Queues on Basanavičiaus Street: Katunskytė’s Neighbors Will Soon Exceed in Popularity

In Palanga, it has not been surprising for a long time that crowds of fans and curious people line up before famous artists from the hits Robinson, Pražydas sodai and Naktinis taxi. People together with Šiauliai’s rich voice attract the adjectives “Oh Robi, Robi, Robi, where are you going? Well, look at what a great woman I am, maybe not tanned and a little full, but I am Europe, I am sexy. “

But now, with the famous Katunskyte singing, another new line runs alongside her. And those people do not want songs or dances at all, they are a hungry crowd that dreams of eating. Just to the right of the “Jūros akis” bar, where said interpreter appears, just behind the ice cream maker’s refrigerator, the Sakartvel flag flies. That’s where the lure of hungry vacationers lies. A new hit in Palanga is the “Georgian House” restaurant.

A small kiosk of about 6, maximum 8 square meters, with tables and chairs arranged around it, without frills, without white tablecloths. But it is obvious that the hungry guests of Palanga do not need it. The smell that comes out of the kiosk is so strong and so good that it redeems everything. There are no waiters, no live music, no other show programs, just traditional Georgian food. Although, in fact, after joining “Georgian House”, Katunskytė’s songs and his flirtation with the public can be heard as best as possible in the evenings, so it is definitely not boring. It is true that calm is not. But this is Basanavičiaus Street.

“Thank you very much, thank you for coming, we hope you return,” Levan Zhvania, a start-up entrepreneur from Sakartver to Lithuania for the summer season, thanked in Russian through the kiosk window. Your job is not just to lead, but also to take orders, then bring food to guests, then collect dirty dishes, clear tables, count diner bills, and of course take money from customers. In Lithuanian, Levan only speaks a few basic words, he will not speak our language. However, it has a menu printed in Lithuanian with pictures, so the guests who come, if they don’t speak Russian, order by tapping their fingers.

Inside the kiosk, his mother, Nani Khashia, is the only chef and baker in the Georgian House, and a cleaner when needed. Levan’s brother, Zviod Zhvania, who is an assistant in all matters, also tours alongside his mother. Peel a potato, wash the dishes, add a huge pot of charcoal soup so it doesn’t roll, bring produce, and the like.

Besides the three family members, there are no other employees, although the popularity of the place has already grown so much that at least a few additional chefs and at least five waitresses can rotate freely. “We want to maintain quality and the relationship with customers, that’s why we do everything ourselves, as if people came to our house. After all, there are no waiters in the house either, the hosts take care of everything themselves, ”says waiter and manager Levan.

This family is descended from the small town of Zugdidi in western Sakartvel, on the border with Abkhazia. Due to poverty in her home country, a mother who worked in a school canteen with her two children and other relatives decided to emigrate to Europe ten years ago and seek happiness there. The easiest time to settle was in Poland, where he had several acquaintances. In a Georgian restaurant in Warsaw, Nani got a job as a chef and was very satisfied with it. “He did it so well that he caught the attention of a famous Polish culinary host,” he decided to report on the restaurant after trying his mother’s dishes, and it quickly became popular, “says Levan proudly. It was he who later decided that He needed to harness his mother’s talent and start his own business.Three years ago, in 2019, this family opened the first restaurant in Warsaw, which still operates successfully in a one-bedroom area to this day.

“My aunt and my cousins ​​are working there at the moment. And we decided to expand and look for a new place. It turned out that in the same year 2019, some acquaintances recommended coming to Palanga because they knew that a kiosk was rented on the main street. We took a risk. trying, “says Levanas about his arrival in Lithuania. And it’s reassuring that the beginning was very difficult. The Georgian trio, unknown to anyone, did not receive much attention for a few weeks, the diners hardly knew each other.

“I thought there would be nothing here, I would have to close. But then the sons came up with the idea of ​​handing out pieces of Khachatur to passersby on Basanavičiaus Street. This helped attract the first customers. And then it started. This is the case with us: whoever tries it will definitely come back and bring their friends ”, explains host Nani.

The menu of this restaurant is very short and clear, as the hosts say, it is only a small part of Sakartwell’s cuisine, but due to lack of space, they cannot offer more culinary masterpieces. “We discover what Lithuanians like best and select only the dishes that are best known in their country,” says Nani. She laughs those 12pm. On the days when the coffee shop just opened, customers flock to eat charcoal, often hangovers tormented by hangovers. Then the time for shashlik, kachashuri and kinkal begins. “It is very difficult to choose the most popular dish because people eat everything,” says the Georgian family.

True, due to the high flow of food, people often have to wait a bit, because all dishes are prepared by the hosts themselves, with their own hands. Through the box Nani can be seen with her dexterous fingers as if a jeweler were gluing pleats. And Zviodas consumes mountain fries, which he serves alongside shashliks. There are already those who say that these are the richest potatoes in Palanga.

Although “Gruzinų namai” is most praised for the taste and quality of the food, tourists to Palanga also like the prices of this place. You can dine in the bistro from 1 euro; that’s the cost of traditional Georgian bread baked locally. The eggplant and paprika rolls cost 1.50 euros, they are very popular with vegetarians. A serving of four kinkalas with broth here costs 5 euros.
Usually there is no food left at the end of the day, but the flow of customers does not stop, after midnight many people like to stop by for a sip of Georgian wine.

“Georgian House” opens for the third consecutive summer in the second half of May and is open until the end of August. And then the family leaves Lithuania. In early autumn, he always visits the relatives of Sakartvele, the father of the siblings who stayed in his hometown, and Nani’s husband, where he cares for respectable parents. After spending several months in her hometown, her mother travels with her children to Warsaw, which has become her home, where she joins other relatives and works in a coffee shop there. “Some regulars are trying to persuade them to move to Lithuania and open a bigger restaurant in Vilnius or Kaunas. But we still don’t dare, a great restaurant is a great investment and we don’t have it,” explains Levan.

The Georgian, who interacts face to face with each client, says that his business in Palanga is much better than in Warsaw, because in our country there are much friendlier people and fewer restaurants of this national cuisine. “We can’t believe how nice Lithuanians are. They constantly offer help, consult us, advertise for free. I heard you love Georgians, but I wasn’t expecting that much,” he laughs.

Levan calls the greatest recognition that after working with them, chefs from other popular Palanga restaurants come to the cafeteria to strengthen themselves. “Mom knows that we will have professional chefs every night, so we cannot relax until the last minute while we have food,” explains the head of Casa Georgiana.

This family works without holidays in the simplest conditions, but always with a smile. This is another one of his trump cards that draws diners in.