So I’ve finally had the opportunity to get over to that much talked about, new Georgian restaurant in Mayfair, Marani. Nestled in the centre of Mayfair’s middle eastern hang outs, where the Lamborghini’s and Ferrari’s line the streets – the rich and famous weekend playground. When it comes to luxury, and decadence – interior wise Marani does a fantastic job at it all. Walking through the doors isn’t like walking into any normal restaurant, more like someones home. Its stunning inside. All lovingly designed by Georgian artist Tamara Kvesitadze who spent time here making chandeliers from wine decanters, printing on to wallpaper, arranging hand-painted murals and putting together a private dining room which feels like you’ve stepped out of one country to another, and got back in time a hundred years.
Once we made our way up the gorgeous staircase and into that sumptuous dining room, the food started to adorn the tables quickly. Some stunning homemade bread, made to a traditional Georgian recipe was served warm and it had that lovely toasted and richly flavoured base from the huge clay ovens they’re cooked in. Elarji & Bazhe, which is deep fried polenta balls with a smooth almond sauce for dipping was less exciting. It looked mouth-witheringly good, but it was all tasted so safe. Polenta is quite bland at the best of times, so with a very light almond sauce there really was nothing to give it that wow factor or set the palette racing.
Now what a stunning dish this Chkmeruli was. A terracotta bowl filled with grilled chicken in a heavenly potent garlic and cream sauce. The moment it arrived on the table you could smell the garlic leaping out of the dish. Creamy, succulent, full of flavour. It was such a comforting bowl of food which on a cold blustery day would be the sort of dish you could only dream of coming home to. If this is what home-style Georgian cooking is like, then I’ve been brought up in the wrong country.
Khinkali, know as Georgian dumplings reminded me so much of the Chinese Shanghai kind. The pastry being a lot thicker, but the idea behind them the same. Bite in to it, drink its broth and then devour the meat filling and pastry case. The only difficulty i found was because of the dumplings thickness and size, biting in to them without making a complete and utter mess needed a lot more practise. Seeing the chefs here at Marani put one of these things together isn’t as easy as it looks – those folds, well just take my word for it, do not attempt.
Matsoni (aka Caspian Sea yogurt) is Georgian yogurt – here topped with a walnut preserve and a fine nut crumble. A little sour, a little tart – it’s exactly the thing you’d want after a heavy supra (Georgian feast). Very healthy indeed I’m sure, but if i had to face this after every meal i could see me reaching out for a Snickers bar on a regular basis. You expect to be surprised here at Marani and this was very ordinary. But for the right person, I’m sure this was the dessert.
So while for now, Marani may just be London’s best Georgian restaurant. This place has style, sophistication, fantastic wines and doesn’t cost you the earth, especially for this part of fashionable Mayfair. The only problem Marani may have is getting that following of foodies. Because as new, exotic and unusual as it is there is still lots of competition around, with some truly outstanding restaurants only a stones throw away. Georgian food may be slowly adding itself as yet another cuisine to find in London but unless you know the food well, its family traditions and all the rich history behind it – i think the majority of Londoners will struggle to appreciate what Georgian food is really about.
7/10
