Old Tbilisi Garden

"When the temperature dips below 50 degrees, we usually start hankering for hot cheese. That's when you can find us at Old Tbilisi Garden, elbow-deep in their gooey cheese-laden ajaruli khachapuri. Eat out on the enclosed back patio, which has enough plants and stacks of rocks to convince you that you’re very far from NYC. Follow your cheese boat with some huge beef and pork khinkali, and some tender chicken skewers, and then take your food coma home for a nap." - willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah, neha talreja, arden shore

"Yes, you can get the faddish bread boatload of melted cheese called khachapuri at OTG, but Georgian cuisine is so much more: its compressed vegetable appetizers laced with walnuts and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, for example, or its charcoal lamb kebabs wrapped with flatbreads for the convenience of eating with one’s fingers, or its mellow chicken stews or oniony lamb dumplings. The wine list is interesting enough on its own to induce a visit." - Robert Sietsema

"If you come to this Georgian restaurant in Greenwich Village, you must order the ajaruli khachapuri. It’s entirely possible that you’ll black out for a split-second because this dish is so good. But don’t stop there. Get some huge beef and pork khinkali filled with meat juices, as well as chicken skewers that are so moist and tender that you can easily cut through them without a knife. While it’s usually easy to get a table in the brick-filled dining room, it’s more fun to sit in the enclosed back patio with plants and stacks of rocks that looks like a scene from your last Upstate hike." - Neha Talreja, Kenny Yang, Hannah Albertine

"If you come to this Georgian restaurant in Greenwich Village, you must order the ajaruli khachapuri, which comes in the form of very gooey cheese in a soft bread boat. It’s entirely possible that you’ll black out for a split second because this dish is so good. But don’t stop there. Get some huge beef and pork khinkali filled with meat juices as well as chicken skewers that are so moist and tender that you can easily cut through them without a knife. While it’s usually easy to get a table in the brick-filled dining room, it’s more fun to sit in the enclosed back patio with plants and stacks of rocks that looks like a scene from your last hike in upstate New York. photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte" - Kenny Yang

"An unexpected addition to the hubbub that is Bleecker Street, Old Tblisi Garden, which name-checks the capital of Georgia, opened in 2014. There’s a small but picturesque back garden with a waterfall, and walls decorated with modern Georgian paintings. The setting is elegant and the menu expansive, highlighting cheese khinkali, bazhe (chicken with walnut sauce), chakapuli (veal tarragon stew), and megruli kuchmachi (a hash of veal liver, heart, and kidneys served with corn grits)." - Robert Sietsema