Planning a trip to Gori? Maybe you’re actually staying in the city for a couple of nights or you’ve got a quick in and out day trip? Here are all the best restaurants in Gori that you need to try!

After staying for five nights (which I believe is unheard of based on locals’ reactions), we managed to try many restaurants in Gori. And, we were so surprised that such a small city has such good restaurants that cater to vegetarians! See our list of top five restaurants in Gori for local Georgian cuisine, and a bonus cute little cafe.

And if you want to learn more about things to do in Gori, see our blog post here. And if you’re on the fence about visiting the controversial Stalin museum, take a look at this blog post where we talk about what to expect and whether you should visit.

Erisoni

This restaurant is bright and modern with big glass windows overlooking Kura river. It feels really fancy inside, but the prices are reasonable and food is great. We tried the elarji (stretchy, cheesy cornmeal), and local style mushrooms and potatoes. It was all delicious and we ended up going back again purely for the addictively good elarji!

Shin da Gori

This place is tucked away and has a really traditional feel about it. It’s a small space with a classic, homely décor. Try the classic aubergine and walnut paste rolls, a Georgian salad of tomato, cucumber and onion with walnut dressing, and an Adjarian khachapuri (big bread boat full of cheese and egg). Beautiful.

Berikoni

Now this place has a weird feel to it. Each table is in its own contained space with swinging saloon doors? But, if you can get past the weird, you will enjoy the meal because the food is delicious. Try the lobio (spiced bean stew) served with pickles, the mushroom ojakhuri (mushrooms and potatoes fried with plenty of salt, garlic and herbs) and an Imeretian khachapuri (cheese stuffed bread). They also serve a litre of homemade wine for about £3!

Cafe 22

This was where we had our first taste of Ossurian khachapuri (cheese and potato bread) while on our country-wide mission to try all the variations of khachapuri. We also came back another time for mushroom cream soup. A simple cafe serving good food, perfect for lunch or a snack.

Chinebuli

For a quick and inexpensive meal, Chinebuli is the place. The restaurant is unassuming, and definitely has no frills. But when you’re going out for khinkali, you don’t want frills! Grab a lobio, mushroom on ketsi (clay pan)  and mushroom khinkali (soupy dumplings, but don’t let a Georgian hear you describe them like that!). Tasty food, low prices and no service charge.

Cafe AK

This tiny cafe serves a good Turkish coffee, and it’s right around the corner from the museum. It’s not easy to come by good coffee in Georgia unless you go to a fancy café charging premium prices. Cafe AK will give you an inexpensive Turkish coffee, and has an outdoor seating area overlooking the museum.

After six months on the road travelling through countries that don’t really know how to do vegetarian food, we hit Georgia. Georgia knows. We ate all the Georgian vegetarian food, and it was such a welcome change to have tasty options – not just salad an chips!

Many Georgians are Orthodox, and it is not uncommon to see people making the sign of the cross whenever they see a church, cathedral etc. (and Georgia has a LOT of these, so you’ll come across this all the time!). For devout Orthodox Christians, there are days of the week when they ‘fast’, essentially meaning they eat vegan/vegetarian. So when you head out to restaurants, you will often find a fasting menu or dishes that are marked as ‘fasting’. And therefore there is a lot of traditional Georgian vegetarian food. Music to our ears!

Spending nearly six months eating our way around the country, we put together a guide of all the best vegetarian dishes you should search for on your Georgian trip. And honestly, the phenomenal food is absolutely enough reason by itself to book that ticket to Georgia.

If you’re heading to Tbilisi, check out our Georgian vegetarian food city guide here.

Your Georgian Vegetarian Food Checklist

Khachapuri

I don’t think words can actually express my love for khachapuri. Salty, stretchy cheese baked in fluffy, chewy bread. I really don’t think that Georgian vegetarian food gets much better than this: the ultimate comfort food. There are many different variations of this dish throughout the country, and so we made it our mission to try as many of these as we possibly could.

Shoti

Fresh Georgian bread is a thing of beauty. Baked quickly on the inside of a tone (a tandoor-style oven), the bread has a crisp bottom with a soft and chewy top. There are bakeries all over the country, and a trip down to grab yourself some fresh, hot shoti is a must on a visit to Georgia.

Khinkali

Another classic. If you search for Georgian food, you will undoubtedly come across pictures of these huge soupy boiled dumplings. The classic version is full of meat, but there are vegetarian versions too: herby mushrooms, cheese, and potato. You can also find some fried variations so that the dumplings have a crisp outside. Herby mushroom khinkali are beautiful.

Lobio

This a big bowl of goodness that just so happens to also be naturally vegan. This is a classic bean stew full of spices and fresh herbs, and served in a clay pot. It is very often served with mchadi and pickles. Or order yourself a shoti or even a khachpuri to dip into these rich and thick beans. Ooohhhhh. The ultimate Georgian vegetarian food!

Lobiani

We lived off this stuff. Beautiful baked bread stuffed with spiced beans. This is basically a meal in itself that you can get from bakeries and restaurants alike. The two tastiest variations that we tried were from a bakery in Zugdidi on Ferdinandi Street and Magnolia restaurant in

Kutaisi. The bakery in Zugdidi serves the lobiani in long rolls covered in adjika spicing. And Magnolia restaurant serves the lobiani in Adjarian style, which is a large bread boat filled with the spiced bean stew. It is also served with plenty of different pickles.

Pkhali

This vegan dish is a mixture of minced vegetables, herbs, garlic and ground walnuts. It is then shaped intoin to small balls, and can be eaten by itself or spread on some shoti as a paste. The most common variations we came across are beetroot, spinach, and carrot.

Georgian Salad with Walnuts

Many countries have a classic salad consisting of tomatoes, cucumber, and onion, but Georgians really know how to jazz it up. A walnut dressing is added that is a little garlicky and rich.

Aubergine and Walnut Rolls

Another vegan classic, strips of aubergine are cooked and cooled before a walnut paste is added to the centre and then rolled up into a pinwheel. It doesn’t sound the most appetising, and also isn’t always the prettiest, but it sure is tasty.

Elarji

Great comfort food, elarji is a hot cornmeal mixed with sulguni cheese until it melts throughout. It’s a great accompaniment with strong flavoured dishes.

Elarji Balls

So the same as above with the stodgy cornmeal mixed with cheese, rolled into balls and deep fried so that the outside is crisp.

Ghomi

A plain cornmeal side dish served with stew type dishes. By itself, its pretty bland, but it’s a great flavour vehicle when it’s eaten with other dishes. I would totally recommend you go for elarji instead of ghomi though – cheese just makes everything great!

Tashmijabi

Super cheesy mashed potato. Need I say more?

Mushroom Ojakhuri

Mushrooms, potatoes, onions, garlic, fresh herbs and chilli all cooked on ketsi (clay pan). Super simple, but really tasty. An absolute classic that you will find on every menu.

Mexican Potatoes

Yeah, I know. Weird, right? Most menus will have ‘Mexican potatoes’ listed, but they’re not really that Mexican. Essentially spiced potatoes wedges, they go well with almost everything.

Ajapsandali

A spiced vegetable stew, that is naturally vegan. It is often served warm, but some restaurants will serve it cold: both are really tasty. Just double check how it will be served before you order. Aubergine, peppers, onions, garlic. Order yourself some shoti to dip into it, (or even better, a khachapuri!). THE absolute ultimate ajapsandali is served at Lushnu Qor in Mestia – trust us, we ordered tons of the stuff throughout the country over our six month visit, and this was by far the tastiest.

Tarragon Oyster Mushrooms on Ketsi

These are special. Charred and chewy oyster mushrooms in general are one of my favourite things to eat, but cooked in garlic, chilli and tarragon, they’re the ultimate. Back in the olden days of us eating meat, my favourite thing from a British Chinese takeaway was always the salt and pepper ribs. And I swear to you that these taste exactly the same (just without the actual meat!) For the best ones, head to Ortachala

restaurant in Tbilisi.

Mushrooms on Ketsi

Ketsi is a traditional clay dish which the mushrooms are cooked and served in. Plain mushrooms with a slight char and a little salt is so simple and delicious. Or try the mushrooms with sulguni (a local cheese that is often used in khachapuri).

Georgian Cheeses

Sulguni and Imeruli are salty and meltable (is that a word?) cheeses that are used in khachapuri as well as many other dishes. Tenili is a hard cheese that is pulled into long strands, with a chewy texture. Dambalkhacho (my absolute favourite!) is a gooey strong blue cheese.

Gebzhalia

Sulguni cheese is rolled into thin sheets before having a mint, chilli, garlic paste spread thinly across them. They are then rolled into pinwheel type shapes and drenched in a cottage cheese or matsoni sauce. Yep, this is a heavy dairy dish!

Churchkela

Churchkela is also known as Georgian snickers. It tastes nothing like snickers, but it has a high calorie content like it. Traditionally, walnuts are threaded on to a string before being dunked in a vat of a syrupy grape juice and flour concoction. The grape juice coats the nuts and creates a chewy but not too sweet coating. Perfect snack for hiking!

Tklapi

Also known as fruit leather, this is a fruit puree dried into sheets.

Mushroom Cream Soup

Like mentioned further up the page, you’ll find mushrooms everywhere in Georgia, so putting them into soups just makes sense. Really earthy and umami.

Ponchiki

A deep fried donut filled with a luscious vanilla cream and dusted with icing sugar. Pair this with a coffee, now you’re talking!

Adjika

A chilli, pepper, garlic, herb and spice coarse paste. It is added to dishes to jazz them up, or you could just dip bread in it (not sure if this is the actual Georgian thing to do, but it tastes great!).

Tkemali

A sour plum sauce that is often served with fried potatoes. Essentially the equivalent of ketchup in Georgia (but it is far superior!).

Mchadi

A very dense corn bread that is often served with lobio. Some variations have a melted cheese centre.

Mushroom Chashashuli

A spicy mushroom stew with a tomato and adjika gravy. Chashashuli is usually made with meat, so if you find a mushroom version, jump on it. It’s warming and comforting and also healthier than the normal carbs-and-cheese-heavy Georgian meals.

Chizhi Pizhi

Georgian tomato scrambled egg. All neighbouring countries have their own take on this. The Georgian version is beautiful and hearty and makes a great breakfast when served with warm shoti or khachapuri, (but my favourite is Armenia‘s version loligov dzvadzekh)

Borano

Borano is an Adjarian speciality. There are two versions: one is a rich cheesy baked omelette, while the other is a pot of gooey, stretchy fondu-style cheese. Both are beautiful!

Sinori

Another Adjarian speciality, the most common variation of this is savoury and cheesy. Lavash (thin flatbreads) are rolled and placed in a pan before being covered in butter and cheese and baked. We tried a sweet version that had cinnamon, walnuts and raisins instead of the cheese. It feels like a lighter bread and butter pudding. Find it in Batumi.

Pachki/Chkhetvra

Bread is broken up into pieces in a dish, with cheese melted on top. It kind of felt like a savoury non-soggy bread and butter pudding.

Gozinaki

This is a sweet traditionally made for New Year/Orthodox Christmas celebrations. Roasted nuts are added to caramelised honey before letting it cool until beautifully crunchy and sticky.

Persimmons

In autumn/winter, these soft, flavourful fruit are just perfect. Make sure you have them when they are really soft though, otherwise they have an unpleasant astringent quality. You will see the bright orange fruit hanging in the trees long after all the leaves have dropped.

Kutaisi is big on the restaurant and cafe scene, and a lot are in really interesting buildings: retro spaces with high ceilings, vintage decor, unassuming hidden nooks, riverside balconies, artwork from floor to ceiling. But it’s not ‘all style, no substance’. Some of the tastiest meals we have had in Georgia have been in Kutaisi!
This guide will pull together all our favourites, from the really budget places, to the no-quite-so-budget-but-still-budget-enough. You are sure to easily eat vegetarian in Kutaisi and not break the bank, unless you go to the Indian (but they serve some seriously good food there!).

Looking for things to do in Kutaisi, too? Check out this blog post.

And if you’re heading to Tbilisi next, find all the best spots for vegetarian food here.

Vegetarian in Kutaisi: Retro Restaurants

El Depo and El Paso for the Best Mushroom Khinkali

El Paso is a Georgian restaurant situated right on the main Colchis roundabout. It serves really tasty and soupy mushroom khinkali for a very small price – when we were there, the price was 80 tetri each. Because it is on the roundabout though, you are likely to find more tourists here, so for a more local feel, head over the river to the other branch, El Depo.

Sisters

Sisters is a beautiful restaurant tucked away on the first floor of what looks like a residential building. The restaurant has high ceilings, retro decor, and has live music (singing or piano playing, or both) in the evenings.  Give the pkhali, lobio, and ajapsandali a go. Good food in a characterful setting.

Story

Another restaurant with quirky interior, almost a 1920s feel about it. Story is situated about a ten minute walk out of the centre of town down the river, and with its lovely outdoor seating area overlooking the river Rioni, it’s the perfect spot for a drink. Try the lobiani, elarji, and our favourite; the mushrooms chips with coriander and mashed potato too.

The Biryani House

Some of the best Indian food that we have had outside of India. The food is fresh and the flavours are punchy, but not too heavy. The restaurant is a little further outside of the centre – about a 40 minute walk, but you could easily grab a Bolt to get you there for a few lari. They accept cash payment only, and are a little more pricey than the veggie dishes served elsewhere. But, the taste is outrageous and definitely worth the extra journey and extra money.

Palaty

Palaty is the only restaurant that we found in Kutaisi without service charge. We have had a couple of great meals here – khachapuri, pkhali, and mushroom soup. Or order yourself a bottle of wine and a plate of their local Imeretian cheese and have yourself a wine and cheese night! Really relaxed atmosphere with friendly staff.

Magnolia

Magnolia is set in another beautiful traditional building overlooking the river. There is an outside seating area with the traditional lacy-style blue balconies – try to snatch yourself a table here, right on the water! The vegetarian food here is really tasty. Try the Adjarian lobiani – the bread boat is really filled with the spiced bean mix and then topped with a variety of pickles. And the beetroot pkhali from here is a must too!

Cafe Newport

Cafe Newport is located inside a fancy hotel, and it definitely has that fancy feel about it. But the prices of the vegetarian food don’t reflect a fancy price tag. Try the ajapsandali, mushroom ojakhuri and the Adjarian khachapuri with spinach. Lovely stuff.

Vegetarian in Kutaisi: Cute Cafes

Cafe Sanimusho

Chris’ favourite spot for a ponchiki. Every time we walked past, he stopped in to grab one. This small bakery serves coffee and drinks as well as freshly baked sweet and savoury goods, and has a lunch deli section. Prime location in the centre of town.

Mini Art Cafe

Across the river, just outside of the main part of town, Mini Art Cafe is a small space covered with art from floor to ceiling. The space has a few tables inside and a few outside, and it is probably my favourite cafe in Kutaisi because of its character! They serve great coffee, and filled croissants to have with it – perfect. Maybe give the veggie breakfast a miss though.

Tea House Foe Foe

This cafe isn’t run by the friendliest people, but it’s worth going for a coffee just to see the place. It has such a unique decor – the cafe is set on a grand retro staircase, with tables and chairs arranged literally on the steps.

Mio

The best ice cream in town! Between us, we must have tried all of the flavours here. We always had to walk past Mio to get to our apartment in Kutaisi, and so naturally, we had to stop in each time.

Bread and Wine

Located inside the Green Bazaar, Bread and Wine serves (you guessed it) fresh bread baked in a traditional tone (similar to a tandoor oven) and wine. The fresh shoti really is perfect from here!

Biblus

I’d say this is the best spot in town for remote working. Tall ceilings, big windows, plenty of power outlets, good wifi, and good coffee. All the boxes ticked.

Cafe Gardenia

This cafe seems to only be open during the warmer months. Seating is placed along the river front, and is a lovely spot within the city centre to have a reasonably priced glass of wine overlooking the water.

Vegetarian restaurants or restaurants with vegetarian options are actually not too difficult to come by. You may be surprised, (we were!), that Georgian cuisine is actually vegetarian-friendly, unlike its other Caucasian neighbours.

Traditional Georgian cuisine has many dishes that are naturally vegetarian and even vegan, so there will be no awkward meals where the only items you can order are a salad and some chips. You’ll actually have options to choose from, which is definitely a luxury!

We travelled all around Georgia for six months, spending about two of these in Tbilisi, which definitely feels like a second home to us now! Georgian food really has to be one of THE most underrated cuisines, and while Tbilisi does an excellent job of showcasing its traditional food, it also has some fully vegan restaurants and plenty of really good Thai restaurants. 

This vegetarian guide to Tbilisi will show you all the best restaurants for vegetarian and vegan options that won’t break the bank.

Looking for things to do in Tbilisi in between all the eating? Take a look at this post – 35 unique things to do in Tbilisi

And if you’re travelling more around the Caucasus, take a look at our vegetarian restaurant guide for Yerevan.

Service Charge and Taxes

Vegetarian Georgian food often has the lower price tags, while the Thai and vegan food will be a little more expensive, but still reasonable.

One thing to be aware of, is that Georgian restaurants usually have a non-negotiable service charge. 10% is the norm, but make sure you check before ordering. We have seen some restaurants with a 20% service, or some with 10% service plus 18% VAT.

Top Tip – ‘The Law of Lobio’

My top tip for determining whether a restaurant’s prices are reasonable is to use ‘the law of lobio’. Lobio is a vegan spiced bean stew which is delicious. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner with some fresh shoti! This is not a proper recognised law (I know, you’re shocked), but it is a great benchmark for prices.

Anyway over the six months we spent in Georgia, we ate our fair share of lobio, and it should cost anywhere between 8 and 12 GEL (as of 2023). If the lobio is wildly more expensive than this, I’d say it’s a key indicator that you’re at a pricey joint.

Vegetarian Guide to Tbilisi

The Local Spots

Ortachala

A little out of the main part of the city, Ortachala doesn’t tend to get many tourists. The prices are decent and the food is great. Make sure you order the stewed mushrooms with tarragon. They’re not actually stewed, but are fried until chewy and meaty and, I kid you not, they remind me of salt and pepper ribs from a Chinese takeaway back home! Lobio, khachapuri, aubergine rolls with walnut spread, everything we had was great.

Georgian House

This looks like a fancy establishment when you walk in, and we were expecting the prices of the food to reflect that. However, the prices seemed on par with other restaurants that we had visited. There was live singing and music and the food was all tasty. Lobio, pkhali and oyster mushrooms with a litre of homemade wine. Yes, please!

Cafe Daphna

Our top pick for the Georgian khinkali (essentially big soupy dumplings). It doesn’t get much better than the garlicky mushroom khinkali and the dambalkhacho gooey blue cheese crisp khinkali. Lovely.

Racha

Set in what feels like a basement wine cellar, Racha is perfect for an inexpensive but tasty meal. Try the punchy ajapsandali, classic Georgian salad with walnut dressing and a lobio. There is no service charge and only cash payment is accepted.

Funicular

Again, another one that looks like it would be dead posh and expensive. And I’m sure if you ordered the meaty dishes, it would be. However, the veggie bakery bits aren’t pricey.

Located in Mtatsminda Park, you’ll need to either earn your meal by hiking up all the steps from town or get the funicular up. Try the donut filled with spiced potato, and the donut filled with cream (known as a ponchiki).

Klike’s Khinkali

Another basement restaurant that serves good khinkali filled with mushroom, and cheesy potato. The only thing to note here, is that the service is 18%. But even still, a meal of khinkali is inexpensive.

Wine Line Cellar

The least expensive sit down meal that we had during our time in Tbilisi was here. Lobio, Adjarian khachapuri and aubergine walnut spread rolls for 20 GEL (less than £7) and it fed the two of us.

Radio Cafe

A relaxed restaurant with streetside seating. The restaurant serves up a platter of three mini khachapuri of different varieties, just in case you can’t decide.

Gunda Bakery – now closed

It genuinely makes me sad that this bakery has closed; it was at the very top of my list. I’m leaving it on the list though as I am hopeful that it will reopen!

At the very top of your list needs to be Gunda Bakery. Specialising in the Georgian classic of khachapuri, and all its regional varieties, this is our favourite spot for Georgian cheesy, doughy perfection.

The Brunch/Lunch/Falafel Spots

Bagelin

This is THE place to go. The location in the centre of a car park seems a bit odd, and Google Maps isn’t sure on how to get there, but the bagels are outrageous! There is a whole section for vegan bagels, and there are plenty of veggie options too. We went for the ‘brekkie’ and the ‘mushy’ on adjika spiced bagels, and they were both divine.

Darani

A small and atmospheric underground restaurant that is fully vegan serves great falafel and hummus. Try the falafel pita with salad, hummus, pickles and tahini. Beautiful.

Falafel Box

A vegetarian restaurant serving Lebanese cuisine. You’ll find options such as shakshuka, tabbouleh, fattoush. We tried the falafel wrap and the scrambled egg wrap and both were tasty yet inexpensive.

Brunch and Dine

This small place serves some healthy and tasty food. Chia puddings, sandwiches, salads, brunches. Be wary of the secret 15% service charge.

Tumtum

Tumtum serves a tasty falafel wrap for a good price.

Iveria Cafe

This cafe has nice views over the city and serves breakfast/brunch at pretty reasonable prices. Scrambled egg, avo toast, good coffee: you can’t go wrong.

The Vegan Spots

Kiwi Vegan Café

We love a place where do you don’t have to double check with the server that your meal won’t turn up with meat in it. Shawarma, burgers, noodles, tofu! Since we have been travelling, finding a restaurant serving tofu is an absolute winner. They are one in a million. And they know what they’re doing.

Comfort Kitchen

A little pricier if you go for the main meals, but they sound amazing! On more of a budget, we went for the less expensive options. Sausage platter, hummus and falafel, chickpea tuna open sandwich: all great. And another thing to note is that the sell their tofu by weight for you to take away to cook yourself. It is really some beautifully textured, soft tofu.

The Sweet Spots

Uli

Uli is famous for its croffle, and I am not exaggerating when I tell you that we were both shocked at how delicious it is. The croffle is a croissant dough cooked in a waffle iron. Topped with a pistachio cream, caramel drizzle and raspberries, this was phenomenal.

The Thai Spots

The Thai food in Tbilisi is great, and there are loads of restaurants to choose from. Our favourite spots were Gamarjoba, Tom Yam and Pad Thai. Serving punchy curries and chewy noodles, you can’t really go wrong with what you order.

The Drink Spots

Cafe Linville

The entrance to this cafe/restaurant is enough reason to go. Open the doors and walk up the wonky staircase to the retro/grandma’s house decor. Order yourself a bottle of wine (like we did) or stay for a meal. But, honestly just visiting for a drink is an experience in itself.

Tipsy Bee Bar

Set in the heart of Tbilisi old town, this bar serves drinks and bar snacks. You will inevitably bump into other Brits here. Grab yourself a drink and the chips topped with mushroom stroganoff. Lovely.

Vera Garden

This cafe has an outside seating area (which isn’t so easy to come by in Tbilisi) and has a really relaxed atmosphere.

Chacha Time

Trying chacha in Georgia is a must. This bar serves the strong local spirit in different varieties and flavours.

Where to Stay in Tbilisi

We stayed at Magnolia, which is a lovely hotel with beautiful rooms with big windows, so that you can catch the stunning sunrise each morning! They serve a buffet breakfast, and have a roof terrace too.

Not only does Georgia have phenomenally tasty food, there are some great Georgian drinks to pair with the food too. This little-known country in the Caucasus, sandwiched between Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, is the oldest wine-making country and continues to make delicious wines to this day. It is actually recognised as THE birthplace of wine due to the findings of the world’s oldest wine making vessels.

Have you ever seen a bottle of Georgian wine on the shelves at home? I, sure as hell, have not. It’s such a shame!

As well as the country’s alcoholic drinks, there are many unique soft drinks. Some have intriguing flavours that will take a while to get your head around, but nonetheless are worth it for the experience.

Should any drink ever really be tarragon flavoured?!

This Georgian drinks guide will give you an idea of what unique drinks to look out for in the shops and restaurants when you visit this spectacular country.

Georgian Drinks

Wine

Of course this has to be right at the very top. Georgia is synonymous with wine; it essentially is wine country. Many wines are produced using traditional methods of fermenting whole grapes (seeds, stalks and all) in qvevri clay vessels buried underground.

Probably Georgia’s most famous grape variety and subsequent wine is saperavi. If red wine isn’t your thing (like me), the white wines are beautiful too. Grab a glass of Tsindandali, Tsolikauri, or Pirosmani. 

The Kakheti region in the east of the country is the top wine region in the country. And fortunately, it’s only two and half hours away from Tbilisi by marshrutka. Or if you’re interested in learning more about the history of Georgia’s wine making, I thoroughly recommend Tbilisi’s Wine Museum.

Chacha

After the wines are made, the grape leftovers are fermented and distilled to create the punchy spirit. Sitting somewhere between 40 – 60 % alcohol, this is a perfect after-dinner digestif. Or a bit of courage to gear you up for a hike!

Beer

Now, I’m definitely not the expert on beer. But I know someone who really does like beer! According to Chris, Georgia’s beer is pretty bloody good. And there are plenty of different local varieties to try. Chris’s favourites are Kazbegi, Black Lion, Argo, and Zedazeni.

Kisturi Beer

My favourite Georgian beer on the other hand, isn’t actually beer. The Kist people are Chechen Georgians who sought refuge in Georgia during the Chechen wars.

A largely Muslim community living in Pankisi Valley, they do not drink alcohol (apart from this one guy we found, but that’s a story for another day!). So instead they brew their own non-alcoholic beer, and it really is good. Fermented with rosehip and black hawthorn, the beer has a fruity flavour but is not overly sweet.

Lemonade

Georgia’s beer companies also tend to produce ‘lemonade’. Georgian lemonade refers to flavoured fizzy soft drinks which are not necessarily lemon flavoured. And there are some flavours that you will recognise from back home, others not so much. Lemon, pear, blueberry – standard stuff; vanilla, cream, tarragon, saperavi – not so much.

Honestly though, these different flavours are so interesting. Give the tarragon a go. It’s fluorescent green and the most bizarre taste to get your head around, but that’s all part of the experience! FYI – these drinks are super sweet.

Laghidze Water

Another interesting Georgian soft drink. A flavoured syrup is added to the glass and then topped up with sparkling water. Again the flavours aren’t exactly what you would expect.

The most bizarre and interesting that we tried was chocolate. Chocolate flavoured fizzy water? Yes. All the chocolate taste without the creaminess. Once my head worked it all out, it was actually pretty good.

Kompot

A sweet and fruity drink made by cooking fruit in a large volume of water. You’ll find loads of different varieties with different types of fruit. It’s a classic drink that is often made at home.

We were even gifted some by an old man who invited us into his house for a coffee in Pankisi Valley (the fellar with a secret chacha stash I mentioned earlier!).

Mineral Waters

Georgia is home to many natural springs releasing water full of minerals. While this mineral-rich water has medicinal properties, it also gives the water a ‘taste’ which was quite shocking on first try.

For the ‘cleanest’ tasting sparkling water, go for Nabeghlavi. If you fancy trying some sparkling waters with more ‘taste’ shall we say, go for Sairme, Kobi or Borjomi. Or even head to Borjomi to try the warm mineral water straight from the spring – now that is an acquired taste!

Georgian Tea

Although not currently well known for its tea, Georgia used to actually be a huge tea producer back during the days of the Soviet Union. The tropical West of Georgia has the perfect conditions for growing tea. However, the growing demand for tea meant that the Soviets started pushing for quantity over quality, veering away from the traditional methods. By the fall of the Soviet Union, Georgian tea production had fallen apart. 

Today, Guria is the heart of tea production. You can find tea plantations and the odd Soviet factory that has been restored/maintained, as well as much smaller artisanal operations. Quality is the priority now, and the teas we tried were even organic.

Head over to Ozurgeti to the Anaseuli factories to taste the real deal, or learn all about Georgian tea at Tibadze Tea Shop in Tbilisi that also has a small museum and tasting options.