An explanation for our dining guide, Eat Sheet, can be found here.
Tbilisi has been a global food city since at least the sixth century, when the multi-ethnic city became established as a major trade hub along the Great Silk Road. Shaped by centuries of influences, today Georgian cuisine is in the midst of a gastronomic revolution as local chefs and growers are pushing the boundaries of venerated recipes and also recovering forgotten traditions. Meanwhile, more independent winemakers are tapping into an 8,000-year legacy and conjuring mind-blowing wines. There has never been a more exciting time to dine in Tbilisi.
Start Me Up
Tbilisi is not a morning city and Western breakfasts are a concept that has only started to catch on. Kikliko was one of the first to capitalize on the niche to become Tbilisi’s coolest and tastiest breakfast nook, serving up original scrambles, pancakes, and “kikliko,” Georgian French toast.
See and Be Seen
Stamba Hotel gets lots of press for its modish rooms while Cafe Stamba, downstairs, gets lots of people for its solid menu and uber-cool setting. This is where Tbilisi’s hip come to sip. If standing shoulder-to-shoulder around the bar isn’t your thing, there is seating in the patios outside where you can light up and look sophisticated with a cigarette poised between your fingers..
Hold the Meat
Georgian cuisine by nature is vegan-friendly, as many devout fast meatless for some 200 days a year. As more meat-free restaurants open across the city, Cafe Leila stands out for being both delicious and exclusively veggie/vegan (there is fish), and for its homey, Persian fairytale-like dining room. Located on a hidden lane across from Anchiskhati Basilica, Tbilisi’s oldest church.
If It Ain’t Broke
They say Dukani Racha has been around for 100 years. Located in a neighborhood noted for its new “Bohemian” restaurants and cafes, the brick basement tavern remains an indomitable old-school fixture of no-frills traditional fare. The staff won’t smile but they will serve abkhazura— mouth-watering spiced meat patties with pomegranate, and mtsvadi— roasted skewers of chicken or pork chunks.
Munchies
Maspindzelo
Located near the sulfur baths, Maspindzelo has maintained its integrity over the years in providing nourishment 24/ 7. While it is famed for its khinkali, late-night boozers also come to preemptively attack the hangover-in-the-making with a restorative bowl of khashi—tripe soup—served with a side of chopped raw garlic.
You Gotta Know Somebody
In Tbilisi’s culinary world, the one person everyone wants to know is the queen of Georgian culinary arts, Chef Tekuna Gachechiladze. She is responsible for putting Georgian food on the map. If you don’t bump into her at her Japanese-themed wine bar, Akura San, you may get lucky and have her greet you at a table in the luscious backyard garden of Cafe Literra, her flagship restaurant of brilliant, modern Georgian cuisine.
Under the Radar
Although the cat was let out of the bag several years ago, Kakhalebi, one of Tbilisi’s very best traditional restaurants, has continued to be one of its best-kept secrets. Its location (past the airport) and operating hours (8 p.m. closing) help keep it incognito and local, but the trip out there ($5 by taxi) is well worth the reward of diving into simple and succulent Kakhetian fare, like fried oyster mushrooms with fresh tarragon, roasted goat, and farm-fresh salads.
Dollar Stretcher
Ezo is a child-friendly restaurant with courtyard seating and down-home cooking. An outdoor grill fires up fat pork chops, mtsvadi (Georgian BBQ), and veggies, while the kitchen dishes up khinkali and salads, like jonjoli (bladdernut) with walnuts. Kakhetian house wine is splendid and like everything else on the menu is reasonably priced.
One for the Feed
Keto & Kote
Located inside and outside the gorgeous ground floor apartment of the 19th century Yevgenia Shkhiyants House, Keto & Kote is a contemporary Georgian restaurant whose self-taught chef, Ramaz Gemiashvili, offers classy fine dining with a modest view of the city, although you will be looking everywhere else: the garden, the crystal chandeliers, the art, and all the beautiful people (try the beef with roquefort and adjika).
On the Street
Across from Stamba Hotel is a hole-in-the-wall ice cream joint called Cream Bar that makes the greatest cocktails you will ever eat. All ice cream and sorbet is handmade, and not all is alcoholic, but you will want to try both the chacha and the saperavi sorbet, as well as the whiskey- or rum-infused chocolate concoctions.
