Khachapuri, in Crystal Palace, was founded by couple Daniel and Masha after they introduced the cuisine through a pop-up in Covent Garden before moving into Nama Café on 33 Westow Hill later that year.
What began as an evening pop-up has since become a permanent restaurant, with the couple buying the former vegan café and transforming it into one of south London's only Georgian restaurants.
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Khachapuri is owned by Daniel West and his wife Masha (Image: Daniel West)
Daniel said: “We ended up buying the place that we did the pop-up in. We converted a vegan cafe to a cheese cafe.”
The restaurant specialises in Georgian cuisine, with its signature dish being khachapuri, a cheese-filled bread which comes in different styles, including the famous adjaruli version, which is boat-shaped and topped with a lightly cooked egg yolk.
Daniel said the restaurant has helped introduce many people in Crystal Palace to Georgian food for the first time.
He said: “60 to 70 per cent of people who have come in here before have never had Georgian food before.”
The restaurant has focused on making its dishes from scratch, including producing its own cheese.
KhachapuriThe venue switched from vegan to cheese (Image: Daniel West)
Daniel said: “We make the cheese in house, and then we use the whey from that in the dough.
“We use the whey from the cheese into the dough to reduce waste and to help enrich the dough.”
The couple’s menu has also expanded since their pop-up days, with new additions including khinkali, a traditional Georgian dumpling, alongside salads and other dishes.
Daniel said the adjaruli khachapuri remains a favourite among customers, with one larger version featuring 500g of dough and four egg yolks becoming a “showstopper”.
The restaurant’s dessert menu also features a family recipe, with its homemade honey cake proving popular with customers.
Khachapuri's classic dessert is their homemade medovik honey cake (Image: Daniel West)
Daniel said: “This is our homemade medovik honey cake, and it’s from Masha’s mum’s old Soviet recipe.
“We make the sponge layers in house using a Ukrainian honey, which one of our staff members here is from Ukraine as well.
“He gets us this honey, and we use that in the sponge layers. It’s been so, so popular that people come just for that honey cake.”
The restaurant has also introduced more accessible ways for people to try Georgian cuisine, including its lunchtime menu, where customers can sample smaller dishes.
WomanKhachapuri has proven popular with the local community, earning an incredible 5.0 rating on Google (Image: Daniel West)
He added: “You get to have almost a tapas-style food, where you can try a few different things out and get introduced to a new cuisine that you might not have thought about before.”
The couple said one of the biggest surprises since opening has been the support from the local community, as well as the way nearby businesses have embraced working together.
Daniel said: “We didn’t expect the support of the community so much, and how businesses don’t see themselves as competitors, but all in this together.”
However, like many hospitality businesses, Khachapuri has faced challenges since opening.
Daniel said rising costs, changes to VAT and unpredictable weather have all added pressure, while running a restaurant requires constant hands-on work.
He said: “You have to do to make a food business in this sector make it work.”
The restaurant is now looking to become more than just a place to eat, with plans for events in its basement space.
Daniel explained: “We decided that we’re going to start doing things like khachapuri masterclasses before we start doing wine tasting at some point, and we’re going to hopefully do music events and jazz nights.
“The first event is with a local musician called Melania Maggiore. She’s a multi-instrumentalist, and she really enjoyed our space as well.
“She wanted to do her EP launch here, her first ever EP launch. Georgia is the birthplace of wine over 8,000 years ago, and all the wines we do here are from Georgia.”
Daniel added: “Everyone in the local community is loving to see something different and try something different.”