«Giardino», an Italian state of mind» - PHOTOS
Sometimes you don’t need a plane ticket to Italy. You just need to know where to go.
On Port Baku Walk, one of the city’s newest destinations, Giardino Restaurant & Bar brings a distinctly Italian rhythm to Baku — one measured not in minutes, but in meals, aperitivi and conversations that refuse to end on time.
Giardino doesn’t announce itself with clichés. It doesn’t need to. The idea is simpler: bring the Italian way of living to the table and let the details do the talking.
Morning begins with Dolce Giardino.
Warm brioche meets Sicilian granita. Bomboloni arrive filled with cream. Maritozzo comes generously dressed in whipped cream, alongside properly made Italian coffee. It is breakfast, certainly — but also a gentle argument against rushing.
By late afternoon, the ritual changes.
A glass of wine. Something small to eat. Friends arriving without quite knowing how long they will stay.
Aperitivo is less about what is on the table than what happens around it. At Giardino, it is an invitation to slow down.
At the centre of the restaurant is Club Giardino, the main dining experience created by Venetian chef Carlo Bernardini. Born in Venice and raised in a family where hospitality and restaurants were part of everyday life, Bernardini approaches Italian cuisine not as a trend, but as a language he has spoken all his life.
“The menu is a tribute to the beauty of our Italian traditions, to my mother’s taste, and to my love of cucina Italiana.”
His menu moves comfortably between nostalgia and contemporary elegance. Burrata meets silky eggplant caponata. Risotto primavera brings the freshness of the season. Lasagna alla bolognese arrives rich with ragù and memory. Gnocchi meet mushrooms and cream. And then there is the Bistecca alla Fiorentina — substantial, beautifully cooked, served whole and carved at the table.
It is Italian food without unnecessary theatre. Because at Giardino, authenticity is found in the details.
The kitchen brings together Italian culinary professionals who understand the cuisine from experience rather than imitation. The pizza follows the same philosophy. The dough is given time — long fermentation, careful handling and patience — before master pizzaiolo Lorenzo turns it into something light, crisp and deeply flavored.
There is no shortcut to good dough.
The same principle extends to dessert. Gelato and dolci are made in-house, fresh each day, giving the final course the kind of immediacy that makes you wonder why dessert was ever considered an afterthought.
The house philosophy can be summed up in two words:
Con Amore.
And perhaps that is what separates Giardino from the many places that simply borrow the aesthetics of Italy.
Here, Italian culture is not a theme. It is a tempo.
A certain generosity. A respect for ingredients. A table that is meant to be shared. The instinct to order one more bottle. The belief that dinner should not be hurried simply because the clock says it is late.
And when the dining room begins to soften into evening, Giardino reveals another personality.
Behind the main restaurant sits Speakeasy Giardino, a darker, more intimate world of low light, jazz, citrus, oak and cocktails. It feels like the kind of place where the night acquires its own agenda — where one drink becomes two and nobody seems particularly concerned about tomorrow.
For something lighter, step outside.
The Giardino terrace sits in the middle of the city yet feels pleasantly removed from it, surrounded by greenery and warm evening light. A glass of wine, something seasonal from the kitchen, and the simple luxury of being outside — Baku carries on around you while your evening slows down.
Perhaps that is Giardino’s most compelling quality. It simply gives you a taste of the Italian state of mind.
Eat well. Drink slowly. Stay longer than planned.
Con Amore,
Carlo
