Khinkali and more Georgian food in Kyoto, Japan.

Living in Japan for 5 years I’ve always been on the lookout for food I’m culturally familiar with – food from the Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia, etc) region countries that were previously part of the USSR (Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Uzbekistan, etc).
Recently it seems that shawarma restaurants have been becoming popular (outside of Tokyo). Just in the last year, 2 shawarma eateries have opened up in Kobe!
In Kyoto, it also seems there are a lot more restaurants offering middle eastern or west Asian cuisine than in Osaka and Hyogo which is really interesting to me. This means my fresh hummus cravings will be answered – I can make it myself but it can be a messy process so I prefer not to. Recently Gyomu super has also been importing Mezete Hummus for an affordable price. Personally, I prefer the chili flavor, it is pretty tasty too and I use it in wraps.

Cafe Yojik カフェヨージク

I moved into my Kyoto house last month and was presently surprised that I live very close to a restaurant/cafe called Cafe Yojik / カフェヨージク  (Yojik meaning Hedgehog in Russian ) offering food from Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Uzbekistan! It is a great range of countries to make meals for so I was very surprised.
The most surprising thing for me was seeing Khinkali on the menu! I have been to some Russian restaurants in Osaka but the menu items focused mostly on Russian food. There used to be a Georgian restaurant in Osaka “Slow is Delicious” but it closed down before I could visit it. The last time I had Khinkali was when I went to Armenia in 2015 and I’ve wanted to try it again for a while now.

The cafe also had one of my favorite dishes, Eggplant Caviar on black bread! It felt as if moving nearby was really fate!

I’ve only had a few of their menu items so far but everything I’ve had was really tasty and authentic! The chef herself isn’t Russian/Ukrainian/Georgian or Uzbek but she certainly has studied the cuisine and recreated the tastes I grew up with!

The menu items are reasonably priced too ranging from 500 yen to 3000 yen depending on how much you want to order, their lunch menu sets are under 2000 yen.

Their featured lunch sets are (drinks sets have an added 200 yen to them)

• Today’s curry – 850yen
• Lagman (Uzebek noodle soup) – 850 yen
• Gretchka (fried buckwheat) – 850 yen
• Beef Stroganoff – 1200 yen.

There is also a “Russian Set” which comes with Borsht and 2 Piroshiki for 1500 yen.

What I’ve had so far

• Eggplant Caviar 

• Khinkali (Georgian dumplings)
  

  

  

• Pelmeni
  

  

   

• Khachapuri
  

  

• Vinaigrette salad (beetroot salad)
  

  

• Piroshiki (pork,mushrooms and apple)
  

  

  

Drink wise they have a selection of different juices,tea, and wine (including wine from Georgia!)

Cafe Yojik

Opening hours 11am to 9pm (last order 8pm).
Regular holidays – 1st Monday & 3rd Tuesday each month
The cafe/restaurant also has irregular holidays so it’s best to check their Instagram page where they usually upload their open days for the month.