The best restaurants Ararat Plain

One of the best and most original restaurants on the central square, at the foot of the Hotel Ketcharis. The sign ("The Prisoner of the Caucasus" in Russian) is justified by the decor recreating the universe of a great Soviet film of the 1960s with curious figurines, in the vast wooden room reminiscent of a Caucasian tavern, where very good Armenian and Russian specialties are served - enough to hesitate between Armenian mantis and Russian pilmeni -, copious khorovadz skewering three pork chops, etc., with a good wine list.

Mountain atmosphere guaranteed in this restaurant in the trees, on the edge of the forest, near the Naïri hotel. Unlike many of the local restaurants, which are located in hotels, here you don't have to sacrifice luxury, with livery and candlelit dinners. Wood dominates the chalet-style décor, and the only thing missing from the menu is the Savoyard fondue, but the tasty local specialities, such as khach or mantis, Armenian ravioli also served in a broth, make up for it and add calories before attacking the slopes.

An ideal site, with the Ararat and the Araxis before your eyes. Is there a better place to taste the Armenian specialties that the restaurant offers? A gastronomic stopover is a must in this memorial, which is also a place of pilgrimage for many Armenians of the Diaspora. Music is also on the program, and folklore, in reference to the museum dedicated to it. Huge tables are set up on the site on the occasion of the great celebrations taking place in the memorial

Without being located in Garni itself, since it is in the small neighbouring town of Akunk, east of Abovian, this restaurant is a good gastronomic stopover, as long as you go past the not very welcoming front door. At the back of the restaurant, a tree-lined terrace will give even more flavour to Armenian and local specialities, guaranteed from the land, served with opulence, including the unmissable khorovadz (khorovadz), accompanied by a tasty lavache, and sprinkled with local wines at prices that are very reasonable.

The sign is hardly misleading. They make agape in an authentic refectory decor. Ideally located in a green setting at the entrance to the Holy See, this restaurant, whose large vaulted room with pointed arches overhanging long wooden tables is extended outside by tables set up under wooden arches in the shade of tall trees, offers authentic Armenian cuisine. If the decor, enhanced with kilims and handicrafts, is monastic, the cuisine is much less so, and the wine is not mass. Better to reserve!

The sign makes it clear that, rather than a djacharan (restaurant), it is more modestly a hatsadoun, which means that it is necessarily bread, a staple food in the Armenian tradition, but also many other things, including some typical Armenian specialties prepared with care with regional products. If you have a little hunger and thirst, it is in any case the establishment located closest to the monastery of Khor Virap.

Several establishments have been created between Dvin and Khor Virap, offering regional specialties. This one, set up in a village not far from the monastery, serves a copious and tasty local cuisine, in the bucolic setting of a garden where one can taste huge khorovadz or fish dishes under the arbour. The establishment also offers to guests passing through the area a few rooms with basic but acceptable comfort.

You can't miss it, in the heart of the small town of Garni, not far from the temple. Closed in the evenings, as the nightlife is not hectic in Garni, there is a good table for lunch, perfect for visitors who come to spend the day. A beautiful interior decor, with a green setting on one side overlooking the canyon, justifying the ayki sign, which means garden, where good Armenian cuisine is offered, and a wine cellar, maran in Armenian