Gurmani — Restaurant in London

It’s quite disappointing that we chose this particular place because we went there to celebrate my husband’s birthday. It was just a family dinner, but we wanted it to be nice. We chose this restaurant among other Georgian ones because the Google reviews were good, with a rating of 4.9 stars. That’s why I decided to leave my feedback, as it doesn’t match reality.

The place is very simple and small. The food was good—not everything was perfect, but overall, it was decent. However, the atmosphere was so unpleasant that I still can’t believe we ended up in such a situation in London, where the atmosphere and friendliness towards guests are very important. The music was playing softly, and right next to us sat two men who appeared to be connected to the restaurant—possibly owners or administrators, they were sitting facing the guests. The only waitress in the restaurant, who was serving all the tables by herself, was constantly talking to these men in Georgian.

So, these men just sat there observing everything—how people ordered food, ate, and so on. When the waitress took our order, she was also talking to them, and we didn’t understand what it was about. Then they all started laughing, and we had no idea why. We felt like test subjects, with no comfort whatsoever. It gave the impression that we weren’t welcome there, and that they were just doing us a favor by serving us.

Additionally, our empty plates were not cleared away. We were eating our main courses and celebrating my husband’s birthday surrounded by empty plates, as you can see in the photo. The plates were only taken away after we had finished everything and asked for the bill.

Clearly, we won’t be going back, though I’m sure the owners don’t care. This review is not for them but for other people searching for a nice place, so they don’t make the same...

Very pleasant experience with nice but not amazing food, in a small, friendly spot.

Came here for dinner, ordered mixed meze , mushroom khinkali, lamb chakapuli, a Georgian salad, and honey cake (all shared between 2 people). Bill was about £30 per head.

Mixed meze consisted of 4 pkhalis, minced vegetables with walnut sauce. These were carrot, aubergine, spinach, and beetroot. All were moderately tasty but none stood out.

Georgian salad was a standard cucumber, tomato, onion salad with ground walnuts. Good quality ingredients were used, which lifted it, but fundamentally it's a fairly plain accompaniment which met expectations.

Mushroom khinkali (dumplings) were tasty, with a little chilli heat, but nothing like as good as a meat dumpling could be. There are pork ones on the menu, I assume they're tastier. It's great that they have a mushroom version on the menu, it's just a shame it's not that good, especially when compared to other Asian dumplings.

Lamb chakapuli (stew with tarragon and sour plum) was incredibly tender but very mild and underseasoned. More anise flavour would have been good, likewise more sour plum and more salt. It was a reasonable portion, served with 2 slices of bread, but I'd have expected a little better (and a little more bread) for £20.

Honey cake was of the traditional Eastern European/Central Asian variety (i.e. layered). Unfortunately, this one was a little dry, lacking the lactic tang of soured cream, and overly dense.

Staff were friendly and attentive, service was relatively good all around. No complaints.

There's nothing that puts me off about this place. It had a nice, low-key vibe, everything felt well put together and in general reasonably priced, with a nice, short, menu. It's unfortunate that I just didn't find myself particularly impressed with any...

It's always interesting to try out a new cuisine and having not had many experiences with Georgian food I thought I'd try this place out. They have a concise menu with their dumplings being a speciality. The dumplings were huge and reminded me of large mushrooms, the server recommended to pick up the dumpling and suck out the juice inside. The meat inside was a little dry and lacked flavour definition. The dumping casing was quite thick and I didn't fall in love sadly. I also had their cheese filled khachapuri which was nice, the cheese was oozing and mild in taste. I went for a main of lamb stew with tarragon, white wine and sour plum. I didn't taste much lamb flavour from the meat but it was very tender with an excellent texture. Fatty chunks that were well rendered , tarragon added a nice fragrant aroma and taste. There were touches of acidity but I think for me it was the seasoning and greens that really elevated the dish. Pleasant but nothing out of the ordinary especially considering how close you are to Green lanes . I tried a sweet red wine which complemented the food nicely, great tannic structure with a full body . The dessert was a traditional grape pudding , I could taste the flour and I didn't enjoy the bitter flavour that was bordering on astringent . Overall and think the cheese dish was the highlight and for the price paid it felt somewhat of a let down. London is tough , we're all out there seeking new culinary experiences and value propositions . This place missed the mark on my visit so the...