Work through the list in order. Hide the notes when you know what to do.
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Try khorovats
Traditional Armenian barbecue made from large chunks of pork, lamb, or beef grilled over glowing charcoal on heavy skewers. It is marinated simply with onions and salt, then served wrapped inside juice-soaked flatbread.
Locals always order charred bell peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes alongside the meat, peeling away the smoky skin to create a warm vegetable salad.
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Try khash
A rich, gelatinous broth made from beef trotters and tripe, simmered overnight without salt. It is eaten strictly in the early morning, topped with crumbled dry flatbread and generous spoonfuls of crushed garlic.
The khash season runs from late autumn to early spring (months containing the letter 'r'). It is traditionally accompanied by ice-cold vodka and sparkling mineral water.
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Try tolma
Minced beef and lamb mixed with rice, onions, and purple basil, tightly rolled in tender grape leaves. In summer, try the Ejmiatsin style featuring stuffed bell peppers, eggplants, and whole tomatoes.
Tolma is always served with a side of cold, garlic-spiked matsun; top-tier versions feature tender, vein-free grape leaves that yield easily to a fork.
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Try spas
A soothing yogurt soup made from matsun, shelled wheat grains (dzavar), and eggs, finished with sauteed onions and fresh mint or cilantro. It is served piping hot in winter and ice-cold during scorching summer afternoons.
The soup is completely vegetarian and acts as a refreshing palate cleanser after heavy grilled meat dinners.
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Try zhingyalov hats
A paper-thin unleavened flatbread stuffed with a blend of 15 to 20 varieties of wild and garden greens lightly bound with oil. It is baked in just two minutes on a convex steel griddle called a sadj without extra fat.
Hailing from Syunik and Artsakh, a well-made flatbread balances sweet, bitter, and tart greens without letting the dough get soggy.
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Try Ejmiatsin kyufta
An airy meat souffle made from prime beef pounded for hours into a silky paste with onions, eggs, and local brandy. The large meat spheres are gently poached in water and sliced into tender rounds before serving.
Slices of hot kyufta are customarily drowned in melted farm butter and served alongside cracked-wheat pilaf.
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Try harissa
A thick, savory porridge made from cracked wheat berries and shredded chicken or beef, slow-cooked until the meat dissolves completely. The mixture is whipped continuously into a creamy, comforting mash.
Harissa is dished out into deep bowls with a center well filled with bubbling melted butter and a pinch of ground red pepper.
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Try Sevan ishkhan
The prized endemic trout from high-altitude Lake Sevan, known for its delicate pink flesh and refined taste. Waterfront fish taverns gently poach it with wild tarragon or grill it whole over glowing wood embers.
Best enjoyed at lakeside taverns around Lake Sevan, paired simply with boiled baby potatoes and a chilled glass of dry Voskehat white wine.
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Try basturma and sujuk
Air-cured beef tenderloin encased in a fragrant crust of chaman (fenugreek), garlic, and hot pepper, sliced paper-thin. It is paired with sujuk, a dry-cured spiced beef sausage with robust cumin notes.
Pick these cured meats up at local central food markets, where vendors will gladly slice samples before you commit to purchasing.
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Try tonir lavash
An iconic wafer-thin flatbread slapped by hand onto the clay walls of an underground oven known as a tonir. Fresh from the coals, it is soft and pliable, though it can also be dried and stored for months.
To revive dried sheets of brittle lavash, simply sprinkle them lightly with water and wrap them in a clean cloth for ten minutes.
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Try crayfish kebab
A regional delicacy native to Lake Sevan: minced sweet crayfish tails blended with fresh herbs and spices, molded onto flat skewers and flash-grilled over charcoal.
Far lighter and juicier than traditional meat skewers, this specialty commands a higher price due to the painstaking labor of shelling crayfish.
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Try ghapama
A festive baked whole pumpkin stuffed with boiled rice, honey, dried apricots, raisins, prunes, apples, and chopped walnuts. It is presented whole at the table and carved vertically into petals like an opening flower.
Mainly prepared in autumn and during winter holidays; restaurants often require ordering this showstopper several hours in advance.
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Try Lori and Chanakh cheeses
Staple Armenian brined cheeses: firm Lori with small eyes, and crumbly, salty Chanakh aged in earthen brine pots. Both are served alongside heaps of tarragon, basil, and scallions to roll into flatbread wraps.
If Chanakh proves too salty for your palate, follow the local trick of soaking the slices in cool water or milk for half an hour.
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Try gata Desserts and pastries
A dense pastry cake made of layered flaky dough encasing a sweet filling called khoriz—a mixture of butter, sugar, and flour scented with vanilla. The famous variety from Garni is shaped into large rounds stamped with geometric folk designs.
Vendors outside Geghard Monastery sell giant warm rounds freshly baked in wood-fired ovens; one wedge easily satisfies two people.
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Try alani Desserts and pastries
Sun-dried whole peaches or figs pitted and stuffed with crushed walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom. The fruit maintains a chewy exterior while holding a fragrant, nutty, sweet paste inside.
Buy these at covered produce stalls in the autumn; look for plump, slightly powdered specimens that remain tender to the touch.
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Try sweet sujukh (sharots) Desserts and pastries
Walnut halves threaded on strings and repeatedly dipped into spiced, thickened grape molasses (doshab) spiked with cinnamon, clove, and cardamom. It is softer and distinctly more aromatic than Georgian churchkhela.
Fresh, high-grade sharots bends easily without snapping and should not feel like dry, candied rubber.
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Try Gavar pakhlava Desserts and pastries
A decadent dessert composed of over twenty sheets of gossamer dough layered with chopped walnuts and drenched in pure melted honey and clarified butter. The version from the town of Gavar is famous for its rich moisture and floral honey notes.
This sweet pastry is exceedingly rich; pair a single diamond-cut slice with an unsweetened short black coffee.
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Try jazzve-brewed Armenian coffee Non-alcoholic drinks
Finely pulverized, dark-roast coffee brewed slowly in a traditional copper jazzve over hot sand or flame until a thick crema forms. It is served in small demitasse cups alongside a glass of crisp mountain water.
State your sugar preference upfront ('dare' for bitter, 'kahtsr' for sweet), as sugar is dissolved during the brewing process.
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Try tan Non-alcoholic drinks
A refreshing fermented drink made by whisking matsun with cold water and salt, frequently garnished with diced cucumbers and fresh mint. It quenches thirst instantly in summer heat and balances the richness of grilled meats.
Order house-made tan served chilled in clay carafes at sit-down taverns; it is far superior to bottled supermarket varieties.
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Try mountain wild thyme tea Non-alcoholic drinks
An aromatic herbal infusion made from wild creeping thyme (urtz) foraged across the high alpine meadows of Mount Aragats and Tavush. It delivers an intensely fragrant, earthy herbal flavor and pairs naturally with mountain comb honey.
Dried herb bundles are sold throughout rustic village markets and provide the traditional digestive finish to an autumn feast.
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Try Armenian brandy Local alcohol
Armenia's world-famous grape brandy, double-distilled from local white grape varietals and matured in Caucasian oak casks. It displays a deep amber hue with smooth, layered notes of dried fruits, vanilla, and chocolate.
Seek out aged bottlings matured for at least 7 to 10 years; warm the snifter in your palm to release its complex aromatics.
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Try Areni red wine Local alcohol
A dry red wine made from the ancient indigenous Areni grape, cultivated for millennia in the high-elevation valleys of Vayots Dzor. Top vintages are aged in clay amphorae (karas), yielding vibrant notes of tart red cherry and pomegranate.
The lively wine bars along Saryan Street in central Yerevan offer the country's best selection for exploring single-terroir bottlings.
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Try mulberry oghi Local alcohol
A potent traditional fruit brandy double-distilled from ripe white and black mulberries in village stills. Despite its high proof (often 50% ABV and above), it drinks remarkably smooth with an unmistakable herbal fruit finish.
Traditionally served neat to accompany early-morning khash or hearty roasts; village-distilled jars from Tavush and Syunik are prized most.
