Sel Z.
Yelp
We used to travel to the suburbs for authentic Georgian food, so we were thrilled to learn that a new Georgian restaurant just opened right in downtown Toronto! Located in the Beaches neighbourhood, Tiflisi is a family-owned restaurant serving traditional Georgian dishes ranging from khacapuri (cheese-filled boat-shaped bread) and khinkali (Georgian dumplings with meat or cheese filling) to soups and various appetizers such as pkhali and saocari.
Foods that we tried:
1) Assorted Pkhali - Pkhali is a traditional Georgian dish made of chopped and minced vegetables, walnut sauce, Georgian spices, and cilantro. The assorted one came in 5 different varieties: beets, spinach, leeks, eggplant, and beans. They were all really good, but my favourites were the beets, leeks, and eggplant.
2) Georgian Salad - Simple and refreshing. This salad contains fresh sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, red bell peppers, onions, vinegar, cilantro, and basil. The herbs (cilantro and basil) really made a difference here.
3) Khachapuri Acharuli - A Georgian classic and must-get every time you dine in a Georgian restaurant. It's an oval or boat-shaped bread filled with LOTS of melted cheese and raw egg yolk on top (which quickly gets cooked in the hot melted cheese). The bread is freshly made and baked in-house. It's crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. Perfect for ripping and dipping in the melted cheese and egg in the middle. If you order this for take-out, make sure you eat it while it's hot (before the cheese solidifies too much). It comes in a pizza box-like container for take-out, due to its large size. Perfect for sharing.
4) Grilled Salmon Steak - Nicely grilled and perfectly seasoned. It goes great with the side of grilled vegetables.
5) Grilled Vegetables - Perfect side accompaniment to the main dishes. We got grilled zucchini, eggplant, red pepper, mushrooms, and a whole tomato. Delicious, light, healthy, perfectly grilled.
Eastern European food is underrated here. Most people know Western European food - Italian, French, German, etc., but less people know about Eastern European dishes, especially those in the Caucasus region (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia). Try Tiflisi for some authentic Georgian food, and consider it a cultural culinary travel without the need to hop on a plane.