look at what we ordered we just paid the money and left because everybody was a little tipsy so the next day I realized why the bill was so much so I called the manager and ask him to text me receipt and I saw A lot of things that we did in the order and I was wondering They overcharge me for $245 are you serious that's how you rip off people you make a fortune by ripping off people please watch your bill when you get it and look at my receipts all the yellow highlights things that we didn't know

Finally restaurants are back , this Baku have great food and service best fish grilled fish in the area with live music

This is so embarrassing to even post such a horrible review. We came here for Mother's Day with 14 guests. To wait for some bread for 30 minutes, after asking for it 4 times is completely inexcusable. To catch a waiter try to walk away with half a bottle of our own wine from the table is beyond ridiculous. This place needs to get their staff in order. To have their own employees steal their guests liquor is a joke. I will never, ever come here and will never recommended this place to anyone ever again. I decided to give it another chance after I was invited for a birthday, and it was just as horrendous. The service is absolutely horrible. You have to beg to get anything and then it takes 30 minutes and multiple reminders for you to be brought something as simple as bread.

Were at the wedding! terrible food! Crazy money!!! the wors, such a waste ! sorry fot the couple and their money!

I attended their New Years celebration with friends and family. The food, service, and entertainment were great! I will surely be happy to return for more celebrations and festivities. Russian cuisine was served at the New Years celebration. I enjoyed all of the dishes we were served. My three favorite dishes were the fried potatoes with mushrooms, the salmon and tuna tartare, and the cold cut platter.

If you were to go here as not part of a party, I'd recommend the sturgeon kebab/lamb chops though it probably won't be the same experience as in a large group. Was here with a large group of around 20 people who have been going here for parties for a long time. We had the buffet menu with some additions/some changes. The table Azeri wine was pretty good also. The menu listed below is the buffet menu but I'll edit it to show what was different. Waiters were fine and overall the experience was fantastic with a good singer. Appetizers: Fish Carpaccio Platter-Low-Salt Salmon (Lox) and Smoked Eel (normal) Instead we had the same platter though with Salmon, another similar fish, and sable. The fish quality was solid as expected. Charcuterie Platter- Boiled Beef Tongue, Air-Dried Beef (Basturma), Chicken and Goose Breast Pastrami Beef tongue was made perfectly. Basturma and Pastrami were also good though I preferred the tongue as the Basturma didn't have as much spice as I am used to. Sesame Crusted Tuna Meat with Salad and Honey-Soy Sauce: Was overall just OK. I found the tuna to be occasionally sinewy. Variety Sushi Platter: Two Chef's Special and Four Regular Rolls: I tried one of the tuna rolls which was just OK. Then again it's sushi in a Russian/Azeri restaurant. Baku Eggplant Platter-Eggplant Spread, Stuffed Eggplant with Cheese, Fried Eggplant with Walnuts: Didn't try, most others tried/seemed to like this. Roasted Duck with Caramelized Apples: Duck was super tender. They came around with this dish and put it on the table once some pieces were taken. It was quite good and very rich. Crab Salad with Japanese Mayonnaise Dressing: They didn't have this. Instead it was substituted with a cold Eel/Seaweed salad which was good. The cold eel was different than I am used to but the flavors all worked together. Burrata Salad-Burrata Cheese over Heirloom Tomato Salad. They brought this around similar to the duck. Burrata was solid and the tomato quality was also high. Entrees: Fried Potatoes with Mushrooms: Solid as with every other place. Good fry. Lamb and Fresh Herb Kutabs: Essentially a pancake stuffed with fatty lamb (in a good way) and spices.This was good. I have had similar things in terms of Samsa but I think something like this once. Good fry. The yogurt sauce was nice. Fire Roasted Sturgeon Kebab Best dish of the night along with the lamb chops. Perfectly prepared with a non overpowering pomegranate sauce. Excellent. Had two of these. Braised Beef Short Ribs Very good. There was a sourish sauce that it was topped with. Beef was super tender. I would have had more but it was all getting rich quickly and I wanted to save room for lamb. Kebabs: Fire Roasted Lyula Kebab, Fire Roasted Chicken Kebab, Fire Roasted Lamb Chops. I tried a bit of each. The lamb chops were among the best I have had. Super tender meat. My 2nd favorite thing there. The Lyula/Lulya kebab was very good with a good amount of spice. The chicken kebab was fine. The flavors were OK. It is more that the lamb was excellent rather than the chicken was bad. There were also some veggies which I didn't try. Dessert: Baku Palace Napoleon: Normal variant. Nice flaky crust. Pretty light which I didn't mind after how rich the rest of the meal was. Assorted Fruit Platter: It's a fruit platter. The fruit parrots on top were a nice touch. There was also some black tea which was good. Put a piece of sugar on your tongue and drink some it seems. 4.7

Delicious, fresh tasting food, but horrible service. The food compensates for it, but employees could be more patient and attentive at all times not just when they need to be. Will continue to eat here tho

What a travesty of an establishment. Embarrassed to write a review, as this place is beneath me, however when your grandfather wants to go here for his bday, you must oblige. The comic relief is brought in by the entertainment, these "singers" are off the boaters who essentially do bad Karoke. The food is embarrassing. It's probably several day old food from the supermarket across the street. The service is abysmal and will tack on 18%, whilst dropping plates on you, thanks for dirtying up my Alexander Wang cocktail dress! Hard Pass

We came here a couple weeks back for my friend's son's birthday. First impressions of the place is a bit confusing. We went in on the entrance, which I guess is their restaurant and not the catering hall. Not sure if the waiter was new or something but basically he told us to go up the stairs which led us to angry grumpy men telling us that we don't belong there. Eventually we figured it was the side entrance that was not visibly clear it was the entrance to the catering rooms or what room we are suppose to go to. Walking in we are told to use the elevator to the second floor since the stairs were out of order for some reason. The food was decent. They serve food a little differently here. Although family style, they have the waiters putting the food on your plate. The arrangement of the table was a bit tight since we were sitting on the inside. It's definitely not one of the top Russian restaurants I've been too. There is need of improvement here in service and signage of where to go.

Baku Palace is a Sheepshead bay gem. We had a big party (14 people) and they were able to serve us all while following the COVID guidelines which included two separate tables. The service was impeccable, the food as always was delicious and fresh, and the ambiance of the outdoor dining area is gorgeous. The manager and our main waiter made us feel super comfortable and were always making sure that we were satisfied. We have celebrated many birthdays here, and will continue to do so! 10/10 recommend.

Can't say it's bad restaurant sorry can't say it's very good either. For Coppell make sure you open your wallet for up to $300. Main courses priced slightly higher than any mid range restaurant in Manhattan. This restaurant is more for events like baby shower, weddings, and birthdays but they also have regular entry for people who want to stay with their loved ones. And will gladly serve up to 4 guests per table

This is the first Yelp review I have ever left-- ever but this place was amazing so I just had to. I had my birthday dinner there last night with a group of friends. We were about 20. The food was insanely good, I am dreaming of that sea bass and the potato and mushroom. Please get it if you go there. The staff was attentive and overall the dinner was affordable for the quality of food and service. The space is amazing, service was excellent. Our server was very good and it was our first time there so he suggested some appetizers and entrees.. Everything was so good and flavorful! Portions were large which was good because I brought home some leftovers which I am already excited for. I live nearby but most of my friends came in from Manhattan and they did not regret it!! Everyone loved it. The live entertainment was a plus. We danced and really had a good time. And I am not even Russian or Azerbaijani and I had some reservations about feeling out of place but boy was I wrong.. I loved everything about it. And I will be going back there, OFTEN! I just got married last year and had we known how magical this place was, I would have done my reception here. Would highly recommend this place and I will be going back again and again and again, SOON!! Ten stars!

Ordered lunch here from a recommendation from a friend. Wasnt sure what to expect but it was SOLID. Not sure what they do to the chicken but it was very moist and tender. There is nothing worse than overcooked chicken but you will not find that here. The item that I couldnt stop eating was the caesar salad. The dressing is just right without being too salty. The salad wasnt overly dressed and the croutons add a well needed crunch to the dish. They also had some sort of rice with lamb that was unique but hit the spot. The lamb was flavorful and although I do not know the name of the dish I would order it again. Great job Baku!

I didn't like it. This is not Azerbaijani food. Food is old, kabab is not made on charcoal. Saying the service is bad is an understatement. I have never seen worst service ever. Whoever says the service there is like service in former USSR is wrong. In USSR service was much better.

This place holds a special place in my heart. The service is very friendly and very relaxed. The food, is very flavored and the meat is tender and melts in your mouth. I had lamb, and boy was it delicious! My fiance had a combo platter and loved the different selection of meats he received. The prices are not too bad for someone on a budget. Their portion size is large, so it is worth your money. The view, is wonderful especially on a summer evening. At the end of our meal, we were served complimentary drinks. Like I said, the service was wonderful.

After having lunch about one month ago at their outdoor sitting area, decided to order delivery dinner for a few guests. We live 5 min away and yet the food arrived cold. Portions were miniscular: Baku salad portion was a size of a cup, side of rice was around 1 table spoon, shish and lulya kebabs had 3 pieces of meat per portion. Taste wise these were unimpressive, unlike fried calamari, which were so rubbery and underseasoned that we had to unfortunately throw them out. Home fries were fried looong before they arrived to us, so did not taste good either So sad that we felt taken advantage of! Shame in a restaurant that used to pride itself by the quality of its food....

Made a mistake coming here with my grandpa in his 95th bday. It was such a special occasion and because of proximity came here. We got French banquet. The service and food were terrible. For 10 people they put one bowl of tuna tar tar on once side of the table and a small portion of lox on the other, when asked why they said that's the portion for 10-12 people and we "can't put Eveything in the middle!" The appetizers half of the time were not distributed and guests had to do it themselves as well as simple stuff as fried potatoes were nearly not enough for all the guests. Salads were looking like they were sitting there for 3 days. Spoke to management who did nothing except sent another waiter. Funny enough, 3 months later my coworker had a party there and when i asked her how it was she said the same exact things that happened to us with one little bowl of tuna tar tar and food looking crappy and very little and service sucked.

7/29/2019 ~~I've been coming here over the years, from Birthday celebrations to weddings ! but tonight was so memorable I had to make a review! Last time I was at Baku we were on the second floor celebrating my Moms birthday. It was great! The entertainment and food was fantastic. Today we came again. our reservation at another restaurant didn't go as planned. We came here because we knew the food would be amazing. The service was excellent. I am a restaurant manager and I was very impressed with Illya and his team. Very professional. They offered us a complimentary Bottle of Prosecco as soon as we arrived because it was my Moms Birthday. the duck salad we ordered was a bit too salty for my mom but the staff was so understanding and offered something else to replace it with. They really took care of us! Thank you so much

Hauled my culo grande out to Sheepsead Bay for my friend Marik's birthday party. As I have not been to this kind of over the top Russian/Turkish restaurant before, I did not know what to expect. This place is way out of my league- looking like a tacky, catering hall upstairs where I meandered into a Luftansa party by mistake. Marik's party was in the more subdued restauant downstairs. The FOOD here is nothing short of amazing, and once it starts it just keeps being served. Salmon, pickled veggies(yum), potatoes and mushrooms, eggplant dip, Turkish bread, sheepard's salad, some pancakes with meat or spinach and that is just to name a few of the appetizers. The VODKA was flowing, but I stuck to the house wine. When the mains came- salmon, grilled shrimp and grilled Chilean sea bass.....I was pretty stuffed, but holding out for the meat. The grilled lamb cut into tiny pieces on the bone was delish and went well with the eggpplant and pickled tomatoes- popular in Russian cuisine. For dessert- tea in a glass with cherry preserves meant to be dropped in the tea and a lovely tiramisu. A singer belted out some borscht belt tunes some I have not heard since the last Jewish wedding I attended.

The wedding was both unusual and memorable. The food was just ok but the entertainment is what made it. The food was just kind of brought out and sometimes served. The entertainment was first a bunch of singing in Russian with costumes from different countries. That was highly unusual. Then the singers came out and for the dancing portion and sang live for the dancing. It was all pretty good.

They refuse service to black people. Truly disgusting place, and I have half in mind to seek legal actions against them for discrimination. I went there on Saturday 10/04/20 because I live 3 blocks away. We looked at the menu outside. When no one came I went to the server or busser. We were nicely dressed (not that it should matter), and had our masks on. I asked for a table of 2, and he informed me they have no tables when I could see empty tables. I asked if it was reserved, and he said yes. I then asked what about inside, and without checking he went " we won't have a table for YOU inside", and I asked nicely to check at least. He goes to the manager who took one look at us and said the kitchen was closed, at 8PM. Really? After you told me you had more reservations? I then said are you sure? I always pass by this restaurant and even lately this were not their hours. I told them ok, I will go to the restaurant next door, and if you guys seat more people after you said you could not seat us, confirmed then denied you had more reservations and the kitchen was closing, we will be extremely offended! Guess what? Until 9.30PM they were seating new people, handing them menus and SERVING them! To believe that in this century racist pos like this people still exist is really crazy. This is New York, if you don't want to see, and serve BLACK people then leave!!! If you support this business , then you are not different.

Service is not just bad...it is terrible..outright rude..Waiter was keep telling us that we should order more since portions are small. Was trying to switch us from $28 wine to $45+...Brought us 2 portions of Turkish Liver (we ordered One and did not realised 2 were brought) and when we questioned it at the time of billing he just said "In my opinion 1 was not enough"...Bottom line...we will NEVER visit this place again...and advise anyone we know to stay clear of this place...a pity

Chicken Kebab, meat kutabs and saffron rise were very Delisious!!!Fresh and good quality

I enjoyed every dish from the Lamb Chops to the Duck Liver and Poached Pear .. Everything was cooked to perfection.... The service was excellent and the place is beautiful !!!! Happy birthday Bella and Zoey !!

We took my father here for father's day. Our experience was okay. Pros - delicious food - attractive decor - feels great - polite staff Cons - inattentive staff (they add gratuity to the check) - high prices (it would be ok if it wasn't for the former con) Probably wouldn't go here again as there are better options.

most unorganized new years event ever. It was pouring rain outside and they refused to let anyone into the room until you passed coat check. There were at least 100 people crowded by the entrance just to give a coat. This was defineftly a fire hazard and managers were not friendly about this. Once we got to our seats they had the air conditioner on. We asked 3 different waiters to turn down the AC or get us blankets. They did neither. So we asked to get our jackets which was also refused. Food was very minimal. Not enough food for the amount we paid for a new years night. When coffee was served there were no spoons, sugar or milk. We asked numerous waiters and no service. Not going again

Great interior and amazing food. Came here for dinner on a weekday. Place was pretty busy. Looks like they have a lot of staff but it took us about 10-15 minutes to get attention to place an order. Took another 40 minutes to finally have it on the table... But assorted meats ($35) were great and perfectly done! Good size to share.

Food, is not bad, prices are sky high quality is medium, I would put 3 stars, but they have free valet parking, also style of the place is decent.

I was invited to a birthday party at Baku palace . Was my first time there, the restaurant was very nicely decorated clean, elegant and cozy. The food was delicious, and especially lamb was omg I almost eat my fingers.

Last thursday I was in Baku Palace restaurant with my friends. They have very good service, nice communication, everything clean and on time. Food was so delicious, we had Seabass, fresh Baku salad. With one word it was the best food we ever had. Highly recommended!

This restaurant is so unique with the variety of excellent fresh made food. The service was excellent and we happened to check a fantastic international stage show. Reminded me of mid 70's disco yet modernized.

We had my son's Bar Mitzvah at Baku in the first floor dining room. The food was beyond delicious. The staff were excellent. the manager Eldar was very accomodating and forsaw our every question. The music was fun. All my guests had a fantastic time. Thank you Baku, for making our celebration memorable!!!

Been going here since they first opened Decor and ambiance is very beautiful Food is delicious Service has never been an issue One of my closest friends wedding was here My cousins daughter batmitzvah My parents 50 year anniversary My son's 1st bday And many other random bday and whatevers. Even summer dinning upstairs with the family Food always on point No complaints

I wish there was a no star option. I called on Wednesday to make a reservation for Thursday. The person on the phone asked what time I wanted to come in. I told him 6pm. He responded by saying no reservation was needed and to just "walk in". Myself and my party, a total of 4 of us, walked in Thursday at 630pm. We were led by the host to the main floor dining room. 2 women speaking Russian were walking out as we walked in. Once in the very elegant dining room, tables covered in white table cloths with elaborate place settings, we could see 4 people sitting by the window, two men and two women. A man with a microphone head set, stopped the host from going any further into the dining room and began to speak to the host in Russian stopping him from seating us. He did not realize that one person with us spoke Russian. He told him to tell us that the "downstairs was reserved out for the evening" and to "just put them upstairs." We were then led to the second floor. All the lights were out prompting me to ask if the restaurant was open. The host who had been very nice laughed nervously saying yes as he put some lights on. He led us across an empty and now dim room which looked as if it was used for catering events. He took us through doors to a small corner room where there were several men in jeans and tshirts sitting at a small bar watching TV. There were some small tables with glass table tops with no table cloths. It actually looked like an employee break room. I told the man that I was under the impression that Baku was a fine dining experience and eating on a greasy glass table top with the television on surrounded by men in jeans and tshirts on their cell phones was not my idea of fine dining. The server said that we could eat dowstairs. I informed him the the entire resturant apparently was "reserved out" for the night. He looked confused and offered to try and figure out why we were told we couldn't eat downstairs even though there was only 4 people in the whole resturant. My party and I proceed to leave. I honestly don't know what the deal was. Is it that they don't like Americans? Is it that they don't like Black Americans? Or did they just have a very wealthy customer who rented out the entire resturant even though there were only 4 people sitting in the main dining room? Just 4 people sitting having dinner. What ever it was, I will never ever go back. I would also caution others. I was planning on spending a great deal of money as it was a graduation present. We instead walked up the block to Istanbul. The food, as well as the service was top notch at Istanbul. Do yourself a favor and stay clear of Baku. After reading the reviews I was concerned about going but wanted to give them a chance. I should have listened to my gut. What a disappointment.