The City's Finest Terraces

A German restaurant in Armenia, an unlikely combination, but Bamberg pulls it off beautifully. The kitchen leans on Bavarian classics (schnitzels, sausages, an extensive seafood menu), served in a contemporary style without any didacticism or museum-like stiffness. The interior draws inspiration from old European charm: everything looks elegant, without veering into pretension. In season, the terrace is open; come evening, a few screens flicker on and there is parking, in short, this is a place for those who want to sit long and unhurried.

The Austrian chain has long made itself at home in Armenia, but the flagship in Yerevan is something unique. The coffee shop has two terraces: one opens onto Aram Street, and everything that happens on the street on a fine day happens a little bit here too, strolls, chance encounters, impromptu conversations. The second is quiet, tucked into an inner courtyard: people come here not to watch the world go by, but to hide from it. The coffee is 100% arabica, imported from Vienna. The menu is broader than at any other location in the chain worldwide: pasta, salads, craft lemonades, and pastries that are hard to resist. The place works equally well for a one-hour meeting or an evening that stretches until dark.

Doc on Northern Avenue is one of those places where morning and evening meet: from 8:00 AM, eggs Benedict and cottage cheese pancakes are served as part of Breakfast Club; after 1:00 PM, pasta and salads join the menu; and coffee beans can be taken home at any hour. The interior is academically minimalist, but the terrace draws the bigger crowds, it looks directly onto the city’s main pedestrian artery, and on a clear day it feels as though all roads lead here, to the very heart of Yerevan.

A Soviet diplomat’s house on Sarmen Street has become one of the most thoughtfully conceived spaces in Yerevan. Esthetic Joys Embassy is not a restaurant or bar in any conventional sense: it is a space where art exhibitions coexist with chess tournaments, and a cup of Chinese tea sits alongside the sounds of disco. The Dalshe architecture studio transformed the Soviet building into a vivid environment: a pink-nude palette, daisy-shaped tabletops, a fountain of tuff and basalt, a garden with fruit trees. The music programme is serious: a vinyl archive, curated sets, occasional live improvisation. The drinks menu is built around tea (buckwheat, herbal, or Chinese Tie Guan Yin), lemonades (raspberry, blackcurrant with masala, basil), and coffee. The kitchen turns out light snacks. Open Tuesday through Sunday from 8:00 PM; Monday is silence.

A table with a view of Republic Square at Grand Ost needs to be booked in advance, especially in the evening, when the dancing fountains run at full force. The restaurant is young but already assured: the kitchen boldly balances Armenian and European classics, and does so with care and respect. Dishes include imam bayildi with charred matsun, dolma, and Black Angus beef hashlama. People also come for the pistachio cheesecake and the warm bread served with homemade butter while you wait for your order. Breakfast starts at 9:00 AM; the kitchen runs until midnight.

When the Moscow-based Lucky Group opened the revamped La Piazza on Northern Avenue, Yerevan’s restaurant world took notice. Understandably so: Mediterranean classics with an Italian soul, an open kitchen with a wood-fired oven, a bar counter overlooking the avenue, and a menu that seems to have everything. You will find lamb slow-cooked for 16 hours, caramelle pasta with three types of mushroom, minestrone with avelouk (Armenian sorrel, which of course did not end up here by accident), and a beef tartare that many call the best in the city. The wood-fired pizzetta and burrata with tomatoes and pesto sauce are two more reasons to stop by. The cocktail list matches the kitchen: the Truffle Negroni and Spicy Sbagliato hold their place firmly at the top.

Isahakyan Street has long grown used to the idea that one courtyard can fill an entire day without boredom: in the morning people arrive with laptops, in the evening with the intention of staying until closing. Openhaus is made up of several layers: by day it is the BOXX specialty coffee shop, flat whites, cappuccinos, quesadillas; come evening, the space transforms into Fonoteca, a bar with a DJ booth and a mood somewhere between Tbilisi and Lisbon. DJ sets here are not background noise but the whole point. The terrace (an open courtyard with greenery and retro furniture) is open for exactly as long as Armenian weather allows, which is to say almost always.