Chinkalnia, Takeaway restaurant in Centrum, Białystok, Poland
Chinkalnia is a Georgian takeaway restaurant in Centrum, Białystok, serving handmade dumplings called khinkali alongside other dishes from the South Caucasus. The space is small, with wooden tables and a simple interior, and operates as both a sit-down spot and a place to order food to go.
Georgian restaurants began appearing more frequently in Polish cities during the 2010s, as interest in Caucasian food grew across the country. Chinkalnia is part of a small chain that brought traditional Georgian recipes to several Polish cities.
In Georgian tradition, khinkali are eaten by hand: you hold the dumpling by its twisted top knot, bite a small hole, and drink the broth inside before eating the rest. The top knot itself is not eaten and is left on the plate, so a pile of them at the end of a meal tells you how many dumplings were eaten.
The restaurant is in central Białystok and easy to reach on foot from the main streets of the city center. It tends to fill up around lunchtime, so arriving a little earlier or later in the afternoon gives you more room to sit and eat comfortably.
The twisted top of a khinkali dumpling has its own name in Georgian: it is called "kudi", which means "hat". Eating the kudi is considered bad manners in Georgia, and leaving them on the plate is the accepted way to show you know how the dish is properly eaten.
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