ARGO GEORGIAN GREEK BAR & GRILL — Restaurant in Khlong Toei Subdistrict

After traveling to Georgia earlier this year, we came back addicted to Georgian food and wine. We searched "Georgian restaurants in Bangkok" and it turns out there is only one. This one. Luckily it turns out to be an outstanding one!

We've now been there three times and loved every meal. The Khinkalis are legit, served steamy hot with the soupy au jus inside. (Be sure to eat them the right way so you don't lose that juice!) My personal favorite dish is the Georgian Salad, which I like even more here than I did in Georgia, because in Georgia the tomatoes were never cut small enough, but the staff at Argo are happy to dice them in smaller pieces upon request (thank you for that!)

We also like the Khachapuri more than we did in Georgia, maybe due to sharper tasting cheeses, I'm not sure, but it's ridiculously delicious. (Pro tip: order a side of Satsabeli dip to give it a pizza-like experience). We tried both the Chanakhi (beef stew) and Kharcho (more like a beef soup), and both were good with very tender beef, but I probably prefer the Kharcho a bit more (just personal taste).

We haven't tried much of the Greek food yet, although we did get the Appetizer sampler platter last time, and the Falafel are even better than the Lebanese restaurants around town.

My only small critique would be the Chkmeruli. The sauce tastes great but it was a bit thin/watery. This was my favorite dish in Georgia, and most of the ones there had a thicker sauce. Again, this might just be about personal preference, and I wonder if Argo could maybe make the sauce a bit thicker upon request?

Overall, this place has very quickly become one of our Top 5, and considering we try hundreds of new/different restaurants every year, that's no easy feat.

One last thing that makes this restaurant so attractive is the selection of drinks. They have every Georgian wine that's available in Thailand (about 15, I believe). My personal favorite is the Amber, which is a style unique to Georgian grapes. Several are available by the glass, but the bottle prices also aren't bad. In addition, they have some affordable prices on draft beer and cocktails, and their Sangria is one of the best I've had. The hot thyme tea is also a very nice way to end the meal.

Last but not least, the service here is professional, yet friendly and hospitable. One waiter told us that there is actually a sister restaurant with a similar menu (and that one apparently sells Fried Kinkhali, as well!), but they are currently in the process of moving to a new location. Can't wait to find out more about that. My wife likes the Fried Kinhkhali more than the traditional ones.

If it sounds like we are crazy excited about this place, it's because we truly are, and I can promise there's no exaggeration...

Tonight, my girlfriend and I had dinner at Argo, a new Greek/Georgian restaurant. It appears that it is a sister restaurant to the Avra Greek Restaurant on Sukhumvit Soi 33. This was apparent because the place mats on the tables were for Avra.

The restaurant is nicely appointed, clean, and inviting. The staff were all friendly and helpful. I ordered and appetizer of falafel, fried balls made of chick peas (garbanzo beans). The balls were nicely crispy on the outside but very soft and mushy inside. The flavor was good, but I prefer my falafel more solid. Still, my girlfriend ate 1 and I ate the other three. She said hers was good, but she didn't want a second one. Four falafel balls were served along with a tzatziki sauce made from yogurt and dill. I dislike dill so I didn't like the tzatziki. My girlfriend didn't like it either. If I return to this restaurant--not a sure thing--I won't order the falafel again.

For her main course, my girlfriend ordered another item from the appetizer menu, chicken in some kind of sauce. I wish I had paid more attention to the menu so I could report what it was called, but I didn't. It was a greenish sauce and seemed to also be made from mashed beans of some kind, perhaps lentils. She said it reminded her of Massaman curry sauce. I tried it and it was okay. It did not taste like Massaman to me. She later gave it 4 out of 5 starts. I would have given it 3 stars at best. With her dish, she ordered pita bread which shew used as a vehicle to eat the chicken and the sauce.

I order a chicken gyro. I tried to order the lamb but was told they don't have the lamb even though it's on the menu. Ok, what the heck, chicken is fine. I was surprised to see what arrived on my plate. The gyro had thinly sliced chicken as expected and a couple thin tomato slices, but it also had several slices of raw onion, not mentioned on the menu. It wasn't hard to remove them (yes, I am picky about raw onions). The big surprise was a bunch of fries (chips) inside the pita wrap. I may not be an expert when it comes to Greek food, but I know that fries are not traditionally served on gyros. They were well cooked and crispy, however. Had they been on the side, they would have been easier to eat dipped in the ketchup that came with it. The flavor was okay but not outstanding. I've had better at a state fair in the US. Again, 3 stars max for the food.

The food prices were not out of line with other restaurants in the area, but I wince at paying 70 Baht for a can of coke, which is what they charge. The atmosphere as well as the friendly and attentive service, however, did not make up for disappointing food. I give it 3 stars and will not...

I was searching for Georgian cuisine in Bangkok and came across this restaurant – sadly, it turned out to be one of the most disappointing culinary experiences I’ve ever had. I’ve tried Georgian food in many places, including Bali, but I have never encountered a restaurant so overpriced and poor in quality.

Let’s start with the location: tucked away on one of Bangkok’s most distasteful streets, surrounded by bars with ladies of the night: not exactly the atmosphere you’d expect for enjoying traditional Georgian dishes. Inside, the place smelled old and musty, and some guests gave more of a “back alley Caucasus” vibe than any authentic Georgian warmth. The music choice was also terrible, completely ruining the ambiance.

But the worst part – the food.

The Tarragon soda for 150 baht was nothing more than regular soda with syrup – overly sweet and artificial. The Adjarian khachapuri had dough that reeked of yeast and had a strange aftertaste. It looked cheap. And it cost nearly 400 baht.

Then came the khinkali. No sauce was offered, and while it’s hard to mess up khinkali, somehow the chefs here managed to make them utterly tasteless. Easily the worst I’ve had in my life – and at 85 baht per piece, it’s 2,5 times more expensive than in Georgia or even Russia.

The only redeeming factor was the polite staff. What about the chef: he seriously needs to be sent to Georgia for retraining.

My verdict: an unappetizing imitation of Georgian cuisine with mismatched pricing and a terrible location. Not recommended. Just my...