Sampling Georgian Cuisine – What did we eat in Tbilisi?

When one goes on a holiday, to a new city or country, some of the questions that one returns home to are – “What did you do?” and “What did you eat?” While I have answered the first question in my previous blog (there’s lots to do and see in Georgia), when my mother asked me “Georgia nu khavanu kevu che? (What is Georgia’s food like?), I had a diary with detailed notes to refer to. I took notes all the time whilst eating out in Georgia because I have a number of friends who are foodies and I knew they would love to know more about Georgian cuisine.

And while I write this blog about our eating adventures in Tbilisi, it’s pertinent to mention that I grew up in a middle-class household where eating out was an exception and not a norm. But I was exposed to a variety of foods (albeit most of them were vegetarian dishes) thanks to the neighbourhood we lived in, and with neighbours sending each other little containers of what was cooked for the day.

Marrying my husband who is a foodie opened up a whole new world for me as well; it was like an education in itself. It also helped that I was open to trying all kinds of dishes, perhaps being a non-vegetarian can be considered an advantage of sorts in this regard as many cuisines are big on meat, fish and poultry. However having said that, there is always something new and exciting to try for vegetarians as well when they travel, and so if you are a vegetarian, please don’t be disheartened. There are many options for you in Georgia, some of which I will outline in this blog below.

On this trip, we met three Lithuanians who have made London their home for quite some time now. All three, a brother, his sister and his fiancé were vegetarians by choice. They grew up eating a meat-based diet but made a conscious decision to turn vegetarians. When we shared a table (we were on a day trip together), all of them ordered vegetarian dishes from a largely Georgian menu.

So while it may be the case that there are countries where the cuisine is predominantly non-vegetarian, there will be some vegetarian options and it will need some work, but it’s still possible to sample a part of their cuisine. So many people are vegetarians – for religious, ethical and medical reasons – and there will always be something, perhaps not as much or limited, that caters to their preferences as well.

Breakfasts in Tbilisi – buffet at the hotel, or freshly baked breads from the numerous bakeries

Our hotel laid out a generous spread for breakfast and this included Georgian dishes like Lobia Khachapuri, mushroom and spinach Khachapuri as well as Georgian Eggs (these are boiled eggs served with a Georgian chilli and walnut paste.) I loved the mushroom and spinach Khachapuri and would have two or three of these daily for breakfast. There were an assortment of local and regional Georgian cheese at the buffet spread along with other items like yoghurt, eggs made to order, cold meats and walnut cakes and sweets. (Walnuts are a very integral part of Georgian cuisine and many meats and poultry are cooked in a walnut paste and these are also used as key ingredients in sweets and treats. The most popular walnut sweet is known as Churchkhela.)

Grabbing freshly made bread from the numerous little bakeries is also a wonderful idea. Some of these breads cost as little as 2 Lari. (You will find that not just breads but most main dishes as well as desserts are very pocket-friendly, in comparison to many other countries in Europe, eating and travelling in Georgia is much more affordable).

These breads are a wonderful way to slip into the locals’ shoes. Stopping by at the quaint bakeries with their oven in the cellar below, and a little window positioned at the street level to grab your purchase was really something. For vegetarians, I would recommend trying one of their breads that is stuffed with potatoes and a sprinkling of dill. It almost felt like a cousin of the Indian breakfast staple – the much-loved aloo paratha! Some of the other baked breads or pies that are available at most bakeries around Tbilisi are Guruli pie, Lobia with Ham pie, Meghruli Khachapuri, Semi-layered Khachapuri, Lobiani, Smsa Chicken, Sosa pie, Meat pie, Cubdari….(The second photograph in the collage below showcases some of these breads and pies.)

For vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike, making good use of the hotel’s buffet for breakfast and alternating it with trying out different breads and baked items at the numerous bakeries is what I would suggest.

Lunches, brunches and leisurely dinners

We had our lunches, brunches and dinners at various places – at cafes (for example, the Cafe Rustaveli that was located at a prime location on the very pretty Rustaveli Avenue and the delightful Leila Cafe just a little further from Tbilisi’s famed clock tower), at rustic barbecue joints (one that we found at the Park atop the mountain Mtatsminda) and more.

The restaurants around Liberty Square are geared towards tourists but a lot of them do serve a variety of Georgian cuisines. You can also book a table at a restaurant that is further from the areas that tourists frequent, and in the residential areas or neighbourhoods which see more local patrons than foreign visitors. For example, Shavi Lomi restaurant – which was nestled in what looked like a residential neighbourhood and most of its tables were filled with young couples and friends, all of them Georgian. We, and another couple were the only ‘non-locals’ at the restaurant whilst we were there for our dinner. Another such great find that was also frequented and much loved by locals (and which has been featured on many international food vloggers’ videos) is Ezo 2.0. Nestled in a courtyard that is enveloped by residential buildings in the Old City in Tbilisi, it had such a vibrant vibe and some amazing food. There is often live music and we ran into one of our guides when we went there one evening!

What were the kind of things we ate or sampled? I am including some of the dishes below. In terms of the non-vegetarian dishes, I stuck to chicken as I avoid red meat, but my husband had both chicken and meat dishes.

Chikhirtma – A wholesome Georgian chicken soup served with fried wafer-thin bread.

Beef Khinkali – Georgian dumplings filled with minced beef.

Barbecued chicken – This was had at the rustic place I talked about earlier; the second photograph in the collage below is of the barbecue joint.

Imeruli/Imeretian Khachapuri – A flat-bread stuffed with cheese from the west-central region of Georgia.

Kharcho – A traditional Georgian soup containing beef, rice, cherry plum purée, chopped walnuts, and seasoned with Khmeli Suneli and coriander. (It was my husband’s favourite.)

Chakhokhbili – A traditional Georgian dish of stewed chicken and tomato with fresh herbs. (My favourite main course in Georgia.)

Beef Ostri – A meat dish of tender beef stewed with seasoned vegetables.

Grilled whole eggplants with spicy walnut and pomegranate sauce – These made for a good starter. If you love aubergines, you won’t be disappointed while eating out in Georgia.

A plate of assorted Pkhali – A Georgian dish of chopped and minced vegetables, made of cabbage, eggplant, spinach, beans, beets and combined with ground walnuts, vinegar, onions, garlic, and herbs (It makes for a lovely sharing platter, especially if you are a vegetarian.)

Satsivi – Georgian chicken in a walnut and garlic sauce.

Chakhapuli – Lamb stewed in white wine, wild green plums, tarragon and fresh herbs.

Fresh Jonjoli salad with walnuts – It’s a lovely salad, with a note of a floral flavour from the jonjoli and you could have a plate of it to go with most of the dishes you order for the table. The jonjoli was our best find ever. Jonjoli is known by different names in different parts of Georgia. A stocky, bushy tree that is native to the Caucasus and its pickled blooms serve as an appetiser, an accompaniment to many main meals in Georgia. You can also find bottles of pickled jonjoli at the Deserter Market in Tbilisi.

Georgian bean stew – Red bean lobio in a clay pot served with pickled jonjoli salad.

Georgian Bazhe with grilled chicken breast and white sits (Including a link to this recipe here. I found that it is from the chef of Shavi Lomi, the restaurant that I mention – one that is much loved by locals and is in what seemed like a residential sort of neighbourhood. That’s where I had the Georgian Bazhe as well! The photograph in the centre of the last row of the collage is from the Shavi Lomi restaurant.)

Tatarberaki with caramaleised onion and yoghurt – Tatarberaki is a popular dish from the Samtskhe-Javakheti region in southern Georgia and is made from tiny pieces of dough that are boiled and served with the sauce of melted butter and fried onion. Ours was served with a bowl of yoghurt as well and it turned out to be a perfect accompaniment. It reminded me of pasta, and closer to home, the Gujarati dish called ‘Dal-dhokli’!

I hope you enjoyed this little blog filled with photographs and our experiences of eating out in Tbilisi, Georgia. If you need additional information, drop me a message and/or please do drop by for tea and snacks and we can exchange travel and food tales!