AZE: Imereti Georgian House

A happy reunion with Georgian food!

Ever since I came back from my trip to Georgia in 2018, I've been missing the unique cuisine, occasionally dreaming about it. As I knew I'd finally be back to the Caucasus region, albeit to a neighbouring country, I couldn't contain my excitement of finding a Georgian restaurant. Imereti Georgian House is located not far from Baku's Fountain Square.

English menu is available at the restaurant, although I must say that it's pretty basic with no pictorial illustrations to help you visualise what'll be brought to the table.

Georgian Lemonade AZN 4.00 (~S$3.15)

The feeling of getting reunited with a kind of Georgian fizzy drink, which the locals call lemonade, was just indescribable. I really love the tarragon flavour that's so fragrant. The brand that's served by the restaurant is Natakhtari, which is also the name of a village in the Mtskheta municipality in Georgia.

Kharcho AZN 4.00 (~S$3.15)

Taste: 6.5/10

A heart-warming bowl of soup was what I needed after a whole day of walking. The restaurant's rendition of traditional soup containing rice, beef and chopped walnuts was decent with enough acidity from cherry plum purée to balance out the saltiness of the broth. For the low price, however, more of the beef fats were seen instead of the meat.

Adjarian Khachapuri AZN 10.00 (~S$7.90)

Taste: 7.5/10

The national dish of Georgia is cheese-filled bread known as khachapuri that has distinctive regional variations. We ordered the sinful one hailing from the region of Adjara that evening. Although not as good as what we had at Bar-Restaurant Palaty in Kutaisi, Georgia, the boat-shaped bread with butter, cheese and an egg yolk was pretty rich, but it could be crunchier on the outside. Pika's advice: If you prefer something cheesier, you may want to go for Megrelian Khachapuri, which is priced at AZN 12.00 (~S$9.40).

Georgian-Style Meat AZN 10.00 (~S$7.90)

Taste: 8/10

Instead of getting a meat dish that we'd previously tried, we decided to gamble on the uninspiringly named item featuring beef, mushrooms and sulguni cheese that's ubiquitous in Georgia. I wasn't expecting it to be a baked dish served on a casserole, but it turned out to be a good pick as the flavours from tender red meat and juicy mushrooms were married the melted brined cheese well.

Apple Dessert AZN 8.00 (~S$6.30)

Taste: 8.5/10

I'd initially wanted to order pelamushi, a kind of thick, hard jelly made of grape juice and flour, as I didn't have a good one at KGB in Georgia. Alas, it was out of stock that evening, so we were recommended a steamed apple stuffed with housemade walnut paste. Oh boy, that was a truly good ending, thanks to the divine combination of the tart green apple and the sweet, robust paste of the nutritious nuts.

Melon's Rating

Taste: 7.5/10

Ambience: 8.5/10

Service: 8/10

Overall: 8/10

It wasn't the best, but a memorable dinner it was, satisfying enough to cure my longing for Georgian cuisine. This is just a dream, but perhaps I should try running a Georgian restaurant here in Singapore. Haha!

Imereti Georgian House

47 Rasul Rza Street

Baku

Azerbaijan

(Daily: 10.00am - 11.00pm)

*Prices quoted are subject to 10% service charge.

Have a nice meal,

Cliff(y)