Tamada

Lovely ambience and food. Regardless of a number of visits my favourite is still cheese bread and meat dumplings. Tried these dishes in other Georgian restaurants and they tasted fine, but at Tamada they taste special, like  they’ve been prepared with lots of  effort

We keep coming back to Tamada every time we want to impress our friends. It is amazing how many people still don't know about this restaurant. This time we went with new dishes on the menu, dolma and cheese dumplings along with famous lamb and veal stews. Starters as always were mouthwatering and cook to perfection. Our friends who always take us to some very expansive places were very pleased wondering how could they compete with this experiences as the next time was their turn to take us out. Thank you each and everyone at Tamada for giving us such a wonderful night out.

Went to Tamada last week. Great place with romantic atmosphere and professional but not uptight service. The food was worth a trip from South London where we live. Already reserved a table for the Valentines day. Tasha

We are lucky enough to live close to the Tamada and it's one of our favourite, but last Monday I tried something different and took a girlfriend to one of the owner Tamara's cookery classes. I have always enjoyed the walnut based starters so we signed up to learn to cook three of them, stuffed aubergine,spinach balls and redbean puree. Two hours passed in a flash we had a great time, Tamara was a good teacher, interesting and informative, we did not need great culinary expertise. At the end we sat down to nibble a little of our labours and some delicious cheese bread cooked for us specially. A glass of gorgeous Georgian wine to sip while we chatted. (Classes are for a max of four) and we took home enough for the first course of a supper party enjoyed by all.

Georgian food is my favourite and I feel very fortunate to have found
Tamada in St. John's Wood. Everything here is exactly like I remember
from old days when we could visit Georgia and enjoy wonderful food
and wine not to mention local hospitality. I was surprised to see such
resemblance with dishes as it should not be that easy to find all
ingredients outside of Georgia. Good job Tamada and thank you to all
there!
Nina Ruskina

Went to Tamada last Tuesday. Was quiet only 3 tables, so we were not sure whether or not to go in. However the display menu looked very tempting so we decided to risk and where not disappointed at all. As soon as we entered it felt like we came to visit a friend. We received very warm welcome from
the waitress accompanied by lots of advice on the dishes to order. We were told that a cheese bread and stuffed aubergines were something to be tried. Very good advice indeed! For the main we shared dumplings. If you order
dumplings make sure you don't use any cutlery, they must be eaten by hands. We had real exotic gastronomic experience!
Elli Ash

I am surprised that this place is not packed every day. I suppose it is the worst time to run a restaurant as the recession has hit us badly. Tamada is an excellent place with great choice of authentic Georgian dishes. You can
order selection of starters and be happy with your meal. Don't hesitated to try the wine and will be pleasantly surprised. Very reasonable pricing, but we ordered only five starters and a bottle of wine accompanied with a cake to share for only £52.60 for two.
Will be back for a dinner on my next pay day J, Sarah

I love this place, come here at least once every month. What impresses me more than anything else is that over the last two years I have been visiting the restaurant the quality of food and service have not changed. Some of the new dishes in the bakery section like spinach or bean breads are very tasty. I also like that they introduced a soup of the day, All other dishes are good but the dumplings are very special. By the way they go well with Georgian chacha. Strongly recommended!

I love the Georgian food and wine and this place was recommended by one of my colleagues who also went there a few month back. The food and service was very good almost close to a perfection but again my Georgian food experience has always been top-class. The main dishes were beautifully executed and looked
more innovative and exciting than back in soviet time. I am very envious to
people who live here. There are lots of very good Georgian restaurants in
Moscow, that's where I come from, but unfortunately there is no Georgian
wine available there. Enjoy while you can. Outstanding

We were back at Tamada in St John's Wood last Friday night. And it was even better than previous times, seriously. Their kharcho and chicken tabaka (can not pronounce it's Georgian name, but it starts with a ch followed by a kh) were, if possible, even better than my home made ones and the vegetarian son-in-law, no previous experience with Georgian food, was struck with awe. We'll definitely be back

We recently chose Tamada to host my fiancé's birthday dinner for a total of
25 people. We wanted some new experience and were recommended by our
neighbours. Staff at Tamada couldn't have made the evening more special.
From the moment I called to make a booking I knew that I found something
very special. Since it was a big party, Tamara, the hostess, recommended a
feast menu and insisted that we should play a part in choosing the menu for
the night. We met her a week before a big day and were amazed with her
flexibility and kindness. She wanted to ensure that the food on the evening
was exactly to our taste. We chose a big selection of recommended dishes for
the night, and she put this together for £25 per person for 3 courses (with
dishes such both clod and hot starters with walnuts, lamb casserole, salmon,
and some vegetarian options, etc.). The food on the night was exceptional
very tasty indeed. The atmosphere in the restaurant was great, buzzing and
busy, with good soft lighting and a background music. We took over a private
room with a burgundy decor and Georgian paintings and stayed on drinking
well into the night after finishing dinner. By the time we left it was well
after midnight but at no point did Tamara make us feel as though we had to
leave. In fact a young man Zura, apparently a partner, came out and after
producing a Georgia toast gave us a bottle of a very special semi-sweet wine
as a present making us even more comfortable. A great evening and very
enjoyed by all means!

If I were to die tomorrow, I'd walk to Tamada get a bottle of Saperavi and eat as many Mchadi and Khachapuri as I could. Then I'd die very happily indeed:) This is a nice restaurant with really good friendly service and staff. I adore everything about this restaurant. The service is friendly and relaxed, the food has clearly been thoughtfully and carefully prepared . Everything on the menu is excellent and good value for money. Would definitely recommend to others and will return!

Classy decor with modern paintings, unusually deemed lights, a sound of Georgian polyphony and reach fruity aroma of Saperavi wine immediately brought memories from my last trip to Georgia. However to have such close association of Georgia in London is a rare experience. No need to argue that Georgian cuisine is an exotic one, but food in combination with a wine and hospitality could exceed anyone’s expectation. I was told that hospitality is one of the cultural identities of Georgians’ cherished within and outside of this beautiful country. Those who have never been to Georgia a visit to Tamada could be the best introduction to this country’s cultural experience. Cannot recommend it more!

Our second time in Tamada - this time round it was a small party for a friend's birthday. And what a treat we had - Georgian cuisine is taylor made for a party feast, and an array of mouthwatering combinations was brought to the table: khachapuri (freshly baked cheese bread), badrijani (aubergines stuffed with walnuts), spinach with walnuts, giant meaty and juicy dumplings called khinkali and best of all (in our view at least) a dish of lamb with damsons and generous helpings of tarragon. Not many Georgian restaurants in London, and this is the one definitely to go for - a small family affair, with quaint old-fashioned silver-plated cutlery from the region, simple tasteful decor and polite/attentive service. Bring on the next feast.

Outstanding! Delicious! Very Enjoyable! Worth of every penny! Exotic food! Real cultural experience and very romantic ambiance. Will be coming back soon with more friends. Make sure you reserve a table on the week ends. Highly recommended!

This is an extraordinary place to spend a night out. Not only all dishes are presented in a sophisticated way and are just delicious this place is immaculately clean and well taken care. Homely atmosphere and please staff make this place even more attractive. Once tried and never forgotten experience!

The minute you set your foot in Tamada, you are transported into Georgia – everything looks, smells and tastes like in Georgia. Food is the best you can have in and outside of Georgia, without exaggeration. The owner of the restaurant, Tamara Lordkipanidze, makes you feel at home, staff make you feel like you are paying a visit to a friend and not just being a client in a restaurant. It is almost a cultural experience!

My daughter has dairy and egg allergies and does not eat even slightly spicy food. The owner herself consulted us on what the best for her to have and advised her staff on preparation of the food. They really went out of their way to accommodate us! My 5 year old finished a full order of mushrooms and had Georgian pudding at the end.

Khachpuri – flat bread filled with cheese – is an absolute must. Kuchmachi melts in your mouth and khinkali is so good you will keep coming back for it! I really enjoyed every single dish I had and now can’t wait to go back and try other dishes. The menu tailors to all tastes and is vegetarian and children friendly. If you never had Georgian food before, this is absolutely the restaurant to go to! Great food, cozy atmosphere, and friendly staff and you will be greeted by the owner who has the brightest smile you have ever seen!

My every visit at Tamada starts with a glass of red wine (Saperavi) and only then I start considering what to order this time. Since I have tried almost every dish they have on their menu, the choice is not easy because I love almost every single dish, but I also know that it would not be wise to order too much. The servings are big enough and really filling.
But if you have a family or friends accompanying you than I would recommend to get a variety of dishes and then to share them for richer Georgian food experience.
For starters my absolute favourites are: Badrijani (walnut staffed aubergines), Ispanaki (steamed spinach balls with herbs and walnuts) and Khachapuri (cheese bread). For main course I usually get Chaqapuli (lamb casserole) or Chashushul.
After having few more glasses of wine I certainly will not leave the restaurant without having a cup of Georgian coffee and piece of walnut cake - Ideali. And I certainly will be back quite soon...
Highly recommended

Tamada is a place where you feel  welcome the minute you step in. Very relaxing atmosphere with some sophisticated interior  decoration and very interesting paintings. If it is your  first time there ask for recommendations as they have some amazing stuff that you might not think of ordering. Go for a cheese bread, spinach balls and Tamada special and before the evening ends you will be planning your next visit there. Don’t eat to many starters as the mains are rather big and you simply must have the dessert, Ideali, a walnut cake a  mind blowing experience. I love sweets and bake myself, but Ideali is something that I have never had anywhere before. This is my third visit with many more to come.
Strongly recommended

I visited Tamada last Saturday and hence I also received a call from them (like other reviewers) around 6pm which I was not able to answer. When we arrived we were greeted by a nice lady who turned out to be the owner. I told her that unfortunately we would be three people less as some of our friends could not make it that night. She told me that she was trying to contact me to confirm an exact number of guests as they were heavily booked. I apologised for not answering her call particularly when I knew that we would be only five and not eight. She told me not to worry and enjoy our time. This made me feel really guilty as there was no way of rearranging tables (it was very hectic there) and since our table was for eight people three places were wasted.
Anyway to make a long story short we had an amazing time. Everything is very filling, but so tasty that I could not stop eating. We shared almost everything on a starters’ menu but had individual main courses. I won’t start stating the obvious – that Kachapuri, beans with walnuts or Kinkali were very good. You just have to experience that yourself. I managed to have a bite of Jarkoe - Tamada Special - and I must say it was very good indeed. We had a semi-sweet wine Kindzmarauli which was heavenly. My friends also tried Chaca, Geoegian vodka, tastes like grappa but it is much stronger. The service was pretty good considering that the restaurant was packed both upstairs and in the basement area. I think that the waiting staff and a supervisor, a rather young chap, had everything under control. We paid £42 per head (without tips) and we had lots of wine and vodka not to mention the food.
If you want to try something very different and very tasty you must go to Tamada. Don’t forget to make a reservation particularly if it is a week end.
Highly recommended.

I went there yesterday with a group and the service was really poor. I was really , really disappointed with everything!! Long wait, food on the menus was not available, frozen bread served, etc, but what shocked the most, was that the manager, did not put any effort whatsoever to rectify the situation. Me and other 26 people, who were there with me, will never go back there again!!!

Tamada’s excellent location near St.John’s Wood and authentic Georgian menu makes it an amazing place for eating out. A cosy room with walls decorated with native painting, tapestries and crafts available to buy, romantic lighting and a fairy-tale like tree in front of the entrance make it a magical experience. Everything is fresh, with many vegetarian dishes on the menu. Khinkali (huge dumplings) just melt in your mouth, khachipuri (freshly baked bread with cheese) is the trademark that you cannot resist. There are also aubergines with walnuts and beans, heavenly spinach starter, vegetable ratatouille and many other dishes to choose from. The owner Tamara is the keeper of all the recipes as she introduced many dishes based on her family traditional cooking in Georgia. She cooks impeccable food, creating a home-like atmosphere where you will feel welcomed from the very first minute.

I have been to the Tamada restaurant 3 times, after one learns which Georgian dishes to order it turns about to be about the best dining experience ever.