Pepela New York

Had very good meal at Pepela last night. I adore Medeteranian food and have eaten in some pretty amazing places but this is definitely up there with the best. The Khachapuri starter and Pepela salad was divine and Frutty de Mare tasted as if they had literally just been caught — so fresh and healthy! Great wine selection and yummy fresh mint tea to finish — my only regret was not having enough room to sample the dessert menu but I’ll definitely make up for the next time!

The place is great for drinks. The bar area is beautiful and they have opera singers and live music. It’s usually not too busy and if you want a quiet bar in NYC to sit and talk this place is great. They do need to work on their food though. The portions tend to be small and it’s a hit or miss. Sometimes you may get food that will blow your mind and sometimes the quality is mediocre. They really need to be more consistent with their kitchen.

I love Georgian food and a friend took me here for my birthday. The Phkali was the best I’ve found in the city this far. The khachapuri was to die for! You must MUST order this dish here, the cheese and bread were just amazing. Cute room and skylight. Definitely a great find for Georgian Restaurants!

Came with a groupon sounded like a good deal plus I like Georgian food. However apart from the ambiance of the 1^st floor, Bread basket was a joke but it was tasty as was Chicken baje. Everything else was a big no no. The entrees: salmon dish contained more tomatoes than fish, the lamb dish was actually good but it was the sample size I had onion soups bigger than that. Place was empty just another couple and it still took them forever to serve the main courses. I try to convince myself that I am wrong but I know I saw a roach. Even with a groupon it was not worth it. Georgians are well known for their food and wine and this place is definitely neither.

I really do not understand all the negative reviews here — I had a wonderful time. Although this is my first foray into Georgian food, I thought, the quality of the food was exceptional, the service wonderful, and with the Groupon deal — the price reasonable.
We ordered the vegan plate and it was sublime with the bread basket that arrived (warm and soft bread). I am not big on cheese dishes (no worries, I do love pizza), but that khachapuri was something really special. Chicken baje was on the okay side of things (not the best curry dish I’ve ever tried of course). My main course was the chicken shashlik and the chicken was really juicy — and the presentation was wonderful with the flames.
The servers were so nice when I entered the establishment — I was the first of my party to arrive and they made sure I had a glass of water, and greeted everyone nicely and were super attentive without micro-​managing throughout the meal. Décor was cute, and I didn’t mind the live music/​man singing.

This is by far the WORST experience I have ever had at a restaurant in nyc and I’ve been living here for 20+ years ! We came here last night for dinner, 8 people. For Saturday night it was practically empty (that alone should’ve made us RUN) ! We ordered a mix kebab patter to share. The meat was undercooked and on top of that there was an awful smell coming from the meat which we were all 1000% sure the meat wasn’t fresh. Ok we didn’t want to make a scene we let it go didn’t say a word. Next we order dessert, my goodness it was worse than the meat, it had to be about a week laying in the fridge! At that point we couldn’t take it and said something! Nothing was done at all !!!
Next came the bill and to top it all off they over charged us! In small letters added that they gave us chicken in the mixed kebab, when in fact there was no chicken there!!! And we had to argue about this!!! In MOST restaurants you would take the customers word over the waiter! Not here !! We got to the point as to show them a picture we took of the food when it just arrived that there was NOOO chicken there! And only then did they believe us!!! Horrible experience !!! Stay away from this place!!!

Amazing place! The food is not only well presented, but tasty as well. The service is phenomenal, wouldn’t spend my $$$ anywhere else! Great ambiance too!

A friend had a Groupon and we were excited about trying something new. Four of us arrived a few minutes before our reservation and were told it would be a few minutes before our table was ready. Thirty minutes later we were finally seated.
The «live music» was a man singing average karaōke very loudly, making it very difficult to have a conversation. Looking forward to a break in the music, we were disappointed that the volume wasn’t lowered. The only difference was no voice.
The wine list appeared to be expensive, but nothing special. The waitress didn’t seem to know anything about the wine and asked if I would like the red or white Chardonnay. When the drinks arrived, the server didn’t know who ordered what — something you would expect at a restaurant with linen — and promptly dumped a dirty martini on the table in front of me, soaking the table and a fair bit of my lap. She placed two napkins on the table in front of me, but didn’t ask if I was wet and certainly didn’t offer a drink or dessert to make up for the accident.
We ordered two appetizers for the table. The Vegan Trio was very good and we were not disappointed. Nice presentation and seemed to be prepared very well. The Khachapuri was excellent and we enjoyed that dish very much.
The entrees were average at best. The cod filet wasn’t a filet, but two large bite-​sized chunks of fish that didn’t look like cod. Two persons at our table ordered the lamb kebab because the lamb stew was not available. The lamb was a bit overcooked and was served with three small potato wedges and half of a small baked tomato. I ordered the lamb chops, which were prepared medium as ordered, but they must have slaughtered the runt of the litter. I’ve not seen lamb chops so small. Lucky for me I got an extra potato wedge.
The service was average, perhaps due to a large party that seemed to take up most of the servers’ time. Our water glasses were never refilled. We had to flag down what appeared to be the owner of the restaurant to get a second glass of wine. We had to ask for a glass to drink the tarragon soda. Dishes were taken from the table before we had all finished our meals. Perhaps it was an off night for the staff. Perhaps it’s par for the course.
Despite our disappointing entrees and lackluster service, we did enjoy the experience. If we return, we will likely stick to the appetizers, sit as far from the music as possible, and request extra napkins in advance.

I absolutely love this place!!! The food was excellent and the service was very good. Especially i wanna point out Yuliya, she is fast and friendly waitress, and she took care of our table like we were the only people she had to take care of, but she really had many tables, and was the same with all guests.

Came here on a cold December night with agenda to introduce my handsome man to the exotic food of Georgia and we were not disappointed.
We were greeted at the door by a lovely waitress/​hostess and escorted to our seats downstairs. The place has a beautifully decorated bar on the first floor and restaurant at the ground floor.
Décor– I am not sure why so many people liked the main dining room décor, it is very unbalanced. You can see expensive white tile work-​yet it is too white, lighting is too bright and takes away that romantic lights from the chandeliers Tables are too scattered and the service station is right in the middle with dirty glasses and water pitcher and plates and such that cheapens such a lovely restaurant. Kitchen door is also nearby and not covered with curtains or something to make it less obvious.
Food– delicious! That what matters the most. We ordered cheese bread as an appetizer-​it was HUGE, it was a tad too salty yet very delicious. then we ordered a Lulya kebab-​mix of beef and lamb with Georgian spices and Khinkali which are gigantic steamed dumplings with beef. Both were excellent, very well seasoned and tender.
Service started off good but I think they were very short staffed since 2 girls were running back and worth trying to catch up and we sat there with empty wine and water glasses and dirty plates until we asked for the check. No one refilled our waters, refreshed utensils or asked if we wanted another glass of wine or dessert. Typically, that is one of my biggest pet peeves but next paragraph will explain why this time I was completely fine with it.
I would have given only 3 stars however, there was an opera singers made my night so magical at Pepela. they have live music and one guy impressed me the most. Young Russian man singing Italian and Russian opera pieces was so remarkable well, he had a voice of an angel. I was sitting there the entire night completely mesmerized by his voice. if you go there on sunday night– the duo is singing that night.
definitely would recommend checking this place out.

Nice place good service but long wait for everything, such as food, drinks, dessert etc. food portions are small amount doesn’t fill you up at all

Came here to have our groupon dinner :) our waitress Katerina was adorable, knowledgeable and very friendly. Stuffed mushroom appetizer and flatbread appetizer is amazing ! Will definitely come back

Pepela is a great location if you’re looking for a really nice place to host some sort of an event or gathering. However, as a restaurant it’s more like a Georgian knock-​off of Mari Vanna. I give the food two stars, the ambience four stars, the service five stars, and the drinks four stars.
I came on a Saturday night with a large party of 13 people for a birthday celebration. We had a lot of food, most of which wasn’t very good. The only good things worth trying were the spinach caviar that came with the mixed appetizer plate, and the khachapuri (georgian bread with cheese). Drink-​wise, the cha cha pom is excellent, as is the sweet Pepela. Other than those aforementioned things, everything else was forgettable. The salmon kebabs were dry, the chicken baje was unpalatable, many said the lulya kebab wasn’t good, and the khinkali were decent, but I’ve had better. All the entrees came with «grilled» vegetables, but every single person had some raw asparagus, zucchini, and peppers on their plate. We complained to the waitresses and they ended up bringing out plates of piping hot, actually cooked veggies to make up for the ones that came with our meals. Then again, this is NOT the place to come for an authentic meal, you come for the company and whatever occasion you’re celebrating.
A warning however, Pepela’s centerpieces are these beautiful chandelier-​looking candle fixtures. During our dinner party, one of the candles must have heated the glass setting it was in so much, to the point it exploded and a piece of glass fell into someone’s plate. Be mindful of your surroundings, people! Granted, this wasn’t anyone’s fault and things like this happen, but I’m just glad this was the worst of the fire and safety hazards of the night.
I do have to say the service is impressive. The owner cares a lot about his business and does all he can to ensure you have a good experience. The waitresses are so attentive and like the owner, try and make your time at Pepela memorable. They’re even decked out in butterfly headbands as part of their attire since «pepela» in Georgian, means butterfly (which also explains the butterfly decorations on the wall).
Inside, the restaurant is absolutely beautiful. Upstairs is a bar/​lounge area with a coat check, and there’s a little balcony overlooking the dining area downstairs, where you can see the stage set up for whatever entertainment is coming in that night. Downstairs is small, but it’s beautifully decorated, which explains why if you’re having a special event, this is a good location for it.

Don’t be fooled by the approval rating on Groupon. It’s not worth it when the restaurant charges you an automatic «service charge» on the MAXIMUM value of the orders without specifying it is the tip.
Anyway, time to get started on the meat of the review (literally). So the restaurant is in a townhouse and very esoterically decorated — as is the live music. I noticed some bugs flitting around and wasn’t too excited by that. We started with bread and a Georgian sauce that was very good, and we continued to dip our appetizer of cheese bread into it. Unfortunately, the entrees fell flat on their faces/​plates (figuratively). The rice was cold on both of our plates and we weren’t sure if that was intentional since it wasn’t icy enough to be a cold dish. I had the salmon and it was cooked quite well, but mixing it with the lukewarm rice just did not do it for me. My boyfriend had the chicken and wasn’t impressed.
The drinks were also awful. They tasted like the cheap cocktails from a college campus bar, so I’m not sure why their original price could possibly amount to $ 14. There’s no way that I would ever come here on the regular menu, given my displeasure with what was considered a discount.

Gorgeous ambiance, good food, horrible service.
I was introduced to this restaurant via a Groupon special.
The restaurant is located in a stunning townhouse with a sophisticated, elegant vibe.
The server told us the Groupon menu is limited to X dollars. What we wanted cost more so we offered to pay the difference. We were told «no» despite the fact that neither one of us was going to have the alcohol that was included in the Groupon.
The server was annoyed and showed it.
Despite the good food I have no intention of returning to Pepela.

Great atmosphere
Great authentic food!
Service is good,
Asked for recommendations and you will not be sorry.
There is. Groupon deal now, certainly makes it unbeatable.

I’m there now. The salmon is the best I’ve ever had. I don’t have to say how good Georgian bread is. The atmosphere is quiet and intimate. A great experience. Highly recommended.
Update: talk about honesty. I decided to leave an additional tip, even though I knew the tip was included. The waitress saw the money and said to me «but the tip is already included». How many are honest enough to do that, most would have just taken the money. She was happy to be informed by me that I knew the tip was already included, and this was extra for the fine food and service.

I threw my mothers 60^th birthday party here at Pepela with 10 additional guests. Every single person left with smiles on their face. The team was wonderful, the live music was a pleasant surprise and the food was great. The team was so accommodating in helping me plan the right menu for my party and budget I couldn’t thank them any more. Starting with champagne in their beautiful parlor and then moving the party to their exquisite dining room, the entire family was wow’ed from the moment we arrived in the front of this restaurant hidden in a Murray Hill brownstone.
Go and enjoy this hidden gem! You’ll be thankful you did!

This restaurant is located in a brownstone. It is very unique with its décor. From its one of a kind light fixtures to its provocative dolls. I’ve never had Georgian food before, but it was really good. I had the salmon with grilled vegetables, it was a large portion that can feed two. My friend had the grill lamb which was delicious. For dessert we had a Napoleon Russian cake which was baked there. It was soft and flaky and not too sweet, which is just perfect.

We went to pepala for my wife birthday,
The place is nicely decorated and the hostess at the door was very polite and brought us to our seat ‚
Now I have to say that the Georgian cousin is not foreign to us but it was nice to try something different in our loved NYC.
The food was superb specially the salad with a side of eggplant, the spices that the chef used give the food is special taste
It says that they are vegetarian but they also
Have selection of meat and great chicken
Which I highly recommend (chicken kebab)
The music was great and they had VAlodia
On the piano a true jazz artist
If I could give this place more stars I would
So just go there and try it yourself :)