Chicago Diplomat Cafe

The food and service exceeded expectations, will return with family and for group dinners. I was not very familiar with Georgian food, had only had khachapuri prior, and I was surprised at how flavorful the food was. Savory, delicious, fulfilling, but not in a heavy way.

Absolute musts- the cold appetizers were fresh and a good counterpoint to the warming entrees. The beet mixture was an unanticipated favorite. The chkmeruli is also a must try for those who love garlic. It is an incredibly tender chicken soaked in a punch you in your face garlic broth. The beet appetizer and garlic broth are flavors that you will store in your memory.

Service was great- there was only one other lunch diner, so the staff talked us through the menu. He also offered a half portion of the ajapsandali so that we could try another thing on the menu. The restaurant is a nice treat to eat in- white table cloths, water glasses, food served in the clay pots they were cooked in.

Kid tip- this is a nice place, not sure the dinner vibe, but I would only take a kid who can be pretty chill at restaurants here. No kid menu, but lots of great dishes that kids would love like cheesy khachapuri. Food is seasoned, not spicy, with lots of flavor and options to dip in bread.

We came in with a group of four on Valentines night. None of us were impressed with anything we tried. Portions sizes were quite small for the price. I paid $25 for the chakapuli (lamb stew). It came out in a small clay cauldron that held about 2 cups worth of stew, meat and veggies and all. It was very salty and had an interesting spice blend that I was not used to, but was tasty enough, just different. No rice, no bread, no sides at all. A side of rice is $10! For rice! My vegan friend got a bean based stew, same portion size, no side, for $21. Another friend ordered the Georgian Kebabi (beef) for $20. This is basically a beef kebab wrapped in a thin homemade tortilla-like bread, roughly the size of a hotdog. No side. $20! She did not finish hers. The meat eaters each tried a khinkali dumpling speciality. They are $4 each. While delicious, only about half of the dumpling is really edible as most of it is the "knob" of dough. A little steep at $4 each. Another friend ordered the mtzvadi that looked delicious and the portion looks somewhat decent, no side though, but she said the chicken was dry. For $20, we need juicy chicken.

Service was good. Ambience was cute. We were all so excited to try our first Georgian meals and, based on the reviews, we were anticipating a great experience. Unfortunately, the food was all quite underwhelming, disappointing even, and portion sizes were meager compared to prices. We won't be returning, but are happy to see a popular Georgian place in the area!

First time trying Georgian food and it was delicious!! My friend and I went on a Friday without a reservation and didn't have a problem getting seated. The restaurant had a very cozy atmosphere.

We shared the Khinkali (2) and Ojakhuri. Our server was very attentive and allowed us to order the Khinkali in a smaller amount vs what was on the menu. He also brought us bread with the Ojakhuri.

Prices were more than I was expecting, but I still want to come back in a larger group to try more items as family-style!

We enjoyed the dining experience but the food wasn't special enough for a return visit. Seemed fun for a group outing. The potatoes under the over-cooked but tasty chicken were the best. Pickled asparagus was nice but other items less interesting. The bread in the Khachapuri was great but the dish was too cheesy for us.

We really enjoyed The Diplomat. How wonderful to journey to the tastes of Georgia and not leave Lakeview. The space is lovely and our waiter attentive. We had the beets which were fantastic and of course we like beets. Seasonings just a little different than we are used to but so good. We also ordered the Ajaralui which went so well with the beets and it was so good. We ended with pork kabobs which were tender and tasty but expensive. We have to say overall it was more than enough food for us and we took some home . It was good to also try some of the Georgian wines by the glass

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.
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Price (relative to peers): 4.2/5
Food: 4.3/5
Ambience: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Overall Value: 4.5/5

Chicago's only Georgian restaurant that opens only 4 days a week? Raw egg on pizza'? I went to this intriguing Chicago Diplomat Cafe and learned about their cuisine from their warm and welcoming stuff

Khachapuri: looks like pizza with an egg! They can even server the egg raw and so much cheese and the bread is sooo soft! 10/10

Ojakuri: hot sizzling lamb kabob with potatoes and onions. Amazing blend of flavors! 9/10

Khinkali: huge (I mean it, bigger than my hand) dumpling with mushrooms or meat. Lots of juice inside. 9/10

We went for lunch while spending a few days in Chicago for Christmas. The food and atmosphere were both great; however the service was a little slow considering we were the only people in the restaurant. I hope they do more business at dinner and would highly recommend!

Don't think twice , just go. Great food experience, great atmosphere, great staff, and great wine. I'm not really sure what more you could ask for .
Everything we ordered was amazing. I highly recommend you save space for the honey cake, it was by far the best dessert I've ever had

Very disappointed in our experience, particularly because I had read such positive reviews and had never had Georgian food before! We even discussed options with our waiter, who gave us some recommendations which we tried.

Overall, all of our dishes were severely lacking in flavor...it was very strange. We honestly didn't enjoy a single dish and I can't help but wonder if they were just having a really really off night?

Our server was also very bad. One of our dishes was supposed to be served with sour cream, but only after they brought out the dish were we told they didn't have sour cream after we inquired about it missing. So we asked if they recommended anything else for a dip--this dish, I believe it was the meat crepes, really needed some sort of topping--to which they didn't have anything to recommend. I found that extremely disappointing, not only because would the dish have been better with sour cream, I didn't enjoy it at all without it.

I don't think we'll ever return unfortunately.