Bevri - Palo Alto — Restaurant in Palo Alto

Very good Georgian food, which is not a very common foodstuff in the bay and I would give high marks for just the act of introducing it to the area. I grew up eating Georgian food, as it was something quite common in Moscow so I will be drawing upon that experience to rate the dishes.

We began our meal with the lamb and beef khinkali, wherein the filling and soupy portion where superbly balanced and had just the right amount of sweetness to create a pleasant feeling on the palate, whether eaten alone or with the assortment of sauces. They where not perfect, having a tough dough/skin that was a bit too thick and not crimped well at the top, but although that can be improved upon it did not detract from the flavor.

The next dish we had ordered was harcho, which is probably one of my childhood favorite dishes, as I have a general love for stews. This version was extremely good. The soup had a balance of acidity that created a stage for each the flavors within the stew to shine without burying them. The soup finished off of the tonge with a fresh basil note that lifted the entire experience.

Along with the soup came hachipuri, now there are many types of hachipuri and the one we got was, in my opinion, the quintessential version of the dish with a thick warm bread hugging a thick cheese layer with just enough of a burnt top to be effectively accented by the egg yolk laying overtop of it all. With good chewy crumb and the richness that is inherent from the egg massaging the veried sort textures of the cheese that are just different enough, I would say the dish was one of the difinitive highlights of the meal.

Lastly we got chicken tobaka/topoka, lovingly known as "chicken under a brick" by most that have and it. This is probably the one dish that I would not give high praises there, for a few key reasons. Firstly th chicken used was a very big breasted and low quality bird, this caused the meat to be dry as the cook time for the breasts effected the rest of the chicken (although I will note th legs where moist). Secondly the seasoning of the chicken was very light handed and not really what I would expect from a good implementation of this dish. Overall I would say it was the definitive low point of the meal, where it not for the last topic of this review.

Georgian sauces are among the best flavor enhancers in the world. I would put them right under french sauces in terms of positive influence on the character of a dish. The sauces here where superb. Their character allowed for playful changes of flavor to the khinkali and cheburek and even lifted the tobaka out of its dry flavorless rut. The adjika provides a good sweet layer that brought forward the sweet pepper that gives the sauce it's penache, the tkemali brought a wonderful sourness and deep spice to every bite, and lastly the nasrahab gave a great moistness to meat with punchy sourness that only lasts long enough to peak you quickly mellowing to a finishing sweetness to die for.

Overall I highly recommend this location and hope that you take the time to experience this Greta example of Georgian cuisine. And I appreciate the time you took to read my words on the subject, great...

We walked in and they couldn’t even find my name. The host was flipping through pages, clearly unsure where to look — at one point he even asked if I was “Michael.” I was saying one thing, he was saying something else. What should’ve taken less than a minute turned into this awkward, dragged-out moment. Just check the damn list.

I had made a reservation for 8 people to surprise my friend for her birthday, and right from the start it felt like a disaster. The whole experience gave the impression that I had just randomly shown up without a booking.

The staff? Absolutely clueless. It felt like they pulled people off the street with no training. They didn’t know what to do, were visibly rushing to be somewhere else, completely ignored body language, and looked like they couldn’t care less. No sense of service, no structure, just chaos.

They didn’t know how to bring menus, didn’t know who to serve or where to serve from. At one point the server just handed a plate to someone at the table, and we had to pass it down ourselves like it was a backyard barbecue. Why? If you’re charging over $30 for a tiny kebab in the middle of Palo Alto, you cannot deliver McDonald’s-level service.

The server taking our order kept checking his watch — literally in the middle of us speaking. He brought the food and then checked again. Was he late for a break? Waiting for a text? No idea. But it was beyond unprofessional and made everyone uncomfortable.

The table was cluttered with dishes, and the server would just show up, empty-handed, waiting for us to give him things. I mean, do you want me to clock in and help?

When it came time for dessert — which we only ordered because it was a birthday celebration — he brought menus and then vanished. Gone. We waited 30 minutes before I finally went inside to ask for the manager. “There’s no manager today,” they said. On a Sunday.

The space itself was beautifully designed. You can tell the owner really put effort into the interior. But sadly, the staff ruins the entire experience and the restaurant’s image.

And the restroom? Disgusting. No toilet paper, filth in the toilet — honestly, I’ve never seen a public restroom that bad. Not even at Safeway.

The portions were tiny. One of our friends, who weighs maybe 105 pounds, left hungry. That says it all.

Bottom line: Never again. I would never recommend this place. Just an embarrassing experience from...

A deeply disappointing experience despite great food

I want to start by saying that I have deep respect for Georgian cuisine and culture, and was genuinely excited to dine at Bevri. The food, as expected, was excellent rich, flavorful, and thoughtfully prepared. Unfortunately, the service we received completely overshadowed what should have been a wonderful evening.

We discovered a hair in one of our dishes and very politely asked for it to be replaced. We did not ask for a discount or to remove the dish from the bill only a replacement. What followed was one of the most bizarre and unpleasant interactions I’ve ever experienced in any restaurant, let alone one with such a high reputation.

The waiter responded in a shockingly rude and accusatory manner, saying that no one in the kitchen had long hair clearly implying that the hair must have come from us. That in itself was offensive, but it was also delivered in a condescending tone that made the situation much worse.

Trying to de-escalate, we approached another staff member, but he left mid-conversation, not even letting me finish speaking an act of blatant disrespect. What followed was truly disturbing: the original waiter returned, leaned in uncomfortably close to my wife, his lips visibly shaking, and gave us a look that felt aggressive and unsettling. It felt more like an interrogation than a conversation about customer service.

When he finally asked what we thought the appropriate resolution would be, we suggested a simple apology. He refused.

Despite being treated with rudeness, hostility, and condescension, we still paid our bill over $400 and left feeling humiliated. I spoke briefly with Kirill at the end, hoping to express how unacceptable this experience was, but he gave no meaningful response and walked away.

Again, I want to emphasize that the food was truly wonderful, but the way we were treated was unacceptable by any standard. I’ve never encountered such hostility in a restaurant setting, and I sincerely hope the management takes this feedback seriously. No great meal is worth enduring this kind of verbal...