Chicago Diplomat Cafe

A wonderful array of authentic Georgian food, wines, desserts, and other beverages in this family run restaurant. Especially great Khachapuri's and my favorite honey cake in the city.

Honestly just a lovely experience. Such a relief to find authentic Georgian food somewhere in the continental US.

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

We went there with my wife for Sunday dinner. Wanted to try Georgian food after viewing some culinary programs on TV. Taste of food far exceeded our expectations, which were very high. In addition to that our waitress was very friendly and helpful. This restaurant is a MUST GO

This place is elegant with an awesome vibe. I went for breakfast and the food was amazing. The service was speedy and friendly. Their Ajapsandali are absolutely incredible! This lone visit has made this one of my favorite spots within Chicago.

Everything is very tasty, prepared quickly, the portions are very large. The service is also nice, we will come back here again.

Georgian food is a delicacy that everyone must experience and I was surprised but also lucky because this place wasn’t packed in Friday night. From service, ambience to food and prices, it was excellent and worth the experience. I lived around Georgians in the past and the food here is nothing short but amazing and reminded me of the good times. Our group shared the Diplomat salad, Khinkali (you can get how many you want), Adjaruli khachapuri, Lobi stew, and Lamb mtsvadi. Everyone left satisfied and full. Attentive staff, delicious food and good ambience. Highly recommend.

Грузинская еда - это деликатес, который должен попробовать каждый, и я был удивлен, но и повезло, потому что это место не было переполнено в пятницу вечером. От обслуживания, атмосферы до еды и цен, это было превосходно и стоило опыта. В прошлом я жил среди грузин, и еда здесь просто восхитительна и напомнила мне о хороших временах. Наша группа поделилась салатом «Дипломат», хинкали (можно взять сколько хотите), хачапури по-аджарски, тушеным лоби и мцвади из баранины. Все ушли довольные и сытые. Внимательный персонал, вкусная еда и приятная обстановка. Настоятельно рекомендую.