Argo Georgian Bakery

If you’re looking for Tandir bread this is the place to get it, they’re pros in making that bread and i believe this is the only place in the states with such setup. Definitely recommend showing up in the morning when it’s made hot and eating it with feta cheese while it’s hot. Every time we’re in Chicago, this is the first place we visit!

Great location to get my favorite Russian/​Georgian treats. Pelmeni, Vareniki, and Chebureki all at a great price!
Plus the best hachapuri in the Chicagoland area!

I’m a little sad that I am reviewing this place after having been going to it for almost 15 years.
During afternoon hours, which is when I usually go, there is always a supply of pies of every assortment that you could want. If they’re out of stock on the Hachipuri, there is almost always another batch in the oven that will be ready in 10 minutes.
Today I arrived at 9am — I wanted to get some pies to eat for breakfast at work. I got acknowledged by the cook (who was unpacking new dough), asked what I wanted, and he called into the back area where I suppose another worker was who would do the actual sale. And then I waited.
And waited.
A second guy came out and started cutting out labels.
I waited more.
And continued waiting.
I finally had to leave since I needed to get to work.
Makes me sad to have this experience, but I have noticed that the general vibe of the place has been getting less friendly. I know the owners were changing in the last few years (parents to kids) so this may have something to do with it.
Overall, great pies, I will come back again eventually. But first I need to forget that they were out of Hachipuri two days ago and today I was ignored when I wanted to buy the ones that were sitting right there.

I’m not «Georgian», (and will probably never get there either). However, my palate can discern what tastes good, and what is not so good. So with that being said, I ignored the Unilocal comments from the Georgian woman who lamented that the products from Argo don’t taste anything like real Georgian food.
After reading the numerous positive Unilocal reviews, (that so many «non-​Georgian» Unilocalers have been writing about), I had to geta hachapuri. I couldn’t tell you if it tasted like a hachapuri from a bakery in T’bilisi, Georgia, but I can tell you that this flaky cheese pastry will want to make you slap yo mama. While it wasn’t pulled out of the oven within the hour, it was being kept warm on a warming rack. This pastry is meant to be eaten warm. If you leave it in the paper sleeve they pack it in for a few hours, it ain’t gonna be the same. (One Unilocaler pointed out that her fresh from the oven hachapuri didn’t taste like the one that had been left steaming in the paper bag a few hours later… duh? ?)
I also bought a loaf (baguette-​shaped) of the bread. it’s a hand-​shaped dense loaf with a crispy crust. Yeasty, with a light crumb. Guy behind the register was really helpful. Gave me the «411» on whatever questions I asked him. There was no way I could leave without buying some frozen beef & pork Pelmeni. Soon as I boil them up and hit them with a generous plop sour cream, I will try to remember to update my review.

Be careful buying food there! They sell expired lemonade and cheese.

This is a unique, ethnic Georgian bakery. Delicious cheese pastries freshly made by order. Call ahead of time if you have a big order. It is a great place to stop by for homemade pastries especially the cheese pie.

Great Georgian food and atmosphere!!!
Love it, everything is fresh and delish!
Can’t get enough!

Who: friend & I
Where: Devon Ave
When: weekday morning
What: khachapuri
Why: Absolutely delicious pastries! I’d definitely recommend the house khachapuri when hot because the crust is flaky and the cheese in warm and gooey! We got super lucky and ordered them freshly baked in the morning.

Hachipuri! It’s awesome! Get it!
What is hachipuri? It’s basically a laminated dough (like phyllo, puff pastry, or croissant dough) wrapped around a blend of cheeses (farmers & mozarella & feta) into a nice square package. Here at Argo’s, it seemed pretty large.
Dropped by on a Friday morning and the baker had just pulled out the hachipuri from the oven. My friend and I quickly ordered a few to begin our day.
It was absolutely intoxicating fresh. When we saw how big and heavy (and greasy) they were, we thought it’d be good to split one and save the other. But the crisp edges of flaky dough and melting cheese quickly led us to splitting another.
We saved two for friends we were meeting up with later, but the hachipuri then weren’t nearly as good then. Sitting in a brown paper bag had caused the steam to soften the puff pastry and the cheese had cooled into a firmer blob. Still tasty, but only a fraction of its former greatness.

One of my top 5 favorite places in Chicago. Like most people, I come for the Hachipuri. One of the tastiest snacks you’ll ever try.
A Georgian friend stayed with me for a month, lecturing me on their world famous cuisine & and quickly convincing me with a few of his home cooked meals. He was wary when I brought him here, until admitting they have the best Hachipuri he’s ever tried. Even better than his mother’s!
Also, if you’ve never had some of their lavash with honey and milk, you’re missing out.

I was sooo looking forward to trying some bread there. Evidently going for the apple pastry on a Sunday was a big mistake. I looked down at the apple puff I was eating and saw green-​black puffs of mold in the pastry. Up till I realized I’d eaten some of the mold, I had been very impressed. Damn.

I am Georgia. Was born and grew up there. I know all taste and smell of evey Georgian food. I have just came across this bakery and tried some food. I read comments, that people love the Georgian food. I feel so sad, because at this Bakery nothing tastes like Georgian.
Dears, this is not real taste of anything:((((
If you get the chance to try real ones, I am sure you will get my point.
P. s. I go there buy sometimes, but not because I like, I just want to see something Georgian…

Oh, how I wish I still lived in Chicago.
My family and I were visiting this past weekend and found this place while driving around the city. The owner was friendly and very kind (not to mention it’s always nice to walk into a store and speak my own native language). We got 5 or 6 types of pastries, such as spinach and mushroom, and they were all fresh and delicious. I’ll be making a stop (or several) here next time I’m in the city.

I arrived right when they opened and they were just pulling out a batch of fresh baked lavash bread from the massive oven and I couldn’t resist buying a loaf (we finished it in two days lol). We also got an apple and cherry pie and a hachipuri. They were all delicious and I def ate my share of bread for the next few weeks :)

Really good and near authentic Georgian food. I lived in a Georgian village for a year so it was really nice to stop by this lil bakery. I recommend the «hatchapuri» and «churchkela» for some traditional, popular Georgian foods. Also, I didn’t try the «lobiani» but I know that is also very popular in the country.

The owner is from Odessa, the old man covered in flour is czar Nicholas’ retired pastry chef, resurrected by Rasputin’s dark vodka magic, bound to make fluffy hachapuri for the glory of Greater Georgia!
What they are lacking in the drinks department, which are limited to weak, carafe instant coffee, they more than make up with fresh, hot, flaky, meaty, baked things, and cold, hard, meaty frozen things (which will be fresh, hot and meaty as soon as you get home).
Cheap and cheerful to boot. Highly recommended, especially if you are in the area and want a hearty snack.

I love Argo Georgian Bakery for many reasons. One I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid when my parents and I used to live by Devon, that we would literally walk there to get our Georgian bakery fix. The people working there are super nice and are always helpful whenever making your selection. They have a small area where you can sit and order traditional Georgian dishes, but we usually go for the bakery items and we always get them to go. They have the coolest authentic and traditional lavish making oven that looks to be like a thousand years old, okay I may be exaggerating but it’s definitely an antique and very cool looking piece that they use daily to make their fresh breads.
What you must definitely order from here when coming by is definitely get their lavash bread, it’s under $ 3.00 and it’s a huge round loaf of lavish that is super fresh and if you come in the early morning you can definitely get it hot. I usually can’t make it in that early, but it’s still very good even in mid afternoon. You can dip it in soups or make a sandwich out of it, it is just THAT good, brings me back to my iconic childhood days. You must also not leave without getting a few Hachipura which are amazing cheese filled pastries that will literally melt in your mouth. They are full of feta, mozzarella and farmers cheese in this puff pastry that you will be craving for days to come and one is enough for lunch for me for a whopping $ 2.60.
They also have several homemade sweet pastries but after all the carb intake over here, I usually try to pass since I’ve already consumed enough calories. I hope this place lasts for another 100 years because it really is great with nice people and a warm, cozy environment, oh and they are super fast. You will be in and out withing 5 minutes if you are doing a to go order.

Just sublime. My family and I have patronized Argo for many years. It still the best khachapuri in city and suburbs. Whenever I head back to the old neighborhood Argo is a must stop.
Don’t expect much of the interior, it is mainly just a display area and freezer case. All noshing is best done off premises. If you must devour your khachapuri immediately the owner will give you paper plates while you sit at one of a couple tables available.
For those unfamiliar with khachapuri, it is a flaky almost croissant like savory pastry filled with a trio of tangy cheeses. It and several of the specialty Georgian breads are baked in conical oven, similar to an Indian tandoori oven.
Other things to try:
Homemade Adjika: a spicy flavor paste
Freshly baked breads
Various frozen dumplings: Pilmeni, Varenki, Chebureki, and Khinkali
Sweet Pastries
Adzhuruli Khachapuri: A boat shaped version of the original with an egg on top
The prices here are incredible. Hope they stay around for 30 more years.

If you follow a road, it will lead you to diversity.
Devon was my first destination for food after getting off the plane and checking in to a hotel in the Loop. I couldn’t wait. 22 years back I had visited Chicago for the first time and had been amazed at the number of Indian restaurants and grocery stores in the neighborhood. It was different this time, but most interesting to me was this Georgian bakery right next to Desi Land.
Bread or Pie? I had read a review from longtime NYC Unilocal friend Steve M about the Hachapuris and was intrigued to read about the puff pastry nature, for the versions I had tried in the restaurants and bakeries at Brighton Beach in NYC were mostly bread, till I discovered a puff pastry version at Cupola Samarkanda II. That said there are more difficult choices to make in this world than picking between bread and pie: like do I like chocolate more or ice cream? Hmmm… really, does it matter?
The Hachapuri are the main draw at the bakery, and for good reason. The sizeable, odd shaped (I can swear it’s not square as people claim it to be: see picture) flaky, golden pastry is filled with a delightful mixture of mozzarella, feta, and farm cheese that simply ooze out of the pastry upon every bite. Thankfully, the pastry is fresh, still warm and you can almost burn your face from the steam that escapes the interior as you bite into it. The Hachapuri itself, to me, is worth the trip from Downtown Chicago or any neighborhood that the patrons thronging the bakery reside in.
Next on my consumption list was the Lobiani: the kidney bean pie, and this too was delightful: warm and just the perfect, flaky texture. Wanting to try what the breads taste like, I also ordered the «Lavash» bread — the round bread more popular amongst customers, as opposed to the long Shoti Puri. After discussing with the owner whether this was indeed Lavash, he agreed that this was the more popular brand name — however, Lavash (owing its origins to Persia) was different in bite and texture. I still liked the round Puri bread: very chewy, extremely dense with a puffy rim and with many tiny holes inside. It had a dry crust and a pleasant, slightly salty taste. I could eat it anytime with one of the dips available at the bakery. My only gripe would be that this bread wasn’t warm — that, however, did not detract much from one’s enjoyment. This bread would also be great with soups.
The spacious interior and the lack of the sweltering heat (despite the always fired up dome shaped brick oven) contrasts well with what one would find at Georgian Bread in Brighton Beach. The premises would be one that Baker Badri would dream about, for it would make his work less of a chore.
With apologies to reader who skimmed through Georgia and Pie to think this review would be about Peach Pie. Give the globe a spin :)

Few reasons why it’s worthy of a bookmark:
You’re a tourist and you want to have something different in Chicago
You’ve been a native a very long time but you haven’t tried it yet. A hachapuri.
You love bread, croissants and everything of the like.
Here’s what is bomb diggity and must be tried:
The hachapuri is a must try. Think croissant like flakey outside, crispy right from the clay oven and filled with a cheese, which is only gooey when warm. Straight from the oven, I’ve never opted for stuff that’s sat outside all afternoon. Meat pies are a must NOT. Those things are bland and it’s bland meat with a pastry cover. Bah. Fruit pies are that same pastry crust but filled with blueberry jam, raspberry, etc. I do not think they make their own fruity fillings, I think it’s right out of a jar and into that pastry pocket. Still, it’s all inexpensive and tasty stuff.
Don’t expect much from the customer service department. This store owner loves new business, but you just can’t expect too much from him, so keep your expectations low and you’ll dig it.
One of those places I’ve always known about and shared with a select few, though never thought to Unilocal.But, being as I’m the most recent duke. I’ll share. Ha! Now that I’ve said that I’m sure the people with fake «check-​ins» will be trying to steal my throne!