Georgian Vegan Food & Tbilisi’s Top Vegan Restaurants

Travelling as a vegan tends to be a challenge, but Georgia and particularly Tbilisi have got you covered. No need to order just the sad side salad and chips. Georgian vegan food will keep you full and it’ll be tasty!

So, not only do most restaurants have at least a handful of naturally vegan local dishes, Tbilisi also has several completely vegan restaurants, as well as Asian restaurants which tend to be a little easier on the vegan front.

If you’ve not heard about Georgian food, I really think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

We have put together this guide after spending about six months in Tbilisi and hunting down and searching for all the vegetarian food, which also often tends to be vegan in Georgia.

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Naturally Vegan Georgian Dishes

Georgian Salad

A Georgian salad is a classic mixture of tomato and cucumber with some Georgian magic. You’ll find two different versions: one with Kakhetian sunflower oil and one with bazhe (walnut dressing). Sunflower oil grown in the Kakheti wine region is stunningly delicious.

We took my family to Café Daphna in Tbilisi where we ordered the salad. It was so good that we asked what was in the dressing. The answer: it was just Kakhetian sunflower oil. Our minds were blown.

The walnut dressing is very different but equally as delicious – walnut paste with garlic and herbs. Beautiful stuff.

Pkhali 

From the Imereti region in the west of Georgia, pkhali is usually a mix of walnuts with some kind of veg and herbs blended to a paste and rolled into balls. They are served cold and are a great fresh hit to eat with some bread. Variations that we have tried have been spinach, pumpkin, beetroot, and carrot.

Beetroot in Tkemali

A cold salad of beetroot mixed in with tkemali, which is a sour plum sauce.

Lobio

Lobio is a delicious hearty, thick bean stew cooked with lots of fresh parsley and coriander. It’s perfect with some bread and a Georgian salad. It is generally served hot but you will find some places that serve it cold. Cold versions generally have much punchier flavours, while the hot versions are more stodgy and comforting.

Beware that there are also variations topped with Racha ham, but this is very much the exception and not the standard.

Ajapsandali

Another classically vegan dish is served both hot and cold and arguably the cold version is better! This vegetable stew consists of aubergine, tomato, pepper, onion, but we have had several other veg thrown in on some occasions. It can be a bit hit or miss unfortunately. We have had some incredible ajapsandali, but equally we have some pretty shit and bland ajapsandali.

Crispy Tarragon Wood Mushrooms

Yep, these guys are as good as they sound. Crispy garlic, tarragon, chilli, mushrooms, and a load of salt. Served sizzling in a clay ketsi pot, the tasty oil left in the bottom is delicious mopped up with some bread. Georgia has great mushrooms and makes some delicious mushroom dishes so you’ll find many different variations at different restaurants – just double check the ingredients with the waiter before ordering!

Mushrooms on Ketsi

Regular button mushrooms cooked in a ketsi clay pot with a little salt. There are variations with sulguni cheese, and double-check that no butter is used!

Jonjoli

This lightly pickled bladdernut flower is a favourite to add with lobio. Light, floral, with a little crunch and acidity, I really like them to balance out a dish.

Churchkela

Georgia’s favourite, walnuts, are strung up on a thread before being dunked into a grape juice and cornflour sticky mixture. They are they hung up and dried out until the fruity casing has a chewy, rubbery texture. You’ll find variations with different nuts and fruit juice mixtures.

Traditional Georgian Wine

Georgia is recognised as the world’s oldest wine-making region. Ancient qvevri (clay wine-making vessels) have been found in Georgia that date back 8,000 years. Yes, you read that right! The traditional method involves chucking the whole grape – seeds, stems, skins – straight into the underground qvevri and leaving it to ferment without any intervention of animal products. And it’s delicious! Although you can’t guarantee that this is the case for every single Georgian wine, as always, double-check.

Traditional Chacha

Georgia’s beloved spirit is potent! Made by distilling the leftovers from the grapes after making wine, this has a grappa/brandy feel. 

Dishes that feel like they should be vegan, but might not be

Mushroom Khinkali

Georgia is famous for its khinkali (soupy dumplings) and they even have a mushroom filling option. Whether it is vegan or not depends on who makes the dough – sometimes egg is incorporated, sometimes it isn’t.

Lobiani

A spiced bean-stuffed bread seems innocent enough, however, egg is often added to the bread dough, so double-check before ordering.

Mushroom and Potato Ojakhuri

Ojakhuri literally means ‘family style’, so you’ll get big chunks of potato and mushroom cooked with garlic, onion, chilli, coriander and a big pinch of salt. But, it’s the cooking fat that could be a problem.

Why is Georgian Cuisine Naturally Vegan-Friendly?

Georgia is traditionally an Orthodox Christian country and devout Orthodox often ‘fast’ twice per week. ‘Fast’ is the term used in Georgia to describe eating largely vegetarian/vegan. So, because of this, the cuisine naturally has several dishes that are vegan. If you’re at a restaurant, you may see a separate ‘fasting’ menu.

Vegan Restaurants…

…that we have tried ourselves

The Georgian cuisine is pretty vegan-friendly in general, so you will be able to go to restaurants even in the remotest corners of the country and find some of these dishes listed above. Check out our favourite restaurants in Tbilisi for our top recommendations, but if you’re looking for restaurants that are vegan-specific, try these ones out:

Magic Rafa

📍 24 Alexander Griboedov St.

Ok, so not technically a restaurant, but a vegan hot dog stand! Grab yourself a hot dog while you’re wandering around the city.

Kiwi Vegan Café

📍 6 Ivane Machabeli St.

Good, old, trusty, faithful. Find noodle dishes, sandwiches and burgers, tofu and seitan, salads, soups. There is a huge menu full of healthy choices as well as not so healthy.

Muhudo

📍 2 Mikheil Zandukeli St.

Georgia’s very best falafel wrap comes from right here. Exclusively serving falafel, Muhudo does not mess around! Crisp falafel, loads of fresh crunchy veg and a creamy tahini sauce, we have eaten falafel here more times than I would be able to count. Portions are big, the food is delicious, the service is a little cold, but you’re here for the falafel!

Stricha

📍 16 Anton Purtseladze St.

A cute vegan spot kind of hidden from the main road has a small inside seating area and a larger outside spot. There is a huge variety of drinks, always freshly baked pastries, cakes etc. cooked breakfasts, burgers, sandwiches, salads.

…that we have heard amazing things about!

Plantastic Kitchen

📍 17 Giorgi Akhvlediani St.

We tried to visit but the kitchen wasn’t open yet. They serve vegan fast food – think burgers, kebabs, sandwiches, hot dogs, but also breakfast bowls with tofu scramble and even a vegan khachapuri! The place has an American diner feel about and the staff are super friendly.

Billy Café

📍 21 Besik St.

We wanted to go here so badly but never actually made it. The main reason I particularly wanted to try it out was for the vegan chicken kiev with mashed potato and coriander sauce, which sounded divine. Find vegan versions of Georgian classics such as lobiani (a bean stuffed bread) and khachapuri (cheese stuffed bread), as well as falafel, dolma, cauliflower nuggets, etc.

Shpana

📍 34 Giorgi Chitaia St.

So, even though we never made it here, our friend visited with here mum (a non-vegan) and they tried the vegan Adjarian khachapuri, which is a boat-shaped bread with melted cheese and a runny egg yolk in the centre. It sounded like something that would have been near on possible to replicate without the egg and dairy.

However, her non-vegan mum raved about it so much so that she said it was the best Adjarian khachapuri she had tried in Georgia full stop. Yep, don’t tell the Georgians that she said that!

Travelling as a vegan can be quite a challenge, but Tbilisi is somewhere that you really will not struggle to find good, tasty vegan food. And on top of that, many of the cafes serve non-dairy milk options. Tbilisi has you covered!

See our other Tbilisi post for all the best things to do in Tbilisi (when you’re not eating and drinking, that is).

Where to Stay in Tbilisi

If you’re going to do a lot of eating in Tbilisi (which I wholeheartedly recommend!), you’ll need to somewhere to lay down and stretch out your belly afterwards. We recommend Apartment in Old City Center 👇

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