Tried this place for dinner for the first time after living down the block for a year, and it was amazing! We carried out so I can't speak to the wait service, but everyone was very friendly while we were picking up and told us a little about Georgian food. The portions of the bread-type dishes are very large (and in general the portions were large). Our favorites were the meat dishes (lamb kabob-type dish) and chicken cooked in a garlicky sauce, as well as the bean dish! There's a lot of tarragon and garlic, which was great. It's something different, and yet familiar with the Mediterranean influences. Our kids (6 and 2.5) also loved it and each found things they were happy to try (and keep eating!). Highly recommend this gem in the neighborhood! read more

We arrived around 8pm on a Saturday night for our first visit. We ordered a variety of plates to share and brought 2 bottles of wine (BYOB with $1 per person charge-totally reasonable). We were seated quickly and staff was not only friendly but extremely helpful. Clean and modern atmosphere with decent availability street parking. Cold app-chopped pkhali with pita bread Warm app- blinchiki , megruli khachapuri Entrees-Ojakhuri, meat filled khinkali (dumplings) Dessert- Honey cake This was A LOT of food...we took home half of it! Total was around $90. The warm pita bread and pkhali and khinkali were my favorites. My fiance enjoyed the ojakhuri and megruila khachapuri the most-the megruila khachapuri was like the cheesiest pizza you've ever had! The only complaint I had was the honey cake. It was simple and good but only 3 small slices for like $12...seems like a rip off...wouldn't order that again for the price! The food was delicious and portions were generous. Food made friesh to order and service is quick especially with this in mind. Dishes are heavy on garlic so a big warning for anyone not a huge fan of it. We will be back to try other items for sure! read more

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Tried khachapuri, kharcho soup, grilled chicken and kebabs - happy with taste and good service. Will be back to try other items -menu is plentiful! read more

My partner and I had been craving a khachapuri ever since we returned from our trip to Seattle (Must go to Skalka when you're in Seattle!) A friend posted about this place and I have wanted to go ever since. And I was definitely taken bu surprise! The decor was exquisite - I was transported to a different land with historic remnants. We were seated and we got a Egg & Cheese boat - Khachapuri. Our Khachapuri came in the shape of a boat baked with cheese and eggs in the middle. It was perfectly crunchy and the soft bread with melting cheese is hard to not like! Overall, we lived the place and would like to come again to try their dinner! read more

One cannot understate the deliciousness of their cheese bread, or megruli. It's expensive--$19-and weighs about 5 lbs. But oh man is it amazing. Gooey, buttery, cheesy, chewy. Think a Papa John's pizza but 10x better. When we called at 7pm on a Saturday, they seemed out of a few dishes or noted that we had to have pre-ordered some items. The other dishes we had, Chicken Tabaka and honey cake, were fine. The cheese bread would have been enough to keep us happy. read more

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Food was very good and portions were big enough to share. We loved all our entrees. We ordered Khachapuri, Mushroom Entree and Potatoes Dish. Everything was authentic and tasted very yummy. Ambiance was great, Beautiful interior decoration and service was really attentive. But only one small thing we noticed that $18.00 for a Khachapuri was bit pricey. We will definitely visit here again. Thank you very much!! read more

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Dining here was quite a treat! Service was attentive and helpful. I knew very little about Georgian cuisine other than khachapuri so it was fun to try some other dishes. The pkhali are delicious little balls that are like cold meatless meat balls, very different but flavorful - just be mindful of the squishy texture if you're a texture averse person. Meat crepes were similar to a tostada or even egg roll, rolled in a thin dough casing. Simple and tasty! The Ajaruli khachapuri was amazing. Definitely could have eaten an entire one by myself. The cheese was excellent but don't forget to stir in the egg yolk before cutting apart! We finished with the chicken tabaka. The dish was pretty basic, potatoes were a little boring but the chicken was perfectly done. This is highlighted in a box on their menu - not sure why? - so we went with it. Would love to try a different entree next time! Last note - we tried the 'orange wine' (they call it something different which I forget). It reminded me a lot of port, not a traditional wine experience at all. Split a glass with your table mate(s) and go with a regular wine if you're unfamiliar with them! read more

Good food and very great staff. Very small portions, so I would not recommend for dinner. Overpriced, tiny pot of potato and meat chunks is $20. read more

You might be surprised to find this quaint yet elegant restaurant right off Lincoln Ave. From the outside, you would think it be tiny but it is very spacious inside! I guess this is the only Georgian restaurant in Chicago. Though I haven't been to Georgia, I have been to Eastern Europe Georgian restaurants and this place comes quite close to the real deal. There are enough dishes on the menu that'll make you want to come back again and again to try them all. Other dishes are up to you. Our server made lots of recommendations so hopefully you'll get the same treatment. The Adjaruli Khachapuri is kind of the famous dish I guess. Unfortunately I couldn't remember which one it was and ordered the wrong thing, but this is a bread and cheese sort of dish with an egg cracked on top. Great to share as an app; you break off pieces of the bread and stir it in the egg and cheese mixture. Great! The kompot unfortunately is not made in-house and is bottled (from Armenia I think) and is super sweet and wasn't that much different from Kool-Aid. Skip it, unless you like it. It's BYOB. read more

This place is outstanding! I had always wanted to try it and when I finally was able to, I was kicking myself for all the opportunities I'd missed. It is that good. No exaggeration, the Chicken Tabaka was the juiciest chicken I'd ever had. We tried a number of extremely delicious entrees and my favorite dish of all was the Mushroom Ojakhuri. Never in my life did I think that the dish of my dreams would consist of mushrooms and potatoes (of all things) but here we are and I can't wait to have it again. And again. And again! Service was great even though they were extremely short staffed for such a packed night. We brought our own wine and the whole meal was ridiculously affordable given the amount of food per item and the quality. If you're here reading reviews because you are contemplating trying this restaurant, let me make it super easy for you. Go to/order from the Diplomat Cafe and try that other restaurant another time. You can thank me later. read more

Everything was DELICIOUS but a bit overpriced. Based on the menu photos, prices have gone up recently. Make sure you go with a party of 4 or more so you can share plates and split the bill. We had two appetizers and a salad, BOGO wine and a dessert. The bill came out to $108 read more

Amazing food and service everyone should try it!! We tried adjaruli xachapuri, xinkali, myzvadi and kababi and honey cake!! Soo delicious and amazing service!!! read more

Chicago Diplomat Cafe - Adjaruli xachapuri, xhinkali - Modern European Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I thought this place was a nice dinner for any given night, nothing mind blowing, but I was pleased with most of it. For a friendly neighborhood joint, its reasonable on prices and getting a table also isn't a burden, which I appreciated. Once inside, its a cozy ambiance and not as loud as a lot of other restaurants. Another plus. We were greeted and seated quickly. However it did take some time to get the ball rolling for our initial service. This is a BYOB spot, so that is awesome. As mentioned above it took some time for them to bring glasses and ice buckets, but oh well. Not like 5 minutes was going to ruin the beer. So i recommend this place right away for the BYOB. The food was hit or miss. Although I've rarely had this type of food so it could be my ordering. What we really liked: Kachapuri. Many options from cheesy to meaty. And they packed it in there. Another great dish was the mushroom appetizer. Large portion, great seasoned flavors. Probably won't get again: Chicken entree. Looks great in the presentation, but push comes to shove I think I'd rather just pay $6 for a grocery store rotiserie chicken. It wasn't bad or anything, just wasn't anything special. The potatoes (fries) were also not great. I'd have liked them to be more crispy. One last mention is that the sauces they bring out are interesting, but they are not as much dipping sauce as they are just tiny flavor additions. So when I asked for some ketchup or anything fun to dip the chicken/fries in, they were strange about it. Like I had to convince them to bring me normal ketchup. Don't they have any unique sauces they could bring out? I live close and will likely be back to try some more dishes, or even just get the app and bring a few beers. read more

Took phali and that was so bad they use canola oil , and that make my liver fell so bad while night, lobiami also so bad , the daw is super soft and no tasty at all read more

One of Chicago's great charms is that it is a city with a wide array of geographically specialized restaurants -- such that I have an opinion about the local Kurdish place, a favorite nearby Kyrgyz place, and now, we Lakeview has a Georgian restaurant too. The atmosphere is strange but not unwelcoming -- the large hall was mostly empty, but we had a cozy table in the window, and sometime during our meal a long table became home to a group of loud and happy Russians engaged in some kind of ritual drinking of alcohol. A helpful person who might have been the owner tried to guide us through the menu, though she was encouraged when she learned we'd already set our sights on Chicken Tabaka, Lamb Mtsvadi, Lobio Stew, and some khachapuri and pkhali. The food was very good. The khachapuri was fine, but dietary restrictions precluded us from getting the runny egg so I think we may have missed the point. The pkhali were truly special -- a mix of spices and herbs and and vegetables in an almost dumpling-like texture that you will just have to take my word and order on faith. The lobio were surpassingly delicious beans, even by my high standards for beans. Perhaps the least-special dishes were the two big meat dishes, both of which were still very good, but the stars were the array of sauces accompanying the chicken, especially the blackberry sauce. If we come back, it will be to experiment with this part of the menu. It is only because I live a strangely privileged life that I can't say this is the best Georgian restaurant I have ever been to, but for that you would have to go to San Diego. But this place deserves to be more popular, and that would also make it livelier, which would be nice. We are lucky to live in a city where a delicious Georgian restaurant is even on offer, and you should trek out and try it. read more

Came here on a weekend with my family and overall everyone left disappointed with the quality of the food. The appetizers were all on the bland side for us and the eggplant appetizers didn't taste fresh at all, especially the salads with walnuts. The hot appetizers were better than the cold ones but either they were overly bland or overly salty. The kabobs were okay but nothing to write home about. The servers were nice and pleasant and the atmosphere here is nice so they get stars for that. It's byob with a corkage fee so just an FYI on that. There's a few Georgian restaurants opening up in the suburbs where we live so I won't make the hike to the city if there's tastier food offered in the burbs. Also prices were that cheap for what you're getting so overall we left unimpressed. The Russian items they had on the menu were also so so and I'm Russian so I know exactly how they're supposed to taste. They should just stick to Georgian food since that's what they are known for. Sorry but I doubt we will be back! read more

Wet pretty place that offers authentic food! Everything tastes wonderfully! Highly recommend it to anyone!!! read more

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Whenever we go to Chicago, we stop by! Delicious Georgian Food. I love it. All my coworkers are deeply in love with this place. Quality, taste and hospitality. Everything is 10 out of 10 read more

Wow! This place is AMAZING! The food, ambiance, decor and music were great! The place is very big, lots of sitting space, gorgeous bar and decorations! Very nice addition to the neighborhood because you can't really find any Georgian food which you just must to try!!! I came with my friend. I don't really what to start from and what was my favorite because I loved all of the food we had. We've got Khachapuri, Chikhirtma (the Georgian soup which was the best soup I've had in years!!!) and Khinkali that were so good! Each dish was cooked to perfection and was so flavorful! The service was attentive and the and owner is a sweet woman who told us about the restaurant, the dishes that they have. Definitely I will be back and bring my friends here! Highly recommended! read more

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Parking in front of Cafe easy on a Friday at 6 pm. We finally found something to please all our palettes... the meat dumplings are similar to Chinese shaolump bai, tho a bit spicier and these are much larger. The vegan dish was very tasty... I'm gonna try to make this at home. Atmosphere warm and cozy, white table cloth setting. Waiter n waitress very friendly. read more

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I really recommend this hole in the wall on Lincoln! Delicious Gregorian food with a superb and delightful interior. The kabob was fantastic and their soups are delicious! read more

Really enjoyed our experience here. We've lived in the neighborhood for a few years and have always passed by...final tried it! Staff was very nice and the environment was relaxed. We order an assortment of dishes and shared family style (I'd recommend this). Cheese boat, do it, get two. Fries potatoes w/all the garlic - yes yes yes. The lamb really great. We got the soup dumplings our server was really great, she helped to let us know how to eat these correctly! read more

Chicago Diplomat Cafe - Cheese boat - Modern European Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The megruli Khachapuri is to die for. But it is definitely not for someone who doesn't like a lot of cheese. It's basically a very cheesy pizza without the sauce, but the flavor of the slaguni cheese and bread is delicious. The Ajaruli Khachapuri is also delicious but again very cheesy-it's basically a bread boat of cheese so it might be best to have it as a side almost like fondue to dip things in or with extra bread. Can't speak for other dishes but I will definitely order the khachapuris again. read more

Everything is fake. Don't go there!!!! I'm from Georgia It's not Georgian food!!!!!! This is the worst place I ever seen!!!bad food worst experience everything is frozen and they just hit it . Don't order Xinkali and khachapuri because you will hate it!!!!!!!!!!! read more

Fantastic Georgian food! It's very authentic, but with much larger portions. I would caution against ordering too much for your table, as it's very filling. read more

Chicago Diplomat Cafe - Lobiani and Megruli - Modern European Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This was overall a great experience. I have never tried Georgian food before and now I am extremely happy that I did. My group loved the food and the service. We ended up sharing all of our dishes which allowed us to try a variety of things from menu. I would suggest that you be adventurous and try as many things that you can! The walnut dressing is worth the trip! read more

I ordered the Khinkali which are dumplings stuffed with spices and meat (chicken). There was way too much dough, but otherwise they were alright. I also had the Pkhali which was quite delicious and would order that again if I ever return. Waiter was a little strange and our food took longer than it should have. The waiter actually said to us that the kitchen was preparing to-go orders ahead of ours...really? Overall, an ok place but I wouldn't recommend you go out of your way to try it. read more

Friendly staff and the ability to seat multiple large groups. Our group of 6 was asked to order ahead so that we could get our food in a timely fashion - good and fine. Traditional cheese-filled bread (khachapuri) was as good as it sounds. Hot, fluffy, rich. We got a variety of dishes. The baked chicken with garlic cream sauce had deep flavor and remained moist. The Ajapsandali was vegetal and herbaceous - very wholesome. The Georgian Kababi was well-done and well-seasoned. I think we ate the mushroom Khinkali too slowly. Somewhat doughy and the filling was not as exciting as our other dishes. We were way too full for dessert. read more

Chicago Diplomat Cafe - Mushroom Khinkali - Modern European Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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This a Georgian Restaurant from the Baltic Area. It is quietly elegant on a weekday evening and we understand it is full of music and fun on the weekends when traditional music is played. While dining there, we savored a mix of cold appetizers with some hot freshly baked bread. We followed this with a shared loaf of Ajaruli Khachapuri bread and Georgian Mtsvadi made with very tender lamb kabobs and Georgian potatoes. We enjoyed some of our own wine with dinner. Following the main entrée, we shared a Napoleon dessert that was heavenly along with some very freshly made coffee. read more

This place was a quick walk from the office, so I decided to give it a shot. Whoops! Got in and ordered their lunch special: veggie soup, salad, and a chicken entree. Sat in front of their adorable goldfish aquarium (1 out of the 2 stars goes to those cuties) and waited. And then waited. And waited some more. I was given the mushroom soup (an option on the menu that I did NOT request) and didn't really care for it. Not into mushrooms. Luckily she brought out some bread and sour cream with it, which I can confirm was actually pretty good. After about 30 minutes, I look over to the server to catch her attention. We made eye contact for a solid 20 seconds until I decided it was too awkward and decided to just get up and walk over to her. I asked if they can just make my food to go instead since I would have to get back to work soon. She then walked into the kitchen and right back out with my food. Umm? So you just forgot my food order and had to be reminded to go get it? How long has it been sitting in the kitchen? When I arrived, I was the last to put my order in before a new group came in and the group before me was already eating. My chicken entree ended up being around 5 pieces of chicken kabobs with a Mediterranean salad (the salad being the only other tasty thing I tried). Undercooked chicken at that. It was super cheap, but I guess you get what you pay for. If I ever want to wait a total of 45ish minutes for a few pieces of chicken, I'll go elsewhere where it might be better. read more

Perfect afternoon treat - a gem! Staff was super helpful in ordering and explaining the different dishes. We will definitely be back.

Love this place! Went for the second time last weekend for a birthday and had a great experience. AMAZING food and great service. Definitely will be returning soon read more

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I have never left a negative review in my life , but dear me, I also think that you can expect some sort of standard when you go out to eat. Unfortunately, the standard at this restaurant was very poor. The customer service was Horrible !!!!! The food was so spicy so I asked my waiter why he didn't mention it ( I have very bad allergy for spicy food ). Then the chef came out of the kitchen to argue with me. She said : " Don't teach me how to cook !" It left me speechless. Worst experience at a restaurant ever!! Never in my life have I been treated so badly. Remember this, the customer is always right! Not at Vesuvio's the "Chef" will tell you what is right, with no exceptions. It's his way like it or not! So to that I say Never ever again. read more

My lovely place to enjoy delicious food made by Georgian professional cooks! 5 STAR True Georgian Cuisine in Chicago read more

Don't be scared, by pictures of the dining room, by the words you can't pronounce on the menu, by anything you may see on yelp about this restaurant. It's a gem. So much so, that the evening I had dinner here most of the restaurant had been reserved and all the appetizers prepared for the dinner shift sold. We luckily got to try two that hadn't been sold, but I could tell this place was very special. I watch a lot of Anthony Bourdain's No reservations and when he went to Georgia he freaked out! The food, the people, the wine we're not what he was expecting and so of course this peaked my interest. Where could I even get Georgian food?! Well looks no further! That was the original incentive to head to diplomat but it's not the reason I will be coming back. I will be coming back for some of the most delicious original things I have ever eaten and amazing service to boot. read more

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One of the best restaurant I've ever been! We were 22 people and we made alot of noise but the hospiality was amazing. It was BYOB and oh boy... we used this option to the fullest! The appetizers, the food, the hospitality everyrhing was great. I'm sill drunk but I feel the need to write a review! read more

We ordered Georgian soup dumplings and the beets appetizer for take out！ Very hearty portion and delicious！ read more

Chicago Diplomat Cafe - georgian soup dumpling - Modern European Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I like this place, the best caucasian kitchen in Chicago, everything fresh and taste, The staff are very kindly read more

You won't have to go to Georgia, near Turkey and Russia, to try out the cuisine. You need only visit the Chicago Diplomat Cafe and BYOB when you do! Pro tip: Make Reservations! A good friend of mine brought a rather large group to Chicago Diplomat Cafe after making reservations for 15 people, and I, dear reader, was one of the lucky ones invited to attend. My oh my! Yum yum yum! Okay, here's the insider info: The menu is carnivore friendly, though the veggie options are quite tasty, so folks on either side of the menu won't go home hungry. Here's what I tried: The dumplings (carnivore) were very good - juicy and warm and reminded me of a pan-Asian dumpling house I know. The fried-egg with cheese in a bread shell reminded me of a yummy breakfast crepe. The walnut-pate chicken dish was so good I'd get it again. The eggplant (veggie) hot pot dish was great! (and I don't really like eggplant much) The walnut-pate eggplant on a hot plate was so good I'd learn to like eggplant. The homemade bread easily fits with any dish and is great for scooping up the sauces from the various dishes. The mushroom hot-pot dish with sauce is good enough to order two so you don't fight with someone else to eat it. The service was professional and polite, the chef is a wizard, and the fact that they're a BYOB location means you can bring all the Georgian wine you can carry with you through the door! Gaumarjos! read more

Me and my wife found out about this place from the bit they did on Chicago's Best and we were thrilled to find out a new Georgian Restaurant opened in our area. We moved to the USA 2 years ago and back home we had Georgian food almost every month. We came by on a Friday evening. The place was not too crowded. We were really anxious to try all the food we had at home and to our surprise it was just as good as it was back home. Service was great, the waiters were super nice and made sure we always have everything we need. We had the Ajarauli and Imaruli Khachapu and the Mushroom Khinkali (which they added cheese to also). They were all amazing. We will be back soon for sure. read more