Glenn C.
Yelp
I was here a while back at this, alright, recently opened Georgian spot with a large group (see Andie's review for further details.) They have a reasonably priced wine selection, including some Qveri/amber wine, and I got a white wine (Kisi) for $15, which was reasonable for the price, unlike most of the menu. Service was fine, though there were issues at the end with payment. In general, I found the prices a tad high, even compared to most Manhattan Georgian spots (such as my personal favorite Saperavi and some pretty good spots like Old Tbilisi Garden) and especially the spots deep in Brooklyn, while the spices were a bit lighter and the portions were smaller, so I generally wasn't a fan.
We first started with the Mrs. Georgia Salad for $22 with arugula, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, walnuts, and a signature dressing. The salad was pretty large with a lot of arugula and a good amount of cheese on top, along with a good amount of tomatoes, though it was a bit light on walnuts and strawberries. The dressing, which I presume included pomegranate molasses like most Georgian salads, was lightly sweet and went well. This was pricey but pretty good.
The best dish was definitely the Khinkali, the Georgian version of soup dumplings, which range from $14 for mushrooms to $16 for the meat options, which came with 4 pieces. We got the mushroom one, and it was quite tasty, being nicely earthy with plenty of black pepper along with tarragon and other spices. There was a lot of soup in there as well. This was very good and a whole lot better than the rest, and I would compare them favorably, unlike most dishes, to the other spots mentioned.
Our host, regrettably in hindsight, ordered the Khachapuri With Spinach for $20 instead of the usual Megruli/Imeruli/Adjaruli variant. I much prefer the latter as I find the spinach doesn't really go with the cheese, as it takes away the salty, rich flavor. Outside of this, it was decent due to the size, though the bread could have been cooked a bit longer, as I have had better textures from most other Georgian spots. This was alright, though with the texture of the bread, I don't think the khachapuri would have been as good by comparison to other places.
The Chakapuli, or lamb stew with tarragon, cilantro, green onions, white wine, and plums, was $28, which was absurd for the price point and flavor. The flavor was alright with small pieces of tender lamb, while the tarragon flavor was lighter than most, and it also lacked the distinct tartness I associate with this due to the green plums. It's more of a soup and was a bit hard to share. They recommended we order some bread, which was $4 for two pieces of shoti/shotis puri, which was fine, though not as warm as I hoped. This would be decent at best at a more normal price point and not good with this portion size for said price point.
The Family-Style Pork with roasted pork, potatoes, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and cilantro for $20 wasn't good. Also known as Ojakhuri, this is one of my favorite Georgian dishes, and this was a bad example. While the onions and potatoes were well-cooked, the roasted pork wasn't the most tender, and it was less spiced/flavored than in other places. I wouldn't recommend this at all and especially with the relatively smaller size.
We got the check at the end (separately for the wine,) and the price points were all higher than the menu. They apparently auto-add the credit card fee (I believe 3 or 4%) and don't list themselves as doing so, which really isn't OK. It didn't matter much for the wine as it only added a few cents, and I paid with my card, but for the food bill, it did, as we all paid cash. After a good while, they corrected it, but this is an annoyance, and it should be the opposite way, or their billing should show two prices, credit and cash, on the same check. Outside of this, and as someone who's had Georgian food a ton, I wouldn't recommend this place much. The prices are on the higher end, while the food quality was not. Even spots I don't love have better food than here.