Georgia’s food landscape has changed drastically over the last few years. People can
now easily find just about any cuisine they wish and even have it delivered to their door
with the help of apps such as Wolt and Glovo. There is even a new food court, Bazari
Orbeliani, where you can find food stalls serving up burgers, Thai, cheese and
wine, gyros, Turkish fare, and even a rotating sushi bar. Despite the diversification, one
thing left unchanged here is the traditional Georgian cuisine. Around every corner, you’ll find restaurants serving up iconic Georgian food like khinkali and khachapuri which can be traced back to ancient times.
We believe the best way to get to know a city is to just start walking. Tbilisi is a
beautiful city to do that in, with charm lurking around every corner. What fuels our
bodies and drives our minds to walk the countless miles up the steep hills and through
the random alleys is the food. Well, and the beer… and the wine… but that’s for another post. So
here is a list of some of Georgia’s traditional dishes and where we like to enjoy them.
Khachapuri and Lobioni@Lobiani on Kekelidze St
There are a handful of styles of both Khachapuri and Lobioni made around the country.
The types of cheese and the vessel that carries it depend on the region where the variety originated. Some are made of yeast dough while others involve beans or cheese stuffed into a puff pastry. Some khachapuri have cheese only on the inside while others feature cheese stuffed within and melted on top. Our favorite style of both pastries is found in this small underground shop. Penovani Khachapuri is a puff pastry varietal, stuffed with cheese and baked to a golden brown. The Lobioni is the same, just stuffed with beans and spices. The baker here specializes in these dishes, and they are the only two items prepared at this bakery.
Without knowing the shop is there, it is easy to walk right past it. We only first discovered it by a flurry of both people and delicious smells wafting up the stairs. This shop is located below street
level and marked by a small red sign with black Georgian letters. Inside, there is a small sign
on the counter with the two offerings ხაჭაპური (khachapuri) for 4 lari and ლობიონი (lobiani) for 3 lari. We suggest getting both. If you are feeling like a fat kid, eat them together and let your taste buds
do a happy dance.
Location : 1 Korneli Kekelidze St
Khinkali @Shemoechama
Our plane’s wheels hadn’t even touched ground yet and we were already planning on
where to get these delicious meat-filled soup dumplings. Traditionally, khinkali was filled
with lamb and beef and eaten by shepherds and hunters. These days, however, if
you don’t eat meat or are observing Lent, they can be found with a variety of fillings like
mushrooms, cheese, and potatoes.
We went to the location at 8 Mtskheta St. It is located on a dark, unlit street where the only
illumination comes from the restaurant itself. Already knowing what we wanted, we ordered
quickly. We started with a tomato and cucumber salad alongside a few beers to wash it down.
The dumplings at most places take about 20 min to come out, so be patient. During our first visit to Georgia, our server recommended ordering another dish to snack on while we waited and we’ve followed that advice ever since.
If you head into the back dining area at this location, you will find a large plate glass window, where you can watch the ladies at work. For a more modern feel, head to the Old Tbilisi location.
Location : 9 Samghebro St | 8 Mtskheta St | 16 Vazha-Pshavela Ave
Eggplant with Walnuts@Mapshalia
This restaurant was our introduction to Georgian cuisine back in 2019. It’s known to be one of the more affordable locations in Tbilisi to enjoy a filling meal. Though the prices are kept very low in comparison to many similar restaurants in the city, there is no sacrifice in terms of flavor. For lunch one day on our most recent visit in January 2025, we ordered four dishes and two beers and our total was around 40 laris. That’s about half of the going rate at most other places we have dined. While all of the food we ordered was delicious, we especially loved the eggplant with walnut paste here. It doesn’t come with the thrill of pomegranate seeds sprinkled on top like we’ve been served before, but the creamy paste is excellent.
Mapshalia is a cash-only establishment, so be sure to hit up the ATM before settling into your seats.
Location : 137 Davit Aghmashenebeli Ave
Chikhirtma@Asi Khinkali
Located in the Saburtalo neighborhood, this restaurant has been awarded the best Khinkali
in Tbilisi. While we can since vouch for their deliciousness, we first visited on a different mission.
Feeling cold and a bit under the weather, we were in search of chikhirtma. This hearty,
comforting chicken soup has a reputation for being a hangover cure. We figured if it
works for hangovers, it must work on an immune system that’s been crushed from 50 hours of travel with very little sleep. This traditional Georgian food is made of chicken, herbs, and eggs for richness, thickening, and complexity. The soup is finished with vinegar for a bright acidity.
We chose to get ours “to-go” but after it arrived in bowls for us to enjoy at the table, we
learned something important. Unlike in the States, “to-go” is not a word they use or
understand. Instead, “takeaway” is the word of choice. If you wish to get yours to-go as well, we recommend stopping at a nearby tone to pick up some fresh-baked bread for dipping.
Location : 9 Bakhtrioni St
Everything@Nikolozi
We first discovered this place several years ago and have long since dreamed about returning one day.
While we were here in 2020, there was a pesky bug going around that kept this restaurant closed for our 6-month stay in the city. On our most recent visit in January 2025, we were finally able to return for lunch one afternoon. Nikolozi was just as we remembered, from the delicious cuisine to the thoughtful Georgian hospitality. We arrived just as they opened on a Saturday afternoon. We took our seats and quickly began to peruse the menu. Although the entire menu was enticing, we settled on a few dishes to share along with a bottle of homemade white kisi wine.
You won’t find any accurate wine labels here. The husband makes all the wines and chacha on the list. They are made in the small cellar just behind the dining room and bottled into reused vessels. The dining room has just 6 small tables and is decorated as if you just entered their home. We ordered a smoked chicken dish swimming in garlic broth and nigvziani badrijani (eggplants with a walnut paste, topped with honey and pomegranate seeds). It was so delicious that we ordered a second round of the eggplants for dessert. We also ordered a bowl of kharcho, a tender beef stew brimming with flavor. For takeaway, we ordered a dish called ajapsandali. It is a tangy, herbaceous vegetable spread that we enjoyed smeared on local bread that night with dinner.
And because no Georgian meal would be complete without a little chacha, we ordered two. Instead of the two filled shot glasses we were expecting, the son brought a small carafe for us to pour from. It was from a special batch made with tea leaves to lessen the harshness. This was much nicer than some versions that rival lacquer thinner. After paying our bill we were sent home with an unexpected bottle of chacha, a bottle of wine and two oranges – Georgian hospitality at its finest.
Location : 34 Anton Katalikosi St
Shkmeruli@Restaurant Tbilisuri Ezo
This restaurant seems to fly under the radar and not end up on any lists, but we have to
say it is worth every step up the steep incline at the end of a dead-end road. We only
found Restaurant Tbilisuri Ezo by looking over Google Maps and clicking on random restaurant icons. After reading the reviews and looking over the pictures, we wondered how the heck we had
not heard of this place before. So, we laced up our boots and headed out to find this not-so-popular restaurant serving up what proved to be delicious Georgian food.
Inside, the dining room was warm and cozy with a glow emanating from its wood-burning fireplace. After
looking at the extensive menu, we were pleasantly surprised by the low prices for this
day and age in Georgia. There has been very noticeable inflation since the pandemic and the war.
The portion sizes here were more than filling and extremely flavorful. After being told the night before that we were not welcome in a particular Saburtalo restaurant, we were pleased to be greeted with a smile and friendliness. We ordered shkmeruli, a fried chicken dish cooked in a creamy garlic sauce, and one of our favorite Georgian dishes. If you feel yourself coming down with a cold, the overdose of garlic will surely knock it out of you. As a side, we ordered the mushrooms stuffed with sulguni cheese,
and of course, eggplants with walnuts because we can never pass them up. The kebab
Kutaisian with souse is a beef and pork mince with Georgia’s traditional rich fresh
tomato sauce served with thin flat bread. The sauce itself was good enough to eat by
the spoonful.
Location : 24 Solomon Zaldastanishvili St
Medok at Lime
If you’re in the mood for something sweet, there is a special Georgian food called medok that you must try. Medok is a honey cake that is made of layers just oozing with, yep you guessed it – honey. Organic Georgian honey is infused into the layers of the cake as well as the cream that is slathered between them.
We ordered our first slice from a bakery in our neighborhood of Saburtalo called Lime. We walked past the bakery numerous times, ogling their delicious case of sweets until we could no longer resist the urge. This bakery also has a large selection of different cakes both fruit-forward and for chocolate lovers, so get crazy and order a few. We paired ours with a tiramisu. Both desserts were good, but the medok was the clear favorite. This cake is a local staple that can be found at just about any bakery serving sweets, but we can vouch for the one served at Lime.
Location : 11b Bakhtrioni St
Churchkhela at Badagi
Often referred to as the “Georgian Snickers,” we’d be remiss to leave this one off our list of Georgian food. Churchkhela is made from nuts, all strung together and then dipped into a paste made from grape juice. We’ve had our fair share of these not-overly-sweet snacks from around the city, but our favorites have been those from Badagi. While walnuts are the traditional nuts used to make this Georgian food, Badagi and some other shops also sell varieties made with hazelnuts. From Badagi, we ordered one of each, and the version with the walnuts was our favorite. The churchkhela at this shop was very fresh and juicy, unlike some we’ve had in the past that seemed to be past their prime and were more dried out. If you’re walking around Tbilisi and see a line of sausage-looking snacks in various colors dangling from a shop, that’s churchkhela!
Location : 23 Pekini Ave | 18 Adam Mickevichi St | 4 Roman Miminoshvili St
Final Thoughts on Georgian Food
Georgian food has become one of our favorite cuisines in which to indulge. From the popular dishes known around the world, like khachapuri, to the more obscure soups, like kharcho, there are so many different flavors to sample. There are many things to love about Georgia, but its food is at the top of our list. The best advice we can give to you is that which we once received on a bottle of wine as we landed at a Georgian airport: “Bring size bigger pants!”
Cheers friends,
Matt and Megan
