Gourmet products local specialties and wines Armenia

Foods that are more spiritual than spiritual in this shop, which offers the whole range of brandies, also called here Armenian "gognak", more or less starred, but whose authenticity is guaranteed by the fact that they come directly from the distillery, which is more than a hundred years old. The bottle of this Armenian brandy, all the more precious and expensive as it displays stars and years, is one of the unavoidable "souvenirs" of Armenia, which prides itself in particular on having been able to seduce the palate of Winston Churchill.

A relatively recent address, distilling new flavours here, notably the baguette, which is very French, between Opéra and Place de France, where all the capital's bobos and expats are crowded. Offering a wide variety of fresh breads, you can stop there, a few tables are waiting for you, as there is enough to make a gourmet break with various sandwiches, quiches and other omelettes, before leaving with your baguette under your arm. The success was such that the sign has opened another address at 37 avenue Mesrop Machtots.

Behind the large tufa facade, neo-Armenian style that would not be out of place in Yerevan, this local wine merchant takes visitors on a tour of his cooperative and tastes the local vintages, dry wines, such as the red Hin Areni, and the Aréni Noir, a red that was launched internationally in 2012. The visit will allow you to familiarize yourself with the ancestral know-how in this region where people pride themselves on the fact that sometimes wine is still kept in these Armenian terracotta jars, the "karas". A wine bar lost in the mountains, unexpected...

Situated on the east bank of Hrzadan, opposite the Brandy Factory, the establishment, whose grey basalt facade resembles a fortress erected by the Soviets on the site of the former palace of the Sardars of Persia (irony of History), is dedicated more particularly to wines, even if its shop offers all sorts of spirits, from brandies to vodka and brandies, including blackberry brandy, to taste on the spot or to take away.

This brand new store, created in 2017 on the outskirts of Place de la Liberté, offers a whole range of items, from wine to charcuterie and jams, as well as prepared meals, tastefully presented in a modern decor that is not at all Oriental. This store prides itself on building a gastronomic bridge between Armenia and France, while flattering customers' palates with French products prepared with ingredients from Armenia. Needless to say, we come across Francophones there

A large choice of pastries and sweets, more willingly oriental, khadaifs, baklavas, tulumbas, and other burmas, filled with nuts and hazelnuts and wrapped in syrup, guaranteed organic, nicely presented and in the greatest concern for hygiene. If Armenian pastries are too sweet for your taste, you can opt for more digestible options, such as small sesame, pine nut or poppy seed sticks, not forgetting pomegranate cake, the emblematic fruit of Armenia and the region.

Located in the popular suburbs of Malatia-Sebastia, otherwise known as Bangladesh, southwest of the capital, it is the largest fruit and vegetable market in the capital. Even though it has been refurbished, a beautiful disorder, shouts and colours animate the alleys of this market where farmers often sell their produce directly to the capital's retailers. A little off-centre, even if it can be reached by metro from the centre, but picturesque. The products are, one suspects, cheaper than in the city.

This very large area opened in 2007 in the western outskirts (3 rd Nork District), and by its demeasuring an idea of Armenian consumerist appetite after Soviet lean cows. On 2,000 m ², there are all the products, from food to hardware, in a state-of-the-art framework, open 24 h out of 24, but at prices that are not within the scope of all Armenian stock exchanges.

Situated on the site of the old Persian bazaar, just before reaching the Hrazdan, south of Mashtots Avenue, opposite the Goy Mosque, it has little in the way of an oriental market. Built in the Soviet era in an Assyrian-Urartan style, this covered market is more reminiscent of Yerevan's Soviet past than the era of the Sardars of Persia. It has been renovated and has lost some of its folklore, but with the sun-drenched productions of the Armenian land, it has a lot of colour and flavour, as the fruit and vegetables are of excellent quality.

A stone's throw from the Maténadaran, in a relatively quiet but touristic area, pastries and desserts of all kinds, Armenian, baklava and other khadaifs, but also more western, await you, tastefully presented, in this establishment where the staff is welcoming and the hygiene is impeccable. You can also enjoy home-cooked Armenian or Russian dishes, and a large choice of salads, as the sign proclaims, which are welcome for a fresh and tasty break in the heat of summer.

Ideal for western-style shopping, at any time of day or night, with home delivery service (+374 10 53 88 88). One of the many stores of the SAS chain (also at 31 rue Toumanian, 85 av. Marshal Baghramian, 52 av. Komitas to name but a few within the same perimeter). An American-style atmosphere, where you can find just about anything you could possibly be looking for. But in terms of folklore and memories, it is not really the vocation of the place, which will rather satisfy more specific requirements.

One of the many local producers of brandy proposing to sell the bottles labélisées'ark de Noah'in reference to the biblical Patriarch who planted a vine vine at the foot of Ararat. Let us also remember that the first factory of "Gognac" founded in Yerevan at the end of the th century was named Noah. The store also offers dry and sweet wines produced by the Armenian vineyard and other alcohols.

Like Yerevan, Gyumri has its large covered market, translate Pak Shuka, which is located in the heart of the city, a stone's throw from the central Vartanants Square. The well-stocked stalls, full of all kinds of vegetables and fruit, but also of local produce, and the animation, intense at weekends, if not very typical, show in any case that life is returning to normal in the city, some thirty years after the earthquake that devastated it.