Best restaurants in Yerevan

We visited in person: a place built for seeing people you care about, a family celebration or an evening with friends. Sit on the veranda or head upstairs and watch Tumanyan street go by. The choice is wide, for meat lovers and vegetarians alike. One personal gripe: the menu is digital, and we would rather spend less time on the phone while sitting in a restaurant.

A place with an international kitchen: you can have tolma in grape leaves or order a carbonara, whatever you are in the mood for. The restaurant spreads over two floors and it is beautiful throughout. A nice detail: շերեփ means ladle in Armenian, so ladles are used as decor here — at New Year they build a Christmas tree out of them, which is great.

Mozzarella is a classic Italian restaurant in the very heart of the capital — a minute's walk from Republic Square metro, right behind the National Gallery. The perfect spot for a coffee break after some culture. Friendly staff who are happy to help you choose, a beautiful interior — I especially loved the mural of Celentano and the wicker lampshades. The dessert shaped like Italy is simply bellissimo!!

Dalan Art Gallery Abovyan 12 — I think this is the best restaurant for your first day in Yerevan: classic Armenian cooking surrounded by art. A huge wall of painted plates and paintings, a vine-covered courtyard with a stage and a dovecote, and the calling card — you come in through a souvenir shop! Give yourself enough time to take in the beauty and the atmosphere of this wonderful place and, above all, don't rush. You can sit in the courtyard (fair warning: the courtyard tables go first) or upstairs in the mansion itself, with its huge ceilings and fireplaces. That is also where the Dalan Art Gallery is, showing work by contemporary Armenian artists.