BANGKOK RESTAURANT

Argo

Here’s your chance to try Georgian food in Bangkok. 

3
Average: 3 (1 vote)

Argo gives Sukhumvit a rare taste of Georgian and Greek cuisine in a setting that’s fittingly exotic with its kilim rug-lined walls and faux grapevines.

Dishes like the falafel (B130) and mousaka (B245) will be familiar, but get your taste buds tingling with delicacies like the khinkali (B70/piece)—plump dumplings filled with organic beef and aromatic spices that hail from Georgia’s mountain regions—or the unusual satsivi (B190), a cold chicken dish served in walnut sauce.

Don’t miss the acharuli khachapuri (B250), a boat of dough cradling oozing cheese and a runny egg yolk.

 

This review took place in September 2019 and is based on a visit to the restaurant without the restaurant's knowledge. For more on BK's review policy, click here


 

Venturing down the back alleys of Nana is typically a regrettable decision, but this is one time we recommend doing just that. Head down the second side soi off Sukhumvit 8, braving a gauntlet that includes a tailor, a hostel and a neon-drenched massage parlor called Lolita’s, and you’ll be rewarded with probably the last thing you’d expect to find here: a restaurant serving top-quality Georgian cuisine.

Using spices sourced from the markets of Tbilisi, Argo deals in the East-meets-West flavors of the Caucasian nation—and we’re not using that descriptor superficially. Georgia sits along the ancient trade route between the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe and has plucked some of the best elements from those culinary worlds. Take the khinkali (B70/piece), for example, the heftier, meatier cousin of Chinese soup dumplings; nip a hole in the bottom, slurp some soup and finish with a bite of the aromatic, blue fenugreek- and caraway-laced beef ball inside it. The excellent Argo Lula Lamb Kebab (B230), meanwhile, doesn’t radically change the way you’ll view meat cooked on a skewer, but the bright, tangy salsa it’s served with gives the dish a dimension that distinguishes it from your standard Mediterranean fare.

Speaking of that region, if this all sounds Greek to you, note that Argo was opened by Anna Avramidou, the owner of Avra, the reliably delicious Greek joint in Phrom Phong. While the two cuisines do overlap, you’ll also find purely Hellenic dishes on the menu, like the dolmadakia (stuffed grape leaves with tzatziki; B220). The last time we visited, however, these came out soggy and limp and were unexpectedly small, even if the flavors were on point. While they might not blow you away, the khachapuri (B250) will. Tear off a piece of the crust from this canoe-shaped leavened bread, dip it in the mixture of homemade, organic Sulguni cheese and egg yolk resting in the middle of it, and be reminded of why the bread-and-salty cheese combination almost always works. For a larger portion, order the tsitsila (B580), 800 grams of perfectly cooked Cornish hen topped with chopped cilantro and red pepper-and-garlic-based Ajica sauce, and wash it down with a Greek Nissos pilsner (B230) or a Georgian red wine (from B270/glass, B1,200/bottle).

While it’s hard to imagine yourself transported to a brick-walled guesthouse overlooking the vineyards in the Caucasus, the carpet-lined booths, faux grapevines and folk music at least help you pretend. Argo is ultimately a solid addition to Bangkok’s ever-expanding map of global cuisines. 
 

Credit: Argo
Venue Details
Address: Argo, 4/26 Sukhumvit Soi 8, Bangkok, Thailand
Phone: 02-120-4223
Website: www.facebook.com/argogeorgianrestaurantbangkok
Area: Nana Asoke
Cuisine: Greek
Price Range: BBB
Open since: April, 2019
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 4-11pm
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