Work through the list in order. Hide the notes when you know what to do.
-
Try khinkali
Plump twisted dumplings filled with spiced minced meat and hot savoury broth. The classic city style is kalakuri (beef and pork with cilantro), while mtiuluri is the highland version seasoned solely with black pepper and salt. Eat them strictly by hand: grasp the thick topknot, bite a small vent in the dough, slurp the scalding broth, and finish the dumpling, leaving the handle on your plate.
Order in batches of at least five per filling at dedicated dumpling houses. Pair them with draft lager or tarragon soda, never with heavy sauces or wine.
-
Try Adjarian khachapuri (adjaruli)
An open boat-shaped yeast bread cradling a pool of molten Imeretian cheese and Sulguni. Just before serving, a raw egg yolk and a pat of butter are dropped in the center. Best enjoyed in coastal Batumi or dedicated khachapuri bakeries across Tbilisi.
Mix the butter, egg, and cheese vigorously with a fork until emulsified, then tear off the crisp crust edges and dip into the molten center.
-
Try Imeretian and Megrelian khachapuri
Round stuffed cheese breads: the Imeretian style encases fresh mild cheese inside tender thin dough, while the Megrelian variation adds an extra layer of melted Sulguni on top. Around Kutaisi, they are baked paper-thin and served straight from the oven.
Order a whole pie to share across the table as an accompaniment to soups and stews instead of plain bread.
-
Try clay-pot lobio
Rich red kidney beans stewed inside a clay pot with sautéed onions, garlic, fresh cilantro, blue fenugreek, and crushed coriander. Served bubbling hot alongside a freshly fried corn cake (mchadi) and fermented pickled peppers or bladdernut shoots (jonjoli).
Naturally vegetarian and hearty, this dish is available year-round in nearly every traditional Georgian tavern.
-
Try kharcho soup
A warming, deeply aromatic beef soup enriched with rice, chopped walnuts, garlic, and tangy dried plum purée (tklapi). Do not confuse it with Megrelian kharcho, which is a thick, rich beef stew served as a main course without rice.
Authentic kharcho relies on sour plum paste for tartness rather than cheap tomato concentrate, and should never contain potatoes.
-
Try phali assortment
Cold vegetable pâté shaped into small patties, made from blanched spinach, beet greens, green beans, or cabbage. The vegetables are bound together with ground walnuts, garlic, vinegar, and cilantro, then crowned with tart pomegranate seeds.
Order the 'phali platter' to sample three or four vibrant varieties at once with warm hearth bread.
-
Try badrijani nigvzit
Silky fried eggplant strips rolled tightly around a rich walnut paste spiced with garlic, blue fenugreek, and marigold petals, finished with fresh pomegranate pearls. A staple of any celebratory feast.
Served chilled as a starter; properly prepared rolls are moist with walnut oils rather than greasy from the frying pan.
-
Try shkmeruli
Crisp roast young chicken chopped into pieces and simmered in a bubbling, pungent garlic and milk (or sour cream) sauce in a clay ketsi. Hailing from the highland Racha region, this dish is unapologetically garlic-forward.
Make sure to keep plenty of crusty shoti bread on hand to mop up every drop of the rich garlic emulsion.
-
Try chakhokhbili
A succulent poultry stew (originally wild pheasant, now tender chicken) braised dry in its own juices with ripe tomatoes, sweet onions, garlic, and fresh herbs like purple basil, tarragon, and cilantro.
Best experienced in high summer and autumn when local Georgian field tomatoes are intensely sweet and juicy.
-
Try mtsvadi
Traditional Georgian skewered pork or lamb roasted over dried vine clippings, which impart a delicate smoky aroma. Kakhetian mtsvadi is rarely marinated in vinegar; fresh meat is simply seasoned with salt and tossed with sliced raw onions after leaving the fire.
Served garnished with thinly sliced sweet onions, fresh pomegranate, and tart green or red tkemali plum sauce.
-
Try satsivi
Poached turkey or chicken submerged in a chilled, velvety walnut sauce perfumed with dried marigold, cinnamon, cloves, garlic, and coriander. Prepared at least twelve hours ahead to let the flavors infuse, it is the centerpiece of Georgian holiday feasts.
Served strictly cold, ideally alongside steaming hot cornmeal mash (ghomi) or crisp mchadi.
-
Try Adjarian sinori
A comforting specialty of mountainous Adjara: rolled ribbons of thin lavash baked in a ketsi pan with lashings of melted butter, garlic, and fresh nadughi curd cheese until crisp on top and tender underneath.
Commonly eaten for a hearty breakfast or warming mountain lunch alongside herbal tea.
-
Try achma
A decadent multi-layered cheese pie made from boiled ribbons of hand-rolled dough, layered generously with melted butter, Imeretian cheese, and Sulguni, then baked until the top is deeply golden.
Sold by the square slice in street bakeries and food halls across Tbilisi, Batumi, and Kutaisi.
-
Try artisanal churchkhela Desserts and pastries
Strings of walnuts or hazelnuts repeatedly dipped in tatara (a thickened mixture of condensed grape juice and flour), then sun-cured. High-quality churchkhela should feel pliable, not rubbery, and often carries a powdery white bloom of natural fruit sugars.
Buy from reputable wine shops or central farmers' markets; avoid overly glossy, neon-colored sticks on tourist streets.
-
Try tklapi fruit leather Desserts and pastries
Paper-thin, sun-dried sheets of pureed fruit, ranging from tart wild plum (tkemali) to sweet fig, peach, or grape. Sour sheets are torn into cooking pots to acidulate soups, while sweet rolls are eaten as confectionery.
Easily picked up at produce markets rolled up like parchment papers.
-
Try pelamushi grape pudding Desserts and pastries
A firm grape pudding prepared by boiling grape must with fine cornmeal and wheat flour until set. Served chilled, sliced into squares, and dusted with crushed toasted walnuts.
A centerpiece of autumn dining during the rtveli grape harvest across Kakheti and Imereti.
-
Drink Lagidze water Non-alcoholic drinks
Legendary fountain soda created in the 19th century: natural herb and fruit syrups are mixed to order with sparkling mineral water from pressurized taps. The signature pour is a mix of creamy chocolate and sweet tarragon.
Visit the dedicated counters on Rustaveli Avenue or beneath Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi for freshly poured glasses.
-
Taste Borjomi and Nabeglavi mineral waters Non-alcoholic drinks
Naturally carbonated volcanic waters renowned across the region for their intense mineral profile. Taste warm Borjomi straight from the spring house in Borjomi Park, or order cold glass bottles to balance rich meals.
Nabeglavi offers a slightly sharper carbonation and works wonders as a palate cleanser during marathon banquets.
-
Drink Batumian sand-brewed coffee Non-alcoholic drinks
Finely pulverized coffee slow-brewed inside copper pots buried in beds of scalding sand, typical of seaside Batumi cafes. The result is an unctuous cup topped with a thick crema, sweetened to order during brewing.
Served with a glass of cold water; declare your sugar preference up front ('tkbili' for sweet, 'ushakro' for black).
-
Taste qvevri amber wine Local alcohol
Ancestral Georgian wine fermented and aged inside massive beeswax-coated clay vessels (qvevri) buried underground. White grapes like Rkatsiteli are macerated with skins and stems for months, creating tea-colored amber wines packed with dried apricot notes and firm tannins.
Seek out natural Kakhetian bottles poured in the cellar wine bars of Old Tbilisi and Sighnaghi.
-
Taste Saperavi dry red wine Local alcohol
Georgia's benchmark red made from the teinturier Saperavi grape, featuring red pulp as well as dark skins. It yields an opaque purple vintage with bold blackberry character and structural acidity, built to cut through fatty grilled meats.
Sample both standard stainless-steel aged versions and the earthier, fuller-bodied qvevri bottlings.
-
Try grape chacha Local alcohol
Potent grape pomace brandy (ranging from 40% to over 60% ABV) distilled from the pressed skins and stems leftover from winemaking. Clean homemade chacha carries a delicate raisin aroma and is downed from small glasses during toasts.
In restaurants, look for oak-aged commercial labels if you prefer a smoother, cognac-like finish over fiery village distillations.
