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With snow-capped mountain peaks, an ancient winemaking heritage, and a famed culture of hospitality, it’s little wonder that many consider the country of Georgia a bucket list destination. Those intrepid travelers who do make it to this distant and gorgeous land shrouded in mystery rave about its food.
While a trip there might remain a distant dream for now, experiencing its culinary traditions without leaving Germany is now possible, thanks to a restaurant which opened in March of 2018.
The Old Tiflis (Old Tbilisi) isn’t found in one of Frankfurt’s posher sections of town, but its location, a five-minute walk from the central station, is as convenient as can be. Once inside its tight but cozy premises — a stylish design in a warm brown palette suggests modernity, while a wall-stretching black and white photo of old Tbilisi, huge wine rack and TV tuned to a Georgian station provide the proper geocultural orientation.
The menu, available only in German, isn’t extensive, but it checks all the boxes in terms of Georgian staples: soups, appetizers, and the meat on a skewer known as Shashlik. My dining companion and I opted for the spicy soup known as Kharcho, the cold starters of eggplant and stuffed with walnut paste and a green bean dish called Badrijani nigvzit and Satsivi respectively, the round flatbread stuffed with cheese known as Khachapuri, and Khinkali, a meat stuffed dumpling considered one of the national dishes, all washed down with fizzy Georgian mineral water.
The soup was rich, perfectly spiced and thick with rice and tender chunks of meat. The generous portions of the eggplant and green bean starters were filled with the rich, ever so slightly tannic walnut paste that give the dishes their distinction and sprinkled liberally with fresh coriander and pomegranate seeds. The Khinkali, a thick yet tender dough ensconcing ground meat, burst with liquid when cut open. The Khachapuri, delivered piping hot to our table, was the size of a small pizza, stuffed with both a crumbly and a stringy cheese, had a surprisingly light heft to it.
My dining companion, a newcomer to Georgian cuisine, joined me in giving the meal two big thumbs up. She appreciated how the restaurant’s menu, entirely devoid of the common German fallbacks such as Schnitzel and French fries, forces the diner to try something new. And most will be glad they did.
Getting there: The restaurant is located at Düsseldorfer Str. 15, 60329 Frankfurt am Main. It’s open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily on weekdays and from 2 p.m.-11 p.m. on weekends. With seating for no more than around 32 persons, reservations are essential, particularly on those evenings when Georgian entertainers sing. Be sure to try the famed Georgian wines, particularly the reds. Top varieties are available at a moderate cost.
