The descriptively named Georgian Cheese Boat is a Georgian restaurant in North Beach, one of the few (perhaps the only?) Georgian restaurants in San Francisco.
They have a slightly unorthodox ordering system where you get a menu at your table but place and pay for your order in a kiosk on the bar.
I started with an order of Lamb Khinkali ($13 for an order of 4) which were very good, kind of like a big Georgian xiaolongbao but with lamb. Lots of lamb broth or soup inside the dumpling along with the meatball. The top or handle where the dumpling was sealed was a lot thicker than the rest of the dumpling, apparently you don’t have to eat that part but I did anyway. You’re supposed to pick up the dumpling by the “handle,” invert it, and then bite a hole in it to suck some of the juice out before eating the rest. Delicious.
I also had one of the “cheese boats” or Acharuli Khachapuri, of which there are several kinds available with different fillings. I had the classic ($21), which had melted cheese, an egg, and a pat of butter. I was instructed to mix the contents up to cook the raw egg a bit and presumably to distribute the butter around. This was also delicious. The cheese filling had a texture between ricotta and melted mozzarella, and was somewhat salty and and a little tangy. The butter and egg added some more richness. A very rich filling. The bread boat around it was a bit fluffy and light with a light crust.
They also have a selection of Georgian wines by the glass and by the bottle. I had a glass of an amber wine (2016 Chateau MK Rhapsodia) which was quite nice with the khachapuri.
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