Samuel Armen

Below is a brief list of the restaurants and cafes where we have eaten throughout our stay, and the description of their services. The following reviews are divided into three categories Service, Environment, and Food. As an addendum an overall rating out of 10 is provided as well. Hopefully, this information will direct future interns and tourists to the right places, and will help them avoid painful circumstances. It should be noted that the numerous places take-out deliveries like Mr. Gyro, SAS, Lebanon, and G... are not on this list, despite how we nearly abused their services.

The following is based on the experience of A. 21 interns, 2 supervisors and whoever were our guests on particular nights over the course of six weeks. B. A group of locals I ate with several times over the course of eight weeks.

Formal Eateries:

La Cucina:
Service: Exquisite. Waiters and waitresses are smiling and attentive here. The chef, who is also the manager and owner, came out and asked our group if we wanted anything different from the menu.

Environment: Perfectly assorted. The top floor is a casual space that is paradigm for groups of friends to gather together. The bottom floor is a formal, quiet and elegant setting which is more than suitable for dates, conferences and business meetings.

Food: Excellent. Portions are between American and European, but leaning towards American. One must try their special bread, either by itself or as the crust of their pizza. Prices are surprisingly low in comparison to the quality of this restaurant.

Overall: 10/10

Central:
Service: English and Armenian speaking waiters is a plus. They were very kind and attentive.

Environment: This French-themed restaurant has French music playing at an enjoyable level.

Food: The first time I went here I was recommended to order their vegetarian dish. This actually proved to be a vegan dish – an incredibly savory combination of eggplant, zucchini, peas, corn, broccoli, yellow rice, parsley, red and green peppers, with a side of an amazing pesto sauce and rich balsamic vinegar.

Overall: 9.5/10

Hin Yerevan:
Service: The service here is very quick with coffee and very quick with alcohosl. A bit slower – yet still quick – with food. The waiters and waitresses here are constantly attentive.

Environment: Here there is a breathtaking view on all 8 floors. The live music plays ACTUAL Armenian folk music, and is loud enough that you want to clap or dance, and quiet enough that you do not have to scream to the person next to you.

Food: Very impressive, both in taste and portions. The prices here are expectedly high.

Overall: 9.5/10

Parvana:
Service: The servers were attentive, paid attention to detail and were quick.

Environment: Formal. This eatery is absolutely massive. There are several stone steps that lead to individual seating areas, and in the center there is a large outdoor dancehall where there is live singing. The volume of the acoustics can be a problem when you are trying to have a conversation.

Food: The fish here is incredible. Everything else is just above average.

Overall: 8.5/10

Arma:
Service: The service was quick and the waiters were attentive, which was great considering this was the first restaurant where our group ate.

Environment: This outdoor restaurant has a sight of Armenia with a giant, breathtaking view of Mt. Ararat.

Food: The food here ranged from average to great.

Overall: 8.5/10

Marco Polo:
Service: The waiters were a bit slow, but not enough to complain about.

Environment: Semi-formal. The area is beautifully designed and the club next door makes this venue more chic.

Food: The food here was decent. Some of the meals were very good, but most of the appetizers were quite strange.

Overall: 8/10

Noravank:
Service: The service here was pretty fast, but the waiters were a bit intimidating and seemed to be a bit aloof.

Environment: The area is outdoors. At the end of the restaurant there is a river with beautiful mountains in view.

Food: The food varied here. The fish was mediocre, the potatoes were excellent, and the rice was simply good.

Overall: 8/10

Kavkas:
Service: The service here is medium; we had to wait a short while for each dish.

Environment: This is a beautiful indoor restaurant with the option of small private booths and large open spaces. Be careful, dress as if you are going to enter a boiler room.

Food: The food was excellent. Get the tanapuri with ishli kufteh, or the pasus tolma.

Overall: 8/10

Semi-formal Eateries:

Just Café:
Service: The service here is excellent 9 out of 10 times. The waiters are delightful and often funny.

Environment: As mentioned in earlier entries, this café was a favorite of mine and a frequent stop for many. If you are looking for a quick bite in a relaxing environment look no further. This restaurant has an outdoor setting surrounded by gentle mist fans. During the day, updated club and house music is played. On several nights of the week live bands perform here.

Food: The food here is great. The portion sizes are American. The peach iced-tea and the cinnamon-lentil soup are notable favorites. The prices here are perfect.

Overall: 9.5/10

Artbridge:
Service: The service here is great; the waiters and waitresses are friendly and attentive.

Environment: This is a very cool place. One-third of the building is dedicated to a book store. This is one of the few restaurants that provides a non-smoking section – which is quite an opportunity in Yerevan.

Food: The prices are very fair here and the food is great. All of the options on the breakfast menu are incredible.

Overall: 9.5/10

Afrikian Pando:
Service: The service here is great and the waiters are quick and attentive.

Environment: This restaurant is Chic, with an attractively odd tribal setting. The live music is a bit too loud, but it becomes the perfect volume when the band encourages you to dance.

Food: The food was just as great as the wine. Prices were reasonable.

Overall: 9/10

Gusto:
Service: The waiters here were quick, lively, attentive and abnormally happy.

Environment: There is an open kitchen facing the tables, which fills the room with the fragrance of your favorite foods. These delicious smells might, however, stick to you even after you're full.

Food: The food here is great and the prices are reasonable. The pizza stands out as a favorite.

Overall: 8.5/10

Oregano:
Service: Now, not to sound more spoiled than we actually are, but it was near intolerable when none of the waiters knew what the wifi password was in their establishment. Also, we became suspicious of this restaurant when the waiters could not respond to our questions on particular items in the back of the menu. We were beginning to believe that the restaurant did not serve certain items written on their menu and that the items were only there for show.

Environment: Oregano is located just off Northern Avenue, which makes it a high-traffic area.

Food: The food is very good, but the portions are a bit meager.

Overall: 7.5/10

Segafredo Zanetti:
Service: Because of its prime location, I have wandered into Segafredo Zanetti almost a dozen times, and every time it's been different service. There has often been, however, a noticeable slowness in their service. 1 Iced coffee took 10 minutes. A soup for one took 20 minutes. A salad for one took a bit less than 25 minutes.

Environment: Very chic, very hip, very cool. Music is an appropriate blend of lounge and house. It is a plus that a nightclub is directly downstairs, but the music isn't too intrusive.

Food: The food here is excellent. The portions are European. The broccoli soup is a must.

Overall: 7.5/10

Arya:
Service: The service here for us was absolutely terrible. Waiter largely ignored instructions. Told us bread came with hummus but charged them separately. Aside from this, our orders were mixed up and we were 'accidentally' overcharged 6,000 Dram.

Environment: Very strange. At first the setting appears prehistoric and cave-like, but there are discoballs and other clashing essences. The DJ plays great music but the Live Music is so loud that one has to scream at the top of their lungs to speak to the person they are sitting next to.

Food: Only consolation was the decent food.

Overall: 4/10

Informal:

Sayat:
Service: Here there is an exceptionally hospitable staff with quick, attentive servers.

Food: According to several of the interns, the falafels here are indisputably the best in Yerevan. Though one shouldn't limit themselves, all of the soups are great.

Environment: Informal and small. This restaurant is open until 3AM all year round. This establishment also provides a speedy delivery service.

Overall: 9.5/10

Lagonid:
Service: The service here is quick and the servers are very polite. This was also a favorite among takeout.

Food: Delicious, American portioned servings. The falafels here are also very good.

Environment: Semi-formal. This Lebanese eatery is a bit cramped, but the music and décor are perfect.

Overall: 9/10

Square One:
Service: Quick. It's also a plus that the waiters are proficient in English.

Environment: This eatery happens to be a Diaspora hang-out area. Here you might here French, Spanish, Armenian, Russian and English all in one sitting. There are big screen TVs and booths like an American diner.

Food: The food is American in every sense of the word – meals offered, portion sizes, and even drinks. Not always the most desirable in a foreign country but definitely worth visiting once in a while.

Overall: 8/10

Tomanyan Shaurma:
Service: The service here is near-instant.

Environment: This is essentially a 24-hour eatery. The area resembles a wing of a cafeteria.

Food: The food here is just above what one would expect from a fast-food establishment, but it is still frequented because of its convenient location, prices, and hours.

Overall: 8/10

Astral:
Service: Though I've been told this is rare by quite a few locals, Astral provided us with absolutely abysmal service. The locals were served several times faster than the tourists, and even they were largely ignored. It took me over 30 minutes to get a single beer.

Environment: Outdoor, large and very popular. Astral is located just outside of club and in the heart of the opera house – the busiest location in Yerevan.

Food: The food was pretty good and the prices were fair.

Overall: 5.5/10

(To be continued)