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So happy this place opened up! My mother and I stopped in for lunch and shared the falafel, tabouleh, and salmon kabob. All 3 dishes tasted fresh and delicious. The freshness is key to me. I loved it.
The service was great. Our waiter was excellent and the owner was very welcoming and sweet.
The decor was unique in a great way - I loved the vibe. We also really enjoyed the music selection.
I'm thrilled that a delicious place with an eclectic, international menu opened up nearby. Will definitely be back and potentially try take out/delivery soon!
Is there a menu online?
Update 3/2/2017:
I went back with my parents for my mother's birthday lunch. The owner remembered us and suggested that we try some of the Georgian menu items this time. We did and they were amazing! The Georgian salad is a must have!
At the end of our meal, the owner brought out a piece of Georgian pastry cake for each of us, with a candle in my mother's piece. She also remembered that my mother enjoyed their Turkish coffee and brought one out for each of us. They sang happy birthday and played happy birthday songs in different languages over the sound system. My family speaks Arabic, so when the recording got to that language, it was particularly touching. It was so kind of them to do this for us and really made my mother's birthday!
Amazing food and beyond great service... I absolutely love this place!
Thank you!
Betsy Carlson Krizenesky
+5
Everything about this place deserves high recommendation! The interior is cozy and sophisticated at the same time; the menu has been chosen with care from the rich culinary traditions of Georgian cuisine; the service was attentive without being smothering; and the execution of the food was superb! Lots of fresh herbs and garlic, pungent cheeses, succulent meats, crusty bread, tender pasta.....I could go on and on. Khachapuri (cheese bread), khinkali (dumplings), Georgian lamb kebabs, plate of pickled things, lamb stew with herbs, pkhali (ground herbs and walnuts) are what we had and it was darn hard to not get more. One thing to note is that it is BYOB so if you forget to bring wine just cross the street and walk up to Whole Foods on Belmont to find one. We had a Shiraz by Jam Jar that we found very similar to Georgian wines.
Good food and exceptional service. The dumpling were too salty for my taste. The cheese pie with egg was phenomenal. The cold appetizers mix is a must try. The garlic chicken will protect you from vampires thru next life. We concluded our dinner with dry fruit (Georgian). It was pleasant surprise.
This place is elegant with an awesome vibe. I went for breakfast and the food was amazing. The service was speedy and friendly. Their Ajapsandali are absolutely incredible! This lone visit has made this one of my favorite spots within Chicago.
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Overall Thoughts: This is the only Georgian restaurant in Chicago and my first time trying Georgian food— it didn’t disappoint and made for an extremely hearty, filling meal (albeit on the saltier side). Extra shout out to our super kind and awesome server!! The ambience inside is beautiful—both stately and homey. We came with a dinner reservation on Friday, but it wasn’t too crowded inside so walk-ins are probably fine too. Prices were a bit high, but reasonable for the portions (~$42 pp with tax/tip).
Food I tried:
- Pkhali: Kind of looked and tasted like colorful, non-fried falafel without the chickpeas. These are made with various vegetables and walnuts for a robust umami flavor. They were very soft and creamy, and were quite hearty and delicious.
- Imeruli Khachapuri: Khachapuri is the national dish of Georgia; our server recommended this particular one as his favorite. It was essentially a bread stuffed with various cheeses, and tasted quite good and was very filling. It was really salty though, so I was pretty thirsty after this one.
- Mushroom Ojakhhuri: This is a vegetarian dish that our server recommended. The mushrooms were soft and flavorful, though the potatoes were a little too mushy for my liking. Was delicious overall though, with buttery and creamy textures.
- Khinkali: For reference, these soup-filled dumplings are kind of like Chinese xiao long baos but with MUCH thicker skin and an all-meat filling, so they’re a lot heavier and more filling. They were delicious— I really liked how doughy and chewy the skin was, and the soup and filling were flavorful. You can choose how many you want (they’re $4 each).
- Stewed Feijoa Kompot drink: We also tried a bottle of stewed feijoa kompot drink, which our server told us is very popular and commonly drunk in Georgia. The flavor was pretty interesting—mildly sweet, flowery, and tart.
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Price (relative to peers): 4.2/5
Food: 4.3/5
Ambience: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Overall Value: 4.5/5
Definitely recommend this authentic Georgian food, it will not disappoint. To my surprise it was very flavorful (had Georgian before in a couple places) but this one tops it for sure. The kachapuri and khinkali were the highlight.
Was driving by and decided to stop by. Amazing traditional vibe and design inside. Everything is authentic and handmade. Front of the house is very welcoming and guided us through an awesome menu. Must get the garlic cream chicken, any of the breads with cheese, and meat. The dumplings are a huge and great. Everything was exceptional and definitely homemade fresh to order. Many more items I will be back to try.
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This place fills my heart with a warmth that I can only feel while traveling. The food is delicious, with many options being packed with garlic (if you love garlic, then go here!). It truly feels like a home cooked meal and it takes you out of America and into a small restaurant in the heart of Georgia. The staff are friendly and more than willing to talk about different aspects of their home. They even gave me some complimentary chocolate for my birthday. There are various tapestries and artwork hung up on the walls which help establish a comfortable and warm ambience. Every dish I’ve had here has been amazing, ranging from the (please excuse my spelling) chkmeruli (garlic chicken in a cream sauce), to the khinkali (brothy meat dumplings), to the khachapuri (Georgian cheese pastries). Even something as simple as rice has been prepared excellently. Restaurants like this exist to share the joy of their home culture, and no place’s cooking has filled me with such warmth from food like the Diplomat Cafe has. I highly recommend this place to anybody looking to try something new or to anybody looking for food that feels like home, even if it’s something they’ve never had before. The Diplomat Cafe has managed to touch my heart like no other Chicago restaurant has.
Everything is very tasty, prepared quickly, the portions are very large. The service is also nice, we will come back here again.
Chicago Diplomat Cafe is a fantastic Georgian restaurant with an extensive selection of authentic dishes. The Megruli khachapuri, filled with generous amounts of cheese and topped with crispy smoked Sulvuni, was a delicious highlight. The aromatic and well-seasoned Ojakhuri was also a standout. Don't forget to complement your meal with their excellent Georgian semi-sweet wines.
The food was phenomenal and there were several vegetarian/vegan options. Can’t wait to come back!
We ordered the Ajaruli Khachapuri, the Pkhali, the meat crepes, and the dessert of the day - the honey cake. It was my first time eating Georgian food and I absolutely LOVED it. Everything was incredible, the three appetizers were enough for two people to share and still have leftovers, and we ate that INCREDIBLE honey cake for 3 days! Honestly, I would go back just for that cake. Looking forward to trying more dishes next time!
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