Giorgi Sulkhanishvili has just helped to launch Colchis Georgian restaurant and bar in Notting Hill. We chatted to him about Georgian food and culture for our World in London series.

How has it been going since you opened Colchis?

Quite busy. We get a mixture of people who know Georgia, expats from the former Soviet Union and locals who have travelled to Russia. Georgian cuisine is quite big in Russia so most people who’ve been to Russia have probably tried Georgian cuisine there.

Also we have a very nice bar so we have people who come for a drink, opened minded locals who want to try new things.

Why did you decide to open a Georgian restaurant in London?
 
There are a few already existing but there was nothing that had an offering of this kind. It’s a more sophisticated offering here, a wide range of flavours of Georgia and a different ambiance.

What does the name Colchis mean?

It was the name of Georgia in 2000BC, from the legend of Jason and the Argonauts. It’s quite recognisable for Georgians and Russians. For locals it sounds quite mysterious. It’s quite pronounceable. Georgian words are not normally pronounceable!

What are the key dishes and ingredients?

It’s traditional Georgian food. Quite simple flavours. Things like bean soup, ghomi (similar to polenta), spinach with walnuts. We have ajap sandali, like a ragu with aubergine, pepper, tomatoes, potatoes. We have anchovies with fried ghomi and tkemali sauce.

Georgian food is a mix of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern with an influence of India because it’s on the spice trade routes.

How about the drinks?

We have Georgian wine. Georgia is famous for its wine production. It’s the oldest wine growing country in the world. It’s the part of the world where viticulture began in 8000BC.

I have a winery in Georgia. I am a very small producer. I am passionate about including small producers that are not stocked in supermarkets.

Apart from Colchis where would you go for a taste of Georgian culture in London?

Georgian theatre and cinema come here. There’s a British-Georgian friendship society. Whoever is interested, they can always find something related to Georgia happening in London.

Do you know of more Georgian culture in London? Let us know your recommendations in the comments below.

A new restaurant opens today at the Royal Academy of Arts, run by restaurateur Oliver Peyton with décor by designer Tom Dixon. The Royal Academy refreshment rooms, which first opened in 1885, have been given a stylish makeover.

The interior is stunning, particularly Dixon’s gold-coloured lights. But the main attraction is the artwork on show, including sculptures from the Royal Academy collection and original wall murals by Fred Appleyard, Harold Speed, Gilbert Spencer and Leonard Rosoman.

The restaurant is open on Friday and Saturday evenings, making it an attractive option for West End diners, not just visitors to the gallery. And Peyton says he has an “aspiration to open every night”.

On the menu, you’ll find seasonal British dishes such as roasted sea bass, pheasant and venison, as well as afternoon teas and smaller tapas-style dishes.

The arty theme even extends to the wine: Peyton is working with artists to create bespoke wine labels, and hopes that soon “all the wine available by the glass will be by artists working at the Royal Academy”.

London’s museum restaurants are really going up in the world. Let us know your favourites in the comments below.

The menu was discovered during refurbishments to turn the former hotel and MoD building into a restaurant and event venue.

Many of the dishes wouldn’t look out of place on a modern breakfast menu. In fact you can still order omlettes and grilled fish for breakfast at Boyd’s today.

Here’s what Victorian hotel guests in London would’ve enjoyed for breakfast 113 years ago…

This week, I was invited to the launch of Chinese Cricket Club, a new restaurant at the Crowne Plaza in The City.

The venue has unusual decor for a Chinese restaurant, with pictures of cricketers behind the bar and a distinct hotel feel that belies the quality and general scrumptiousness of the food. 

Head Chef Brendan Speed (formerly of Zuma Istanbul) and his team provided wonderfully spicy orange beef, steamed prawn dumplings, succulent lobster in the shell, soft shitake mushrooms, zingy squid, miniature hot and sour soups, and a light coconut mousse with tropical topping. 

As far as I could see, the hungry work crowd thought it was simply delicious, and so did I!

Guests quaffed champagne and Jim Barry wines while they watched one of the chefs whip up dumplings. 

It was extraordinary how he picked an identically sized piece of pastry off a roll, smacked it with a cleaver into a circle, and filled and pleated it so evenly. 

Chinese Cricket Club is named after the newly formed Chinese national cricket team and also celebrates the recent translation into Mandarin of the laws of cricket.

The association with Jim Barry wines extends the cricket theme: one of the Jim Barry vineyards has a cricket pitch in the middle, and the wine of choice at the launch was Cover Drive cabernet sauvignon.