Such a cute, charming, and unique place.
Georgian food! Wow, I am definitely not familiar with this type of cuisine, but I will say my first experience with it was great. Would definitely try it again elsewhere, but also come back here.
Ambiance is nice, retro, rustic, but clean and comfortable at the same time. This place definitely has character. We made reservations for a Saturday night (you should just in case) and there was some confusion over them not having it, but they accommodated us anyway. Almost all tables were filled and it continued that way until we left around 10 pm or so.
Each table was given a pitcher of lemon mint water. This is nice, but I happen to not like lemon or mint in my water, so we asked for plain.
Chashushuli – tender beef stew cooked in a tomato sauce seasoned with Georgian spices and served with rice and greens. The rice was buttered and the stew came in its own bowl, so you could mix as you wanted. The stew was less thick than I had envisioned, but the flavor was amazing. Lots of spices and a strong, unique flavor. Ample amounts of lamb, cubed small and quite soft and tender.
Lobiani – traditional Georgia bread (round and relatively flat) stuffed with a blend of beans, onions, and seasoning. We thought this might be oily, but it wasn’t at all. I’d imagine the Khachapuri (cheese bread) is, but we haven’t actually tried that one. We were pleasantly surprised that the bread was light and not heavy at all. It had a mild taste, actually a bit too mild, and we couldn’t really tell we were eating red bean paste (although we could see it in there). It’s very inoffensive and certainly interesting. I just wish it had more flavor. But I would recommend it and I would even get it again.
Salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, and white onions. Very fresh and delicious, but too salty. Next time I would definitely ask for light or no salt. It was somewhat distracting and that’s the only reason we couldn’t finish it.
The only negative about this place is the service. There seems to be a lot of confusion about everything. First with our reservations, second with what we ordered (there was a mix-up and we had to send items back and request items we actually did want for the second time), and then at the end when we asked for the rest of our meal to be packed for take-away (they forgot and never brought it – we ended up forgetting too until we had left). Otherwise, I would definitely recommend this place.
