Şazeli Baku — Restaurant in Baku City

It was a terrible experience. We were approached by the restaurant staff on the street and were almost forcibly persuaded to enter. At that time, there was only one family dining inside. Unfortunately, after placing our order, we noticed several negative reviews about the place on Google Maps.

We had ordered a pot of tea, lamb barbecue, and chicken fry. They initially brought out a basket of bread, which was cold and clearly not fresh. We asked them to replace it with hot bread.

When the tea arrived in a flask, I saw a cockroach crawling out from under the lid. I immediately called the waiter, asked him to take it away, and canceled the tea order—requesting water instead. The waiter pleaded with us not to report the incident. However, I believe it is my responsibility to report such experiences so that other tourists can be warned.

When the main dishes arrived, the portion sizes were very small compared to what was shown on the menu. We ate just a little and decided to leave.

Upon asking for the bill, they insisted we pay in cash. We deliberately chose not to and asked for the card machine. Then, several staff members came over and tried to pressure us again to pay in cash. When they finally showed us the card machine, we noticed it was in flight mode. Once they realized we had figured this out, they brought another machine, claiming it wasn’t working either. However, we saw the network was turned off on that one too. After we turn it on, they acted rudely. Once mobile data was enabled, the transaction went through without issue.

It's truly shameful that tourists are treated this way in such a beautiful country. No one deserves to be scammed like this.

So think before...

If I could put 0 stars for service, then I would. The food was pleasant, however some of our party said there's was not, so I give it a 2. Back to the service - when we tried to pay at the end, the waiter, İsmail, tried to charge 20%, instead of the 10% written on the menu, for the service charge. İsmail also claimed that the bill price was higher than the menu because they simply 'hadn't updated the prices on their menu' - this is ridiculous, if you can't be bothered to update your menu, you certainly cannot charge whatever price you feel is appropriate on the day. It also took 40 minutes to resolve the bill issues at the end, which is unprofessional. One positive, the cashier we dealth with was nice. Do yourself a favour and...

We recently dine in here at Saveli, it has a lovely atmosphere that sets a welcoming tone, making it a great spot to dine and relax. The ambiance is well planned, resulting in a warm and attractive setting. However, while the meal is decent, it doesn't quite stand out; it's adequate but lacks that particular touch that leaves an impression.

The service is satisfactory; however, the staff's weak English proficiency may occasionally cause small communication difficulties.

Overall, Saveli is a pleasant place for a casual meal with a great environment, while improvements in cuisine and service might enhance the experience...