Thomas A.
Yelp
Once in a while, i go out for a jog along the Charles River. Along my path, I see Jana across the street. I always took a mental note to check it out since it is a fairly new place, and I'm always curious to try new neighborhood gems.
Finally i read in Eater Boston about this place and their khachapuri, so i knew i had to come here.
Finally on Easter, I took my girlfriend here for lunch. The place has some tables, but it's a bit confusing whether its a restaurant or a take out place. I believe you can sit down but then you order at the cash register, and they'll bring the food for you. The servers were quite busy, so they weren't that helpful in the beginning. We sat down at a table and then were waiting for someone to help us. Realizing, that we may have to order at the register, i walked up to the register and grabbed a menu. Finally, i went to the register to place my order. It seemed like the chefs and staff were very busy churning food and plating. It took a while before they took my order but they were very apologetic.
We ordered Armenian coffee, eggplant caviar, lentil soup (originally we wanted chicken noodle but it was sold out), Chicken shawarma (originally wanted pork, but it wasn't available), and the ajarian khachapuri.
The food came out rather quickly, minus the ajarian khachapuri, which they warned us would take ~20 minutes. The food were all delicious. Armenian coffee is dark and syrupy with dark chocolate notes.
The eggplant caviar was seasoned well and the pita crisps were on point. They put Stacy's pita to shame. The lentil soup wasn't too heavy and the chicken shawarma was huge, decadent, and plentiful. The chicken with the char flavor was extraordinary. The ajarian khachapuri is fun to eat, breaking off the bread/gooey cheese and dipping it into the egg yolk.
I wish they offered a combo app platter, sample platter, or something that will highlight all of the different dips as one appetizer.
The price points are very reasonable, and the staff are very friendly and helpful. This place can easily be a 5 star place, but they need to improve their system. It was a bit confusing walking in and not understanding that we can get a table but have to order at the register. Also, I didn't see any takeout menus, which i would love a copy to take home with me.
We'll be back!