Tumanyan Khinkali Factory

Let's start off by saying the staff (specifically our waitress) was amazing. She was attentive, kind, and very helpful with the menu, of which she was quite knowledgeable of (forgot her name, but she was there Saturday, 03/26 around noon). The food was mixed. Some good, some missed the mark. The khinkali dumplings were okay. The beef ones were pretty bland, they didn't have much flavor on their own. Same with the cheese ones. Kinda wish I tried the mushroom ones. The lamb chops were delicious, albeit a little tiny for the price. It came with 4 small sliced of fried potatoes (so about 1/3 of a potato), onion salad, tomato sauce, and it sat on flatbread. Chicken or beef kabobs only come with a single kabob. Served with the same as the lamb chops. The lentil soup was a let down. No taste of lentils. I couldn't even tell it was lentil soup, as it looked like it was all blended. Not a solid piece of food whatsoever. Overall I'm conflicted. I would like to give it another shot, but it will have to be on the back of the list considering the selection of restaurants in Glendale.

From boiled dumpling, fried dumpling, to skewers of meat, everything at khinkali was delicious. However, the one thing that stands out as a must have is the boiled beef khinkali. We only ordered 3 to gives ourselves a chance to try everything else, but I would totally come back just for the boiled dumplings

Mushroom Khinkali: 6/5 Beef Khinkali: 5/5 Cheese Khinkali: 5/5 Dolma: 3/5 Ich Salad: 3/5 Pilmeni: 3/5 Tarragon soda: 6/5 (can’t go wrong) Overall, I feel like I finally had the Georgian food everyone was raving about. Everything that wasn’t so Georgian was eh and a bit overpriced, but definitely worth it for good Khinkali. Nice waitstaff as well.

Authentic Georgian restaurant in Glendale. I was hankering for some khachapuri and this place kept coming up in my results, so came here on a Saturday around 1pm to grab some lunch! They’re open for outdoor dining during covid. It seems that smoking was allowed. Bathrooms are available inside on the left hand side. Street parking (metered) is available; if you get lucky, you can find some 2 hour parking a few blocks out but read the signs. Food-wise, everything was delicious. As it’s in the name, you must get the Khinkalis. You can get them boiled or fried, and you can opt from mushroom, beef, or cheese. The fried cheese khinkali was my personal favorite although the steamed mushroom is a close second. You eat it by grabbing it from the stem so that you can slurp up the juices from the dumpling (don’t use a fork otherwise you lose the juice!). The pieli soup took a while to come out but the waitress gave us fair warning, and it was well worth it just for the warm phyllo dough covering on top. The soup was yogurt-y and came with a good amount of small dumplings. Of course, the khachapuri was super fresh and tasty. They do serve alcohol (including Armenian drinks) and credit cards are accepted. Overall, this place was super yummy and authentic - I’ll be back the next time I have a craving for some more khinkalis.

Admittedly, I have never been to the region where this food originated, but I am absolutely in love with the food here, and from what I do know, it’s the closest thing you’ll get to authentic Georgian food, in this area. Their dumplings and skewers are absolutely fantastic. The lentil soup is to die for, and they have a full bar, with unique drinks to entertain your pallet. I highly recommend coming here. I’ve never had a bad meal or bad service.