Aba-Ra Soho is bringing its Georgian food and wine to Wardour Street

Georgian restaurant Aba-Ra opened on Brick Lane back in 2023, and it's clearly been doing well as its founder, Lia Walsh, is getting ready to bring the restaurant to Soho. 

Georgian food has certainly been doing well of late, with the success of DakaDaka in Mayfair and Kinkally in Fitzrovia. Soho already has Violet's Cafe, but it's sounding like Aba Ra is going to be a much bigger affair, taking over the space that used to be Inamo. 

They're bringing in an open kitchen to the main dining room, where meals will kick off with smaller-than-usual versions of khachapuri, Georgia's cheese-filled bread, with extra meat and vegetable options alongside the traditional cheese. Another traditional dish appearing will be khinkali, soup-filled dumplings, as well as soup served in clay pots topped with baked bread. As for the main event, you can expect lots of Georgian meat skewers from the charcoal grill. 

They're also making a big deal of the wine here. They're promising an extensive collection of Georgian wine, including rare vintages. They're so invested in this part of the restaurant that they're bringing over a specialist sommelier from Georgia to manage the wine in Soho. They'll also have a wine cellar downstairs that has a private dining room attached. 

Lia herself apparently has spent 25 years working with Georgian food and drink in London and says, "For us, this is about creating something that celebrates Georgia properly, somewhere that feels beautiful and contemporary but remains completely authentic to who we are and where we come from."