Aragvi Georgian Cafe

In all of Melbourne there are just 158 immigrants from Georgia, and yet a south-eastern suburb can sustain a Georgian restaurant. How is this possible? One: Aragvi's Georgian cuisine for lunch, brunch and dinner is decently priced and, though traditional dishes are not the prettiest (a lot of beige, and stews), it's beautiful on the inside. Two: Georgian food shares similarities with that of its northern neighbour, Russia (and is well -known to Melbourne's Russian community). Three: broth-filled dumplings. This hero dish inspires listicles and can mobilise the general public into a salivating queue.

Called khinkali, Georgian dumplings are bigger, thicker-skinned and generally beefier than Shanghai's delicate pork xiao long bao. But the same practised skill is there in the neat pastry folds (of which there should be 19) that bundle the soup and spiced beef mince together. To eat, hold the topknot, bite into the side, suck out the fat-flecked broth, then eat around, leaving the knot (it's chewy, and not meant to be eaten). Though relatively hefty, khinkali are also upliftingly uncomplicated.

It's a bit of a theme: carb-heavy, but pure and simple. Georgia's other go-to is the cheese pie. Baked to order, khachapuri imeruli are round, flat and golden, the cheese oozing from the cross-cut. It's a mix of three cheeses (though which three is a family secret), but we can tell you it's both salty (feta?) and stretchy (mozzarella?) in spongy bread. The canoe-shaped version, khachapuri adjaruli, comes with an egg in the centre. You may know it as pide - Turkey is Georgia's southern neighbour.

Another characteristic of Georgian food is the use of walnuts. They're ground into a rich and tasty grilled eggplant and tomato stew (called a "dip" on the menu) that's served warm, with lavash. They're turn up in a saute of mushrooms with the signature spice mix, khmeli suneli. It's another family recipe, and a mix of at least a dozen herbs and spices, including coriander, dill, parsley and the signature blue fenugreek ­– and is also used to flavour soups with beef and rice, or pumpkin.

Brunch dishes are made with top-shelf staples, like St Kilda's Woodfrog breads, truffle oil, and minted avocado. Serves are big, and there are no huddles of Gen-Yers waiting for seats.

Aragvi is remarkably tidy; it still has that new-cafe feel even though it's almost a year old: the walls are fresh white, the floors and tables are polished bentwood, and the white crockery is sparkling. There's little no adornment to speak of; rather, it's appealingly elemental.

THE LOW-DOWN
Do ... Look forward to tasting Georgian wine once the license comes through (by February, fingers-crossed)
Don't ... Eat the dumpling "handle"
Dish ... Khinkali (beef dumplings)
Vibe ... Neat family-run find, with rich pickings