28/02/2025
There are many things that contribute to a successful Baku Good Food Club dinner: the food, obviously, but also the wine pairings, the ambiance, the service, and the location. Beat Group restaurant IVA, which I believe is the flagship of the group after their first foray into the Baku culinary scene at Sara Bistro, was the location of yesterdays Good Food Club dinner and we came with high expectations.
Many of our regular diners had dined at IVA before yesterday, and I myself had visited perhaps half a dozen times since it opened, and savoured some excellent dishes. Starting a dinner with the belief its going to be spectacular though is a recipe for disappointment, and sure enough, the evening did have its ups and downs.
Chefs Ruslan and Alexander from IVA had developed a 10-course menu, which we enjoyed over the course of 5 hours, with wine pairings. Inevitably no Chef can please everyone all of the time, but what follows is as close to a consensus view as is possible to achieve.
We arrived to Pumpkin butter with seeds and two types of bread. I've always been puzzled by restaurants that serve artisan bread and butter as a starter. Firstly, its almost never exceptional, and secondly, only serves to sate the appetite of diners before the real performance begins. That was the case last night. The bread was half stale and the pumpkin butter, served in half a pumpkin, was interesting aesthetically but unremarkable. I wouldn't score this as it would be unfair, but there was no point to it.
The real starters began with the strangely titled Raw dumpling with pumpkin. Again the pumpkin, but this time in a very pleasing, slightly spicy combination of flavours. Intriguing - this was neither raw, nor a dumpling, but was mixed with curry powder and topped with sour cream given a spring in its step by the addition of lemon zest. We'd not come across this dish before and it seemed simply to be product of Chef's fever dream, but it simply worked. The ingredients blended well, complimenting each other to create a cascade of flavours on the tongue 3/5.
The dish that prompted most concerned comment when we circulated the menu was Beef heart tartare with spicy sauce. We approached it with trepidation. We needn't have worried, It was a miniature masterpiece. Delicate and well plated, it was a combination of the tartare and parmesan served in a nest of tiny potato strips and topped with sevruga caviar. Once again, this was a dish new of many of us and seemed to be an invention. As inventions go, this was up there with the Dyson vacuum cleaner, the electric car and non-stick frying pans. It was spectacular and worked on every level 4/5.
Less successful was the Bao with mushrooms. Introducing it, Chef Alexander prompted us to close our eyes and hold the dish to our noses, imbibing the fragrances of the deep forest. This was virtual reality restaurant style. Sadly, like a lot of virtual reality, when we opened our eyes and mouths, real life sprang back with a vengeance. Bao with mushrooms was a bread patty with a mushroom filling. The bread was too dominant for the mushrooms, and while pleasing to the eye (the bao was served to look like a mushroom) and to our olfactory senses, it tasted like bread with a hint of mushroom 2/5.
Fermented tomatoes with pickled tuna followed - the 4th of our starters - and gave us fresh hope. The tomatoes sat in a bed of stracciatella cheese, topped with pickled tuna and drizzled with parsley oil. The tomatoes and the stracciatella of course worked together and the pickled tuna added a satisfying fresh buzz to the palate. I liked it a lot and most of our diners agreed 4/5.
Our final starter, was Pie with lemon chicken and vegetable tops. This was one dish that sounds good on paper, much like the Bao with mushrooms, but which didn't quite deliver on its promise. The taste of the pie was mainly of pastry. Small pies often have that problem and it can be solved only by creating a much lighter pastry casing or infusing the filling with a stronger flavour (garlic, pickles or something else) to help the chicken compete. Here the chicken joined the mushrooms in the Bao as gustatory no-shows 2/5.
I cant conclude the review of the starters without at least mentioning the wine pairings which were done masterfully. As we've discussed before, pairing wines with individual dishes is not a practice that is widespread in Baku, so we salute the IVA sommelier for his careful and appropriate choices - by this stage we'd savoured Hans Bear Riesling, Chabiant Amber Vino Raro, Chablis Jean Poul, Gavi Dei Gavi La Scolca and Patrice Moreux Sancerre.
Our main courses began with Black cod with potato cream and young vegetables. Many of us, overseas, had enjoyed Black Cod before, and that dish created by Japanese Chef Nobu probably cemented his reputation as a Chef. Here the black cod was cooked and served exactly as we'd hoped and expected. The caramelised crust of the cod delectable, the rich buttery flesh smooth on the tongue. I've always thought that reviews of black cod should be given an 18+ rating, but done right it can prompt that intensity of desire, and here it was. Served with potato cream and young vegetables, plated with tiny spheres of carrots and potato alongside peas, this dish cannot be faulted 5/5.
Next came the Poultry with sprouts. Honestly, this should have been titled Duck with cress, because thats what it was. Duck is a brave choice as part of a tasting menu, because it either triumphs over everything else or proves unpalatable. The duck was rather chewy, the carrot and cress pleasing but not compensating. Views differed - some thought it was simply misplaced; following the subtlety of the black cod with the heavy, rather arduous, duck, a mistake. Others thought the duck meat itself at fault, it being too lightly cooked. Whatever the case, it brought us down to earth 2/5.
Our final savoury dish was the Filet mignon with herb cream and vegetable demi-glace. The beef was served the rare side of medium and burst with meaty deliciousness, the light touch herb cream and vegetable demi-glace lightly graced the plate. This was garnish which knew its place in the world. Good food cooked right 4/5.
After a palate-cleansing gin and lime sorbet came Lemon Curd Tart for which I couldn't have higher praise. I didn't hear anything even mildly critical about this and it was a wonderful and fitting end to the night. I'd happily have this dessert every evening 5/5.
The wines that accompanied the main course and desserts were Livio Felluga Pinot Grigio, Cerasuolo di vittoria DOCG, Gian Piero Marrone Barbaresco and Hillside Classico, this last being a wonderful sweet accompaniment to dessert. Congratulations again to the IVA sommelier.
IVA has an open kitchen, so throughout the evening we enjoyed the spectacle of the triumphs and heartaches in the kitchen as Chefs Alexander and Ruslan's talented team laboured to produce the results we here easily praise or dismiss. Their work and dedication shouldn't be forgotten. It was a wonderful show and one of the best ways to spend 5 hours on a Thursday evening. Heartfelt thanks to the Chefs and to their hard-working team of servers (and service, I should add, was exceptional).
Honours also go to our determined reviewers Artem, Mikhail and Ami for their remarks, which formed the basis of this review, and to Nigar and Tilly for all their efforts in organisation and social media posts.
The Baku Good Food Club will have a rest in March, due to Novruz, but will be back in April with another fabulous evening of fine dining. Watch this space and stay hungry!
