To celebrate the occasion, the birthday girl, another girlfriend and I became 'ladies who lunch' - just for the day. Seeing it was her birthday, we allowed her to mark the special day by selecting the restaurant. Colchis, a newly opened Georgian (the country, not the era) restaurant located at the Notting Hill/Bayswater border was the order for the day.
When we arrived for lunch, the restaurant was almost bare, bar for another couple who were sitting towards the front of the restaurant. The manager was extremely charming and welcoming, showing us to our seats in the main dining room and lavishing us with attention throughout the service.
For starters, we chose to share the Pkhali Platter (aubergine slices with walnut cream, leek puree with walnut and Georgian spices, spinach puree with garlic and cumin, beet leaf puree with Georgian spices), Khachapuri (Georgian bread filled with cheese), Khinkali (Georgian dumplings with minced beef and pork) and Ajapsandali (aubergine ragout with sweet peppers, potatoes, garlic and parsley).
We polished off the starters fairly quickly and were really impressed by the quality and flavour of the dishes.
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| pkhali platter |
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| khachapuri |
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| khinkali - looked like giant shanghai dumplings |
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| ajapsandali |
I was undecided about my next course and wasn't sure if I wanted meat or fish for my main. I was leaning towards the Chakhokhbili (pheasant cooked in herbs and tomatoes) but was advised against having meat due to the amount of starters consumed. In the end, two of us opted for the sea salt crusted sea bass whilst the other chose the pan roasted turbot.
We were definitely not disappointed by choosing seafood. Both fish were perfectly cooked, moist and flavoursome. It left us wondering whether dessert would be as good as the starters.
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| salt crusted sea bass |
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| pan fried turbot |
To round off a great lunch service, I ordered the selection of cheeses and was impressed by what was placed before me.
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| selection of cheeses |
I do hope that Colchis will last through these tough economic times. We were the only patrons there for lunch on that Wednesday afternoon whilst the newly opened Granger & Co down the road on Westbourne Grove was heaving with people and lines going out the door.
The food at Colchis was hearty and well executed and the front of house were friendly and attentive. It definitely deserves a repeat visit.
colchis
39 chepstow place, london, w2 4ts
tel: +44 207 221 7620
www.colchisrestaurant.co.uk
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