Tbilisi

I have been to Tbilisi twice and have had very pleasant meals both times. As a starter, the spicy beef soup is fantastically tasty with plenty of meat; most of the other starters are vegetarian. On the mains, I have tried a fried pork dish and a spicy lamb dish; a friend had the lamb casserole and could not praise it highly enough. The mains generally come with side orders of rice and delicious salad, in which coriander is one of the flavourings. I loook forward to sampling the chicken in a walnut or plum sauce. The Georgian house wine is very pleasant.

There is no provision on the menu to have side dishes or salad as an accompaniment to the mains, which seemed a little strange - when I enquired whether a side order of fried potatoes or salad were available, I was told this was not possible. While the food is delicious, the portions are modest and a starter is definitely needed as a prelude to the main if one is to emerge replete from this restaurant.

Service is good with pleasant staff, and the decor and layout of the restaurant make it very comfortable.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 7
Saturday, August 23, 2008

Went to Tbilisi yesterday to celebrate my birthday with 5 friends (plus one baby). Everything about the place was just so lovely and just right! The atmosphere was relaxed and with very nice, calm background music that never got too loud so that you couldn't hear what people were saying.

The food was delicious and portions were well sized too. We had a 2 course meal and 3 bottles of wine and the bill came to £23 each which I think is very good value for money.

The staff were great too -making sure we were all doing well and even warmed the baby's food for us! The only thing to improve is to have high chairs for babies, but apart from that it was, with no doubt, a very good choice of where to go to celebrate your birthday with friends!

:)
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, March 16, 2008

Excellent home-made style cooking.

Enjoyed our dinner and will return again.

We found the staff friendly but not too communicative, a few more smiles all around would probably help lighten the atmosphere a little - but nevertheless an enjoyable evening.

For four of us it was extremely reasonable - £27 per head for 2 courses + coffees with 2 bottles of wine.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Sunday, February 17, 2008

Three of us went to Tbilisi on Saturday night after reading pretty positive reviews. Overall I thought the food was very good to excellent. I had the tarragon lamb as a main and thought it was excellent. The other food was generally very good. The Georgian semi-sweet wine was also very good.

It was packed on the night with 2 large groups of 12-15 people, but it wasn't too noisy. The staff let us linger even though they were turning away people looking for tables.

The main problem we had was with the bill. On our bill was added 17.5% for VAT. We mentioned to the waiter that it was extremely unusual for VAT to not already be included and if this was the case, it should really state this on the menu. He then seemed to get confused with the 12.5% service charge they add to parties of 5 or more, so seemed to miss our point entirely.

Overall it was still decent value, but it's very strange to have the VAT added at the end. Sort of ended the experience on a down note.

This was my first time having Georgian cuisine and I definitely recommend it. Overall Tbilisi was a great meal and a decent dining experience. If you're trying to watch the pennies, though, ask about the VAT policy beforehand.
Comment on this reader review

Kevin
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, January 14, 2008

Great food and wine. Service was pretty good too.

One small point - they should get a high chair for kids.

Otherwise great value for money.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Friday, December 07, 2007

We went to Tbilisi for a 'girly' dinner mid-week (which is probably why it was only half full) and had a great evening! Lovely starters to share (cheese bread, one spinach dish and one aubergine) but the real 'stroke of genius' was my friend's suggestion to order 'dumplings' (don't remember the correct georgian word for it on the menu) from the main courses list as a starter for all of us to share - and they were absolutely DELICIOUS!! I had a beautiful spicy lamb bake with aubergines, tomatoes and potatoes, and a couple of my friends enjoyed chicken satsivi. No room left for desert unfortunately… So overall a lovely evening with very tasty food and brilliant value for money.
Comment on this reader review

OB - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Thursday, April 26, 2007

I had my birthday dinner here, about 10 of us. The food is really great, the kind of food that when you stand up makes you wish you hadn't eaten so much! There were both veg and meat eaters present and all were happy. Great value for money too.
Comment on this reader review

Annie
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, April 23, 2007

This was the second time I went to Tbilisi in the past few months. Each time the food has been excellent. On both occasions I tried all the main courses, (six altogether,) and would be happy to have devoured any of them.

I am not a fan of sweet red wine, which is apparently the Georgian speciality, and therefore endured rather than enjoyed the wine on my first visit. Tonight, however, we ordered the house red, (because I'm too mean to pay very much for unwelcome booze.) This was, however, pleasingly dry, and actually quite good.

The service is just how I like it: i.e. rather laid back. We did not feel breathed upon, and were in fact the last to leave; yet there was no pressure to do so. Thus I award it high marks, but others might prefer a more toadying service.

The food is very rich, (not for the aspiring size zero,) and very tasty. The decor would seem to invite smart rather than casual, although we were welcomed tonight in scruffy jeans with no eyebrows raised. If you wanted to pretend to be Eastern European Mafia, then this would be your restaurant of choice. Perhaps Roman Abramovich eats here when Chelsea play Arsenal, (it's a short walk from Emirates).

For those who are curious as to Georgian cuisine, and for those who appreciate mouth-watering slow cooked meat, give Tbilisi a try.
Comment on this reader review

tomsk - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Thursday, March 15, 2007

We would agree with other reviewers that this place really lacks atmosphere, and could be any anonymous chain eaterie. The starters were fabulous, and the cheese bread in particular was absolutely delicious. After this, the main courses were somewhat disappointing, and seemed to lack the flair and taste of the starters. The service was somewhat slow, despite us arriving early in the evening when the restaurant was quiet. Overall, an average experience, and we probably wouldn't go back.
Comment on this reader review

JR - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 6
Saturday, January 27, 2007

I was happy when i have tried this other Georgian Restaurant in London, as restaurant MIMINO in Kensington was total disappointment with service , but food was great.

Tbilisi itself provides great service , prices and food too.

I’ll defiantly go there again
Comment on this reader review

James
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Friday, January 12, 2007