One of the big trends around Instagram recently seems to be people digging into khachapuri: A cheese boat from the country of Georgia. Of course, I’m obsessed with cheese, so when I found out there was a restaurant in San Francisco that did them, I knew I was going to have to go check it out. During the holidays, I had some food to pick up in North Beach, so we finally headed here to see what all the hubbub was about.
The restaurant itself is a cute little place on Grant Avenue, just off of Columbus. There were music videos (I assume from Georgian artists) playing on a TV, and ordering is fairly straightforward. They provide you with menus, and you go up to the computer and place your order. We decided on the khachapuri acharuli (the classic cheese boat style), a beet salad and some Georgian lamb dumplings. We also grabbed a bottle of Georgian wine for the full Georgian food experience.
The food was overall quite tasty. The beet salad wasn’t that exciting to start, but when the flavors sat on my palate for awhile, they really blossomed, and I grew to love it. The dumplings were big and juicy and a bit hard to eat, but overall they had a great flavor. The cheese boat was also delicious with a really salty cheese and richness added from mixing in the egg yolk, but next time I think I might go for one one of the breads with something else to help offset the saltiness of it all.
If you’re in the North Beach area and looking for something different, the food at Georgian Cheese Boat will definitely scratch that itch, as it was definitely unlike a lot of food I’ve eaten in the city. It’s especially good if you like melty cheese but are looking for something slightly different than fondue. The menu also includes full entree plates so if you are looking for something more substantial, they can provide that too.
Score: 4/5
Recommendation: If you’re at a Georgian Cheese Boat restaurant, get the Georgian Cheese Boat!
Georgian Cheese Boat
1224 Grant Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133
