An aroma of blue fenugreek and fragrant embers fills the air as you draw back the heavy curtain at the entrance to DakaDaka on Heddon Street in central London. It’s the latest in a flurry of Georgian restaurants to open in the capital, driven in part by the country’s increasingly fashionable wines. Indeed, pretty much every notable restaurant wine list in London now has Georgian wine on it, with Rkatsiteli and Saperavi, two of Georgia’s most famous grape varieties, tripping off the tongues of local diners.
The wine sitting in long-stemmed glasses on most of the tables at DakaDaka is distinctly amber in colour, the trademark hue of the country’s iconic skin-contact wines that have been made for over 8,000 years in clay vessels called qvevri that are buried underground. The restaurant is the brainchild of chef Mitz Vora and Georgian hospitality entrepreneur Giorgi Mindiashvili.
‘London is a global capital of the natural wine movement, so there is a natural synergy between Georgian wine culture and the city’s dining scene,’ says Mindiashvili. ‘Georgian cuisine offers comforting, vibrant flavours – oven-baked flatbreads (khachapuri), hand-folded dumplings (khinkali), plant-forward seasonal dips and aromatic braises. It’s soulful, generous food that feels both ancient and contemporary, which resonates strongly with Londoners.’ Mindiashvili recruited award-winning sommelier Honey Spencer to curate the wine list at DakaDaka, which boasts some 150 bottles from the region – a map of the area in chalk sits above the kitchen in case you want to know more.
‘For many wine lovers, Georgian wine feels like a final frontier,’ says Spencer. ‘There are over 500 indigenous grape varieties, almost all of which are planted nowhere else in the world. Add to that an ancient winemaking history and singular, unmistakable wine profiles, and you have a window into a culture that still feels relatively undiscovered.’
There’s certainly complexity even in your average bottle of Georgian wine. Spencer agrees: ‘Dry, sweet, savoury, umami, salt and spice can all play a role in a single wine, which makes them incredibly versatile at the table and a genuine joy to pair with food. And once you develop a taste for that character, it’s hard to go back.’
There is a natural synergy between Georgian wine culture and the city’s dining scene
When Tiko Tuskadze first started exclusively selling Georgian wine in her Hackney restaurant Little Georgia 26 years ago, she wasn’t sure how locals would embrace it. But seduced by her homely interiors and menu, and her warm approach, she won them over, opening a second restaurant in Islington in 2011. ‘To be fair, Georgian winemakers have made the wines a lot more approachable since then,’ says the Georgia native, who has since written a cookbook about the cuisine, Supra, A Feast of Georgian Cooking, which features many of the restaurants’ recipes.
More recently, Tuskadze has planted a vineyard in her home region of Kakheti in Eastern Georgia, the country’s premier wine region, growing a mix of international grapes such as Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, and indigenous varieties, which she blends. Her first year of production yielded 400 bottles, which she sells in her restaurants, declaring them good all-rounders for Georgia’s diverse flavours.
Eka Cox knows all about the early challenges of selling Georgian wine; she runs a wine business alongside her East Dulwich restaurant Kartuli, called Taste of Georgia, with her husband Richard. ‘It was difficult when we first started selling Georgian wine back in 2017, while at the same time rewarding to share my country’s cultural heritage. But when we presented the wines at a local fair, we were pleasantly surprised by how knowledgeable people were about them, so in the middle of lockdown we decided to open the restaurant,’ explains Cox. Six years on and they’re still going strong, she says, with locals flocking for their fix of dumplings, khachapuri et al, paired with a choice of 25 Georgian wines, imported directly by Cox.
‘It’s hard to find anyone in this city who doesn’t love a dumpling,’ grins Diana Khromova, who opened Kinkally on Charlotte Street in December 2023. With its striking minimalist interior and techno-filled basement Bar Kinky, it wins first prize for the most stylish Georgian restaurant in the capital.
For many wine lovers, Georgian wine feels like a final frontier
‘I was eating at a small, much-loved khinkali spot in Tbilisi called Daphna and had a Eureka moment. I realised that when presented with a creative twist in a modern, design-led setting, Georgian cuisine translates incredibly well, and that London was missing a contemporary space that could present Georgian food in that spirit,’ she explains.
Think khinkali stuffed with mussels and a limoncello mousse, and traditional mtsvadi skewers using venison (unusual for the region), served alongside wines from a concise, all-Georgian list with a strong focus on small producers and natural wines, many of which will be new to most diners. ‘The aim is to always respect Georgia’s flavours and techniques while introducing ingredients that may not traditionally belong to the cuisine, presenting everything through a modern lens,’ declares Khromova.
Five top Georgian restaurants in London
DakaDaka
Mayfair
‘Our food is rooted in Georgian tradition and elevated through quality seasonal British produce,’ says co-founder Giorgi Mindiashvili at DakaDaka, London’s latest celebrated Georgian opening. Alongside the most definitive Georgian wine list yet, with some 150 references, the menu is designed for sharing, from the hand-folded soup dumplings filled with Iberico pork pluma, aged beef and summer savory, to grilled baby aubergine with sunflower seed tahini, corno pepper, and confit garlic.
Georgian wine to try: Poliphonia, Pheasant’s Tears 2024
instagram.com/dakadaka.london
Kinkally
Fitzrovia
This stylish restaurant on Charlotte Street has given Georgian cuisine a bold, contemporary voice and built a reputation on creative khinkali, with stuffings that include langoustine, wasabi and matsoni, and beef tartare with kindzmari. It serves a small list of exclusively Georgian wines with a strong focus on small producers and natural wines. Slip down to its basement bar after for a Narnia – a Negroni built around chacha (Georgian grape spirit).
Georgian wine to try: Ori Marani ‘Nita’, Saperavi 2022
kinkally.co.uk
Kartuli
East Dulwich
This former butcher’s shop on Lordship Lane has been transformed into a cosy Georgian restaurant-cum-wine shop with boho vibes. ‘Each dish represents a particular region of Georgia,’ explains co-owner Eka Cox. Think Acharuli khachapuri, from the Achara region (the dough and cheese filling prepared fresh daily), khinkali from mountainous Mtianeti, and fragrant lamb shank from Kakheti. The 25-bin Georgian wine list is available to drink in or take home.
Georgian wine to try: Shumi Iberiuli Qvevri Saperavi 2022
kartuli.co.uk
Little Georgia
Islington & Hackney
Think vintage knick-knacks and twinkly fairy lights at Little Georgia, in both the larger Islington restaurant, which is licensed, and the Hackney restaurant, which is not (BYO with £5 corkage). ‘Basically, I’ve recreated my home in Georgia. Our menu is how we eat at home; it’s all about sharing,’ explains owner Tiko Tuskadze. Highlights include the ajabsandali, an aubergine stew with red peppers and tomatoes, and the khachapuri, topped with herbs to cut through the cheese.
Georgian wine to try: Château Mere, Mukuzani, Saperavi 2023
littlegeorgia.co.uk
View this post on Instagram
Saperavi Social
Islington
The former café-cum-bicycle repair shop on bustling Islington thoroughfare Essex Road re-opened last year as Saperavi Social ‘to honour and share Georgia’s extraordinary wine heritage’. With bottles dangling where bikes used to hang, the Georgian wine list is among the best value in town, enjoyed alongside toothsome Georgian classics such as khachapuri, badrijani and chakapuli.
Georgian wine to try: Nikifore Kisi 2021
saperavisocial.co.uk
