After yet another boring Saturday spent holed up in our house, Bill said he wanted us to go out to a restaurant. I agreed that we needed to go somewhere, simply so I could write something for this blog! Originally, he suggested that we go out to lunch on Saturday, but I just didn’t feel like it. So then he said, “Here’s a new Georgian restaurant over near the Globus. It gets good reviews.”

The Globus is very close to where we live– not even a fifteen minute drive. And we like Georgian food, especially when it’s coupled with wine. Bill noticed that the restaurant got good ratings, not just on OpenTable, but also on Google. So, he decided to make reservations for 6:30 PM last night.

The restaurant’s listing on OpenTable mentioned that the suggested dress code is business casual. Now that we’ve been to Kinto, I would say emphatically that this is a casual place. No need to break out your glad rags to eat there. According to the restaurant’s official Web site, it was founded by young David Shalikashvili, who is just 18 years old! Or, so I assume… Bill says the restaurant hasn’t been open for long, and it’s located in a rather industrial area. Kinto is also the first and only authentic Georgian restaurant in Wiesbaden.

It was already dark when we arrived at Kinto last night. The clocks just changed in Germany this past weekend. Bill found a parking spot on the street, as the restaurant doesn’t have its own lot. When we approached, a woman immediately greeted us and welcomed us to the dining room, which is separated from where the food comes out.

I was kind of intrigued by the dining room, which reminded me a bit of a large industrial shed, but with glass panes around it. The panes let in light, but don’t allow for easy viewing of the grilling area, which I could just make out from where I was sitting. It was not a chilly night, so I left my wrap in the car. In retrospect, I should have brought it with me, because although there were flame heaters in the dining room, it was just slightly chilly in there.

We sat down and waited several minutes before a server approached. She spoke German, but seemed slightly uncomfortable with the language. I got the sense that she probably comes from Georgia or perhaps Ukraine. I’m not criticizing her language skills, by the way. Her German is much better than mine is! I’m just saying that the staff seems very authentic! There was a man who was also serving, and we definitely got the impression that he isn’t German. Ditto to the clientele, as the people sitting next to us spoke Russian, and I think a young family on the other side of the restaurant might have been speaking Georgian. I think it’s great! I love that a greater variety of cuisine is becoming more available in Wiesbaden!

The menu at Kinto offers some familiar cuisine from Georgia, to include khinkali, khachapuri, and kebab, and other dishes made with pork, chicken, veal, and lamb. They also have soup and salads, and plenty of lovely Georgian wines.

Bill seemed to upset the apple cart when he asked for a bottle of Mukuzani, a delightful red wine from Georgia. I got the sense that maybe they don’t get a lot of people ordering bottles of wine at the restaurant. The server said that the wine wasn’t in the database. She left us for a moment to ask for assistance, and finally came out with the wine a bottle of sparkling water we ordered.

For dinner, Bill ordered the Georgischer Kebab, which was ground lamb served with lavash, tomato, onion, pepper, and a side of fries. Actually, when Bill asked about the sides, he assumed he would get fries, and the server said it would be rice. But then the dish came with fries. It wasn’t a problem, but it did seem like maybe she wasn’t quite sure of what we’d be getting.

I ordered the Mtsvadi, which was basically grilled pieces of pork on a strip of lavash, with the same vegetables and fries. Both dishes came with housemade Georgian sauce– tomato sauce with cilantro, onions, and peppers.

The menu was in German, but had an English description, as well. We didn’t try to speak English with the staff, but I almost think maybe that would have been easier than German. I don’t speak Russian, but I do speak some Armenian. Armenia is south of Georgia, but from what I can tell, it’s not a similar language… except some of the words for the food were the same. For instance, the word “badrijan” was on the menu. In Armenian, that means eggplant. It was the same on the menu. The word “lobi” was also used– beans– which is the same in Armenian.

We enjoyed some bread and some of the Georgian sauce while we waited for our food. It came out quickly. The food was very good, and a nice change of pace! I noticed the couple next to us had what looked like pork ribs, which they ate with much gusto. They even used their fingers to eat it, rather than the usual knife and fork. I’m teasing about this. Germans seem less inclined to eat things with their hands than Americans do! But the couple next to us were not from Germany… If I had to guess, I’d say they were Russian or Ukrainian.

Below are some photos from our visit:

We inquired about dessert. Although it was listed on their menu, there wasn’t any dessert available. So, they brought out a small plate of French macarons for us… and didn’t charge for it. The bill came to about 66 euros. Bill gave them 80 euros and told them to keep the change. Yes, it’s a big tip for Germany… but he wanted to keep it simple!

In spite of the few hiccups last night, we really enjoyed dining at Kinto. I think we’ll be back soon. Bravo to David Shalikashvili for bringing new flavors to the suburbs of Wiesbaden! It’s very impressive that he’s opened his own restaurant at such a young age! In America, he wouldn’t even be old enough to drink the wine he’s selling! I wish him the best of luck, and I hope we can help him succeed with our repeat business. If you’re in the Wiesbaden area, I highly recommend checking out Kinto!