Meating Point

Yummy burgers in the beautiful Fountains Square

Address: 20 Nigar Rafibeyli, Baku 1005

Taking advantage of the week off work the husband got for Novruz (the week-long national holiday and celebration to welcome the arrival of spring), we spent a morning rambling around town soaking in the atmosphere and running all those errands that come with settling in a new country (heads up: purchasing an Azerbaijani SIM card takes effort and a passport!).

After a few hours, we found ourselves in the beautiful Fountains Square and were more than a little peckish, so we looked around among the very many establishments in the area. We got caught in a whirlwind of decision fatigue, but luckily while inspecting the menu outside of Meating Point, the owner came to speak to us – in good English, might I add – to tell us that they sell large, “American style” burgers and fries. Needless to say he had us at “large burgers”.

Meating Point boasts a few outdoor seats, but we chose to eat inside. The decor is fun and informal with a vintage U.S. feel, and boasts very many clear indications that the place does indeed sell alcohol (e.g. a vintage-looking sign reading “Beer is Cheaper than Gas. Drink don’t Drive”). The menu includes a variety of dishes, such as steaks and salads, but we went for burgers – of which they sell a wide variety, including a bacon cheese burger with actual pork bacon (we are already growing used to seeing turkey cold cuts, rather than pork ones). We ordered a Parisian burger (meat patty, fresh and pickled cucumbers, Roquefort sauce, Philadelphia, and mushrooms) and a Steak burger, a classic burger with a twist: it is served with several thin slices of steak, rather than a patty. The burgers are cooked to order (so I got to have mine rare: score!), and we managed to order thanks to the assistance of the owner, as the waiting staff doesn’t speak English.

The burgers are delicious and they come accompanied by paprika dusted fries, and we are offered complimentary sauces, including a homemade aioli which is definitely the highlight of the meal for me.

Something that may very well surprise and unsettle people who are new to Baku, is that we are offered plastic gloves together with our meal, a cultural norm in Azerbaijan (as well as many other countries) when eating with one’s hands.

We order homemade flavoured lemonades to drink with our meal, a passion fruit one and a jasmine-ginger one, but end up not drinking them as they are way too sweet.

Meating Point was fun and delicious and the promise of “large burgers” was definitely fulfilled. Well worth a visit if you have a hankering for a very filling lunch or a casual dinner.