Georgian cuisine is more than just bubbling, cheese-filled bread boats. But D.C.’s newest Georgian restaurant Tabla in Park View has given this insta-famous dish — khachapuri ajaruli — a prime seat at the table.
Diners at Tabla’s sister restaurant, Supra, and at the globally inspired restaurant Compass Rose are likely familiar with the canoe-shaped bread filled with a blend of traditional Georgian sulguni cheeses and topped with a gooey egg. Tabla, which opened last week, offers seven varieties of the dish inspired by traditional Georgian recipes. One comes stuffed with onions and Georgian spices, another with mushrooms, and another with pork belly and red bean.
More “playful” options of khachapuri are in the works, says co-owner Jonathan Nelms. “For example, we might do a crab dip ajaruli khachapuri to use seasonal Maryland crabs.”
This spirit of tradition with room for experimentation is baked into Tabla’s DNA. The new restaurant on Georgia Avenue is Supra’s “hipster younger brother,” according to Jonathan and Laura Nelms, both of whom spent years living and traveling to the Soviet Union and later, Russia, and are enamored with the flavors of Georgian cuisine.
Since opening D.C.’s first fine-dining Georgian restaurant three years ago, Jonathan Nelms has been thrilled with the reception to Georgian dishes. “After that success, we wanted to spread our wings,” he says, “and bring some of our favorite dishes to a more casual neighborhood spot.”
In the kitchen, Nelms tapped director of culinary operations Lonnie Zoeller from Think Food Group, who now oversees menus at both restaurants. Sous chef Ani Kandelaki, who hails from Georgia, serves as a culinary guide, having worked in kitchens across D.C. and at the Georgian Embassy.
Beyond the khachapuri ($10-$12) and khinkali, or soup-filled dumplings ($8-$9 for three), other options include Georgian-spiced grilled meats and vegetables ($12-$15), breakfast items ($5-$10) like smoked salmon flatbreads, and snacks ($5-$7) like Georgian cheese-topped fries.
Other options are more offbeat dishes. Nelms points to the Kartuli (meaning “Georgian”) corn dog, which uses a Georgian sausage and wraps it in West Georgian-style cornmeal batter – but is then deep-fried like a classic American corn dog. “It’s delicious and combines classic Georgian components in a new and fun way that we believe suits the Tabla experience perfectly,” says Nelms.
In a nod to the American South, Nelms serves a shrimp-and-grits chvishtari, a traditional corn and cheese fritter: “We are working on combining that with shrimp to make something that really combines “this Georgia” and “that Georgia.”
To showcase Georgia’s robust wine tradition, Tabla serves only Georgian wines, but it’s a more concentrated list and at a lower price point than Supra’s. Tabla pours not just the country’s famed amber wine but also a new Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine, and “an incredible rosé by Gvantsa Abuladze, a young woman who makes wine in western Georgia,” Nelms says. “Wines from the west and wines by women winemakers are two new and encouraging trends in Georgia that we are excited to promote.”
Cocktails aren’t big in Georgia, Nelms reports, but Tabla crafts a neon green tarragon-and-gin spritz, as well as a Manhattan variation that marries whiskey with muddled, preserved Georgian cherries.
Tabla’s bright, open, dining space is casual, with polished cement flooring and enormous floor-to-ceiling garage-style doors. There’s a large central hightop for which the restaurant is named: “Tabla” is the large communal table around which people gather to join a traditional supra, or feast. Those garage doors also open during the summer to a 25-seat patio.
The team also endeavors to bring diners to Tbilisi through art and other media. In January, Nelms flew in Georgian street artist Lamb, who painted both the Tabla logo — a D.C. flag-inspired “khinkali flag” with dumplings instead of stars — and a D.C. skyline wall piece that announces “Lamb for President.” Georgian cookbooks, cookware, and even socks are available for purchase.
Like many restaurants, Tabla’s opening has been thrown off-course. Originally slated for October 2019, construction and other delays pushed opening until March. “Then, of course, all hell broke loose, and we — like everyone else in the world — were thrown into disarray,” Nelms says. The restaurant is currently open for carryout, as well as limited patio and interior seating under D.C.’s Phase Two.
The now-completed restaurant and its menu express whimsy, Nelms says, by paying homage to Georgian cuisine while playing with local ingredients and trends.
“We believe Georgian cuisine deserves its place on the world stage,” Jonathan Nelms says. “And we’re doing our small part to promote it.”
Tabla is located at 3227 Georgia Ave. NW. Open Sunday-Wednesday 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Thursday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.
