Aragvi Restaurant — Restaurant in Palace District

Cozy, Warm, and Hearty – Delightful Evening All Around

During first trip to St. Petersburg, we were excited to eat at a Georgian restaurant to get a taste of their hearty cuisine.

At our hotel concierge’s delightful recommendation, we ate at Aragvi, which is on the embankment of the Fontanka River in St. Petersburg. Aragvi had menus in English and servers who knew enough English to make food/wine suggestions and to order us a taxi back to our hotel after the meal.

The interior of Aragvi (the English translation of its Russian name, Арагви) was cozy and warm, reflecting the homey food to come. For one of our starters, we had cheburek, which is a baked bread with various fillings, such as different types of meat or cheese. We chose a cheese cheburek, and could hardly stop at one each because they were so delicious. In addition, we had stewed vegetables with crispy herbs, which was quite good.

For my main course, I had khinkali, which are thick, meat-filled dumplings (I had the veal version) that are made throughout the Caucasus region. Oh my, these were so good and so filling, particularly since the dumplings themselves were thick and chewy. So tasty and satisfying! My partner had a hearty beef stew, which was well-prepared and quite flavorsome.

If we were ever in St. Petersburg again, we would definitely...

What I think many would enjoy about this restaurant is its small size. It makes it cozy, homely and warm. There is a fire place there but it was not lit (not sure if it is legally allowed either). It would definitely be romantic with the fireplace on 😁

Now, for the improvements that need to be made. We were there when the restaurant was packed and there was but a single waiter. Not to say that he did a bad job (except running out for a smoke time to time which you should not be doing in front of customers), but of course, the lack of staff caused us and others to wait longer. The food was tasty, but not exceptionally impressive. I believe a nice restaurant like yours should raise the bar when it comes to the wow food factor, comparing to a multitude of Georgian competitor restaurants in Central...

Place with a terrible service. There were only two table occupied in the dining room, the server was not busy at all. However, she didn't bother herself with taking our order. We have been waiting for 20 minutes, she even didn't ask if we want to drink something. Finally we left hungry and angry. Won't recommend...