Georgian restaurants are suddenly everywhere in New York City, but it wasn’t always this way.
Until about a decade or so ago, if you woke up with hankering for, say, khachapuri, the regional baked cheese bread of Georgia, you had to either get on a southern Brooklyn-bound subway to Brighton Beach or a plane pointed toward Tbilisi. However these days there are Georgian restaurants sprinkled all over New York City.
In the West Village alone at least eight restaurants serve the cuisine of the Republic of Georgia. So much so that Gurami Oniani, owner of Laliko, jokingly refers to the neighborhood as “Little Georgia.”
According to Eka Emirlishvili, the secretary of the Washington, DC-based Georgian Association, the first Georgian restaurant (or restaurant serving Georgian cuisine) in New York City, was the Caucasian Eagle. Located at 112 E. 55th Street, it was opened in 1933 by a Georgian migrant named Simon Sidamon-Eristoff.
“The restaurant catered to those who fled the Bolshevik Revolution, and hence, also included dishes that were not limited to Georgian,” Emirlishvili said.
To explain today’s boom in Georgian restaurants, you can blame it on corrupt politics and an unstable economy in Georgia. This has caused thousands of Georgians to plant their red-and-white flags here, and some of them are talented chefs and ambitious restaurateurs. What is Georgia’s loss is New York’s gain.
So, if you haven’t discovered the delights of Georgian food yet, here are the 10 best restaurants to get you started.
Chama Mama
Tamara Chubinidze opened Chama Mama in 2019 on W. 14th St., right on the Chelsea/West Village borderline. She has since opened four other locations, including on the Upper West Side, and across the East River in Brooklyn Heights, Greenpoint, and Bushwick.
The original sleek space boasts a leafy back garden for warm-weather dining. The Brooklyn Heights outpost has a lovely long bar if you’re dining solo. Chama Mama has been consistently solid and is an ideal place for diners new to Georgian fare.
The sleeper hit here are the lamb-stuffed Grape Leaves. Don’t forget to try Chama Mama’s homemade chacha as well. It’s a potent grape brandy you’ll remember long after. Multiple locations, chamamama.com
Laliko
There are only two Georgian restaurants on the planet that have a Bib Gourmand designation from Michelin. Laliko is one of them. (Keep in mind, the Michelin Guide has not covered the Republic of Georgia yet.)
Accolades aside, the restaurant is generally a joy to be in on its own. The high-ceilinged interior boasts colorful wall murals depicting various Georgian myths, creating an inviting West Village space to enjoy classic and regional dishes such as Shkmeruli (tender chicken in a creamy garlic sauce from the Racha region) or Chakapuli (a tarragon-accented veal stew).
In the kitchen, Laliko has a chef whose sole job is to make Khinkali, a type of meat-and-broth-filled dumpling. An order or two is nearly compulsory. Also to note, Laliko has one of the best lists of Georgian wine in the city. 80 Carmine St., West Village, laliko.com
Askili Orchard
When a restaurant starts experimenting with a cuisine, getting creative with it, and riffing on classic dishes, you know the food has become established in a place. That was the case when Askili Orchard opened on Sixth Avenue in the West Village in Autumn 2025.
The restaurant recently brought on a new chef, Tengo Ateria, who has revamped the menu, adding dishes like Trout Tartare with avocado and an orange emulsion and Nettle Leaf Khachapuri, baked cheese bread that’s stuffed spinach and nettle leaves and glazed with a chive pesto. For the indecisive, the Lamb and Tarragon Khinkali dumplings are a flavor bomb.
Have questions about Georgian wine? Just ask Lisa Granik, the in-house Master of Wine, who has amassed a remarkable assemblage of natural wine from Georgia. 401 Sixth Ave., West Village, askiliorchard.com
Saperavi
Saperavi is a grape that is endemic to Georgia. It’s also a very good Georgian restaurant in Manhattan. Actually, three restaurants on the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, and the East Village. The menu at this trifecta of Georgian restaurants doesn’t just rest on the greatest hits of the cuisine. Sure, there are those, too, but you can also sample Elarji Balls (fried, cornmeal-encrusted cheeseballs), Georgian Blintzes (meat-and-cheese-filled crepes), and tender Spicy Ribs accented with Georgian spices. Multiple locations, saperavinyc.com
Chito Gvrito
Named after a Georgian pop song, this Gramercy Park spot has a loyal following, thanks to the solid Georgian fare it consistently churns out and its dimly lit, atmospheric dining room. Open for lunch, brunch, and dinner, Chito Gvrito isn’t trying to reinvent any wheels. Instead, the kitchen puts its focus on producing high-quality staples of the Georgian kitchen.
The iconic Adjaruli khachapuri (the baked cheese bread people sometimes annoyingly refer to as a “cheese boat”) is smaller here but extremely flavorful. So are the Spinach and Cheese Khinkali, which come with a great garlicky mint dip. Choose from a large handful of wines by the glass and nicely priced bottles of Georgian vino. 173 Third Ave., Gramercy Park, chito-gvritonyc.com
Toné Café
Named after the traditional Georgian bread oven (which is a relative to the Indian tandoor), this Brighton Beach, Brooklyn spot began life in 1997 as a Georgian bakery. In 2013 the owner added tables for sitdown service and expanded the menu.
Since Toné’s origins are in baking, there’s an enormous selection of khachapuri and other breads, some of which you won’t find anywhere else in New York. The Bazhe, chicken in walnut sauce, is excellent here. So is the Kuchmachi, fried veal giblets—a dish not often seen outside of the Caucauses. 265 Neptune Ave., Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, tone-cafe.com
Ubani
With three locations in the West Village, Midtown East, and Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Ubani has a regular following for its excellent Georgian classic dishes. Start with some Mtsvadi, grilled skewered meat (the lamb is the right move) before tucking into some Chashushuli (tomato-laced beef stew), and one of the four regional Khachpuris on the menu. Of course, you will want to be sipping a glass of amber Georgian wine to complete the personal Georgian feast.
Ubani owners also have an outlet called Ubani Bistro on Bleecker Street in the West Village too, which fuses French and Georgian cuisine. Multiple locations, ubani.us
Mamali
Housed in the iconic Village Cigars shop on the bustling corner of Christopher Street and Seventh Avenue, this diminutive restaurant is both a Georgian wine bar and a restaurant. Perch yourself at the bar with a glass of amber Georgian wine and nibble on some Khinkali while watching the world walk by outside of the floor-to-ceiling windows of this triangular-shaped bar. 70 Christopher St., West Village, mamalinyc.com
Oda House
Launched in 2013, Oda House was one of the first Georgian restaurants to fire up its khachapuri-baking ovens in Manhattan. Originally the place resided in the East Village, but closed in 2020, leaving the Upper East Side location as the sole Oda House in Manhattan.
A small handful of the current class Georgian chefs and restaurateurs in Manhattan first worked at Oda House before branching off on their own. The menu has all the greatest hits, but also some harder-to-find dishes like Smoked Pork Belly, plates of Sulguni Cheese, and Zhulian Khinkali (dumplings stuffed with sour cream and mushrooms). There’s also a second location in south Brooklyn. 406 E. 73rd St., Upper East Side; and 2027 Emmons Ave., Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, odahouse.com
Meama
Billing itself as a “modern Georgian restaurant,” this East Village spot with a lovely back patio for dining mixes it up a bit, putting a pan-fried Cornish hen in a shallow pool of Georgian cheese and a raw egg. It further deviates from the traditional Georgian menu with Crispy Flamed Pork Belly and Fire-Grilled Branzino.
Don’t miss the Georgian-Style Wagyu Burger topped with Georgian cheese and house-made adjika sauce, a concoction from Georgia and Abkhazia made with chili peppers, garlic, and blue fenugreek. The wine list boasts bottles from Georgia and France. 78 Second Ave., East Village, meamanyc.com
