What an absolutely phenomenal restaurant. I had never had Georgian food before. But after this dining experience, I want to take a trip to Georgia just to try all of their food. There was a very mixed crowd at the restaurant. I loved the diversity in the room.
I loved how intimate the restaurant felt. There was a divider between my booth and the one to my 9 o'clock. The divider wasn't one that felt like we were back in Covid times, but it did kind of give each booth, each table a little bit of privacy. The cushion inside of my booth made this seating arrangement so extra comfortable.
The bar area was particularly beautiful. Above the bar top where some sconces in a deep wine color. I thought that gave the room a really nice touch. It really brought together the entire look of the bar area. I did not go ahead and sit there, but from afar, it just looked really beautiful.
The menu is not huge. But, the things that we ordered were phenomenal. The eggplant salad was not something that really caught my attention initially. It was recommended to me by somebody who also knows my taste in food. They assured me that this warm eggplant salad would definitely become quickly one of my favorite dishes here. They were not wrong. I am not big on eggplant mostly because I don't like the mushy, gushy texture that I'm so often slapped in the face with. Somehow or another this warm eggplant salad is something now that I really want to return for. The skin of the eggplant is left on and seems grilled or almost semi charged somehow. There's a crispiness to it that makes this warm eggplant salad so good. Not to mention, the flavors that are created with all of their spices and the jalapeños and the onions.... It's amazing. The texture of the eggplant, I think, could even be used in place of meat. I have been to a few Asian vegetarian restaurants where they use mushrooms instead of chunks of meat, like as a substitute for chicken. Based on the texture of this eggplant, I think they could do the same in this case.
The beef soup that I had was also very delicious. Unfortunately, because of the high-quality of beef that is in the soup I have a feeling that is why the portion size is not very much. Split between two people, it will still leave you wanting more. I don't quite know how to explain the soup, except to say that it feels very much like a tomato broth based lentil soup with beef chunks. Regardless, the flavor was hearty and felt very down home and comfortable. It was cozy.
The dumplings that I had were good as well. I feel like the noodle wrapper that is used to make the sack of the dumpling is very thick and therefore you can't eat the top knob of it. It's just too much. The flavor in the broth the soup everything inside of that sack is delicious. It obviously is reminiscent of when I go to other Chinese dumpling houses for XLB's. I can't say that these dumplings were phenomenal, but they were still very good and I'm glad I had the opportunity to try dumplings of this type but of a different culture.
The last item that we ordered was almost like an open faced calzone, if you will. The boat of bread that we had was full of this rather dense cheese. The cheese was very mild in taste, sort of like a mozzarella. It was a little bit salty for me. However, I was told that if I had had more of the egg that was baked into it that the yolk mixed with that cheese, it would not have been as salty as it was. I wish there were more bread. It was like eating the thinnest slice of pizza with tons of cheese on top. If you like cheese, and I do, this is definitely a great dish. It's perfect for sharing. I can't say that it has all the robust flavors that a pizza would, like if you were to include different cuts of meat and veggies but it was great with my soup.
Our waiter was very patient with us and was great at giving advice and suggestions as to what to order. I love that the manager stopped by to welcome us to her restaurant, but also to make sure that everything was going well. I had no need to visit the restroom so I couldn't tell you anything about it, but if the cleanliness in the restaurant is at all a reflection of the way that they would maintain and take care of the restrooms, I can only assume that it is very neat and well kept.
I had been lucky enough to find metered parking on the street. However, I did learn that there is a parking structure or parking lot just behind the restaurant. The restaurant does validate. They will give you a separate exit ticket. So, be sure you ask your server or the hostess for that validated exit ticket if you should need one.
After an amazing experience like this, this is definitely a place that I would like to bring my mother. She is somebody who loves eggplant and I definitely want her to try this warm eggplant salad. I have a feeling there are other dishes she will thoroughly enjoy, but this definitely is one that makes me think of her now. read more