Washingtonians can now enjoy Georgian cuisine in downtown
SUPRA Restaurant is Washington DC’s first Georgian restaurant opened up to public in November. Located at 1205 11th Street NW of Shaw neighborhood, it was one of America’s most-anticipated new restaurants according to the national edition of Eater.com.
The menu celebrates the full range of Georgian food — the rustic and the refined, dishes both traditional and reimagined — brought to the table by Chef Malkhaz Maisashvili, who brings over 25 years’ experience preparing Georgian cuisine and is the former Chef of the Embassy of Georgia in the U.S. The drinks program focus on Georgian wines — red, white, sparkling, and traditional amber — and creative cocktails featuring Georgia’s unique spirit “chacha”.
Like the country itself, SUPRA balances the old and the new, drawing inspiration from centuries of history while looking boldly to the future. The décor takes the same approach: traditional elements worked into modern pieces, combining the historical and the hip into a beautiful space that the restaurant founders Jonathan and Laura Nelms promised to show off.
Using this opportunity to introduce Georgian gastronomy to the distinguished friends in town, the Embassy of Georgia kicked off its opening reception at SUPRA inviting guests from various partner organizations including US Government, Congress, think tanks and media.
Ambassador David Bakradze underlined the uniqueness of Georgian cuisine and wine, same way as of Georgian art and culture: “As you all know, Georgia has always been famous for its rich and unique cuisine, which has been influenced by West and East throughout the centuries, and distilled to its unique purely Georgian character. The most interesting part of the Georgian cuisine is not only its uniqueness, but its rich palette, its diversity within its own regions, often competing with each other for the best food prize.” He also mentioned the latest archaeological evidence, discovered in Georgia by international archaeologists, proving Georgia being the oldest wine producer nation in the world, counting 8,000 vintages.
In addition to wonderful culinary and wine exposure, the Embassy has proudly introduced the guests to the unique Georgian traditional polyphonic songs, performed by Washington DC-based informal vocal ensemble ‘Niavi’, founded in 2009. Inspired by Georgian vocal traditions, Niavi (‘Breeze’ in Georgian) performs Georgian polyphonic songs, as well as liturgical pieces of Georgia’s sacred music.