Chicago Diplomat Cafe

Overall Thoughts: This is the only Georgian restaurant in Chicago and my first time trying Georgian food— it didn’t disappoint and made for an extremely hearty, filling meal albeit on the saltier side). Extra shout out to our super kind and awesome server!! The ambience inside is beautiful—both stately and homey. We came with a dinner reservation on Friday, but it wasn’t too crowded inside so walk ins are probably fine too. Prices were a bit high, but reasonable for the portions $42 pp with tax/tip). Food I tried: Pkhali: Kind of looked and tasted like colorful, non fried falafel without the chickpeas. These are made with various vegetables and walnuts for a robust umami flavor. They were very soft and creamy, and were quite hearty and delicious. Imeruli Khachapuri: Khachapuri is the national dish of Georgia; our server recommended this particular one as his favorite. It was essentially a bread stuffed with various cheeses, and tasted quite good and was very filling. It was really salty though, so I was pretty thirsty after this one. Mushroom Ojakhhuri: This is a vegetarian dish that our server recommended. The mushrooms were soft and flavorful, though the potatoes were a little too mushy for my liking. Was delicious overall though, with buttery and creamy textures. Khinkali: For reference, these soup filled dumplings are kind of like Chinese xiao long baos but with MUCH thicker skin and an all meat filling, so they’re a lot heavier and more filling. They were delicious— I really liked how doughy and chewy the skin was, and the soup and filling were flavorful. You can choose how many you want they’re $4 each). Stewed Feijoa Kompot drink: We also tried a bottle of stewed feijoa kompot drink, which our server told us is very popular and commonly drunk in Georgia. The flavor was pretty interesting—mildly sweet, flowery, and tart. — Price relative to peers): 4.2/5 Food: 4.3/5 Ambience: 5/5 Service: 5/5 Overall Value: 4.5/5

Definitely recommend this authentic Georgian food, it will not disappoint. To my surprise it was very flavorful (had Georgian before in a couple places) but this one tops it for sure. The kachapuri and khinkali were the highlight.

Great food and staff. I stop by every time I'm in Chicago.

If you're looking for Kachapuri, this is the place! All the food we had was delicious, and the service was fast and attentive.

We love coming here to celebrate special occasions. The vibe is cozy and comfortable, and it’s a great place to order a variety of items and share with your group.