Fitzwilliam D.
Yelp
It's as if the Georgians have sent a flotilla of bakeries to win the market for carbs in the city.
I wouldn't have thought that the best place to open a bakery selling half a dozen different kinds of breads with cheese would be near the beach. But, Berikoni bakery (the sign says Brick Oven Bread) does a lot of business from casual foot traffic returning back from a day of fun and sun at Brighton Beach, in addition to regulars. So, they've got the location right and should attract a number of (non-Georgian) customers that have just started reading about Khachapuri bread in local magazines.
The one aspect in which Berikoni stands apart from other Georgian bakeries is seating - you can actually sit down in the ample space inside and enjoy your Khachapuri and Shotis Puri, as opposed to other nearby Georgian bakeries where you need to find a bench nearby, or risk letting the bread turn lukewarm.
Of all the things I've tried at Berikoni, I would rate the dips the highest including both Lobio (red kidney beans with cilantro, garlic, and cloves) and the green bean salad (green bean, garlic, herbs). I've liked the spinach salad as well, but the others more.
However, you should be here to try the famous Georgian breads. I've tried the Imeruli Khachapuri and enjoyed the cheese filling, but the bread much less than at other bakeries. They carry both Lavash and Shotis Puri and my preference here would be to go with the long, pointed and fluffy (though less so than at other bakeries) bread. There's a story that ascribes the shape of the bread to the fact that soldiers used to stuff the bread in their shoes while riding their horses. While I prefer the version at Georgian Bread to that at Berikoni, I do think that the bakery does a better job at this bread than nearby Brick Oven Bakery or Apani. The good thing is that there is a lot of turnover and so you see the bakers at the back bring out about 40-50 loaves at intervals (probably a much larger oven than that at nearby competitors), and that ensures that you can always find a loaf (sometimes warm, sometimes not so - but if you were to wait, you'd also find warm bread).
They carry the ubiquitous Napoleon as well, but by now I've given up on this pastry as I don't find the texture enjoyable. Berikoni also had Georgian Baklava (with raisins, walnuts and possibly sugar, as opposed to honey). I didn't enjoy this much (compared to the middle eastern and Mediterranean versions) as the large air pockets inside detracted from what I expect of a Baklava's texture, but did note that many Georgians were asking for it.
(3.5 stars)