Do you know where Georgia is? It is small country located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. Most people do not know where the country is or what its traditional flavors are. If you want to try Georgian food in NYC you may want to stop by at Papela that is located between Rose Hill and Flatiron District. The restaurant is in a townhouse and you almost feel like you enter someone’s house, literally there is no restaurant name on the door.

The décor is a little confusing and although I am European and I want to think I have better understanding of Eastern European cultures this place is a strange mix of Russian/Asian/modern dolls and fake rose petals on the walls made into butterflies.The main dinning room is located in the basement and the drink bar is at the ground floor. My first impression of the décor was on a border of traditional and tacky. I think the owners try to put modern spin on Georgian tradition and the effect is mediocre. The main dinning room is not inviting enough to have romantic dinner. It is a shame because the space is designed to serve that purpose, and with very little work the place could be turned into cozy inviting dinning room.

Papela offers large selection of traditional dishes; no matter if you are meat, fish or veggie lover. As a matter of fact, I was surprised with a number of vegetarian options on the menu. We started with Khachapuri, which is legendary Georgian baked flat cheese bread. It looks like a small size pizza with cheese between layers of dough. Simple, well baked way to start your dinner. Next we got two traditional appetizers, vegan trio platter and Lobio Kotanshi (baked red beans). Vegan trio consisted of beets, spinach and egg plant rolls filled with walnut pate. Beets were nicely spiced, spinach lacked some distinctive flavor, it was too plain for me. The eggplant rolls were very good; not only it is unusual appetizer that you won’t find anywhere else but also it was nicely prepared. Second appetizer, baked red beans, came in a small clay pot; it was hot, spicy and delicious. I highly recommend it, especially if you visit the restaurant on a cold day. For the main we got Chaqapuli (veal) and salmon in pomegranate sauce, both traditional Georgian dishes. The veal came as a surprise, I expected a regular entrée and what I received was more like a soup. The soup had very good flavors, well balanced spices with sourness, which I suspect came from sorrel, created very strong but not overwhelming flavor. Few pieces of well cooked veal were nice addition to this tasty and light dish. Second entrée was also different than we thought. Salmon was chopped into small pieces and mixed with tomatoes and pomegranate sauce. The dish was served with rice and carrots. The salmon mix was flavorful, but the rice and carrots were plain and did not add anything to the dish. They were almost unnecessary. At that point we thought the meal had been good. Since we are not very familiar with Georgian cuisine it is hard to compare it to what Georgian people eat. However; the bottom line was we liked the food. It was simple, different and tasty. The presentation needs improvement, as some dishes looked sloppy. We decided to try traditional dessert Pelanushi to finish the dinner. This was the biggest disappointment. Pelanushi was grape mousse turned into jelly, served with walnut garnish. All I can say it was very sad dessert, that tasted like grape candy and there was nothing appealing or inviting about it. You may want to choose something else or skip the dessert altogether.

If you want to explore other cuisines than your regular American fusion you eat every week Paela will offer you something different, both ambiance and flavors are worth to explore. Unfortunately this is an experience you try once and most likely you won’t repeat it.

Cuisine: Modern Georgian

Avg price per person: $50, all major credit cards accepted

Attire: Casual

Overall Rating: 2 plates