Kutaisi and Tbilisi, July 2026

Four days coming down from the Caucasus into two Georgian cities, after a landslide cut the mountain half of the trip short.

The second half of an anniversary trip to Georgia, after eight nights walking in Svaneti. A landslide closed the road out of Ushguli a day early, so we traded a rest day in the mountains for an extra one in Tbilisi.

The Mtkvari river at night in Tbilisi with Sameba cathedral lit gold on the hill above. Panorama over the whole of Tbilisi from high on the ridge on a bright hazy afternoon.

Kutaisi

Jul 20: Grand Opera Hotel, 4 Shota Rustaveli Ave

Sitting outside at Wine Vibes in Kutaisi, a glass of amber wine on a wine barrel table, mural and painted checkerboard pavement behind. A clay bowl of tomato and cucumber salad and a bowl of green leaves at Gala in Kutaisi. Mushroom khinkali, dolma in sauce and a large quartered lobiani at Gala.

Mon Jul 20: Down from the mountains. A 6 AM taxi out of Ushguli to Mestia, then a marshrutka south. The marshrutka itself was fine. The café stop partway lasted forty five minutes and got very hot with no air conditioning, which is a particular kind of shock when you have spent a week at altitude.

We took a cheap Bolt from the bus station to the hotel and sat in the air conditioning for a while doing nothing. Then we went out for a run and got extremely sweaty, had a cold shower, and it was wine o’clock.

The Grand Opera Hotel sits right next to a large, lively park. After eight nights of guesthouses we spent a good part of the evening making jokes about doors that lock and floors that are flat. The absence of fitted sheets across Svaneti had started to wear on Sarah by the end, so a made bed counted for a lot.

Drinks first at Wine Vibes, which has a huge collection and a man behind the bar who was excellent, talking Sarah through recommendations and pouring her tastings. Then dinner at Gala, which was the best meal of the trip to that point. A spacious, well-decorated dining room looking onto the park, friendly and attentive staff, and very reasonable prices. We had mushroom khinkali, lobiani, a green salad, a cucumber and tomato salad, and dolma. The mushroom khinkali and the lobiani were the standouts, and the mushroom khinkali in particular set off a craving that ran for the rest of the trip.

That is an unfair comparison, of course. It was being judged against a week of guesthouse trekking food. But it was very good regardless. A quick grocery stop afterwards for milk and yoghurt, and an early night.

Tbilisi

Jul 21 to 24: Communal Plekhanovi Hotel

North London Forever sprayed in red on a Tbilisi wall beside an Arsenal cannon and the word Gooners. Sarah on a tree-lined boulevard holding an enormous piece of lavash in one hand and an iced matcha in the other. A tabby cat being scratched on a pile of patterned fabric at Vintylator, racks of vintage clothes and old suitcases behind. A glass of amber wine on a terrace table above the river, cushions on the bench and a cable car crossing the sky. Pkhali at Sofiko: three coloured walnut pastes on bread with pomegranate seeds, a salad and a round loaf. Chicken ojakhuri with potatoes and fried onions, a bowl of lobio, and the pkhali board at Sofiko.

Tue Jul 21: Train east. Hotel breakfast in Kutaisi with a lot of vegetables and fruit. The concierge told us to allow thirty minutes at the station before departure, which turned out to be twenty nine more than we needed. The train to Tbilisi takes three and a half hours, and it was busy without being uncomfortable, with enough space and no real heat.

This was the day we would not otherwise have had. Cutting Ushguli short bought it, and it went almost entirely on wandering.

We dropped the bags and went out to a small market for tomatoes and cucumbers, then an iced matcha at Ginza Matcha, because Tbilisi in late July is hot, and an ice cream for Sarah at Ice Crime, which is the actual name of the shop. We stopped at a traditional bakery for lavash and had a picnic in the shade in a park, which was the best possible use of that afternoon. Somewhere on the walk we passed a wall with “North London Forever” and an Arsenal cannon sprayed on it, which is not what I had expected to find in Georgia.

Then vintage shopping at Vintylator on the way to dinner. Sarah found a shirt and a dress, I found a shirt, and there is a very good cat downstairs.

Drinks first at a wine bar called Teresa, which was not amazing. There was club music playing and Sarah’s wine was nothing special, which was funny set against Wine Vibes the night before. The views were good though, the weather was lovely, and sitting outside was no hardship.

Dinner at Sofiko on Dzmebi Zdanevichebi, recommended by Chris and Jane. Lovely outdoor terrace and good food. Pkhali to start, then chicken ojakhuri, a few salads and some lobio. We walked back to the hotel along the river.

Empty riverside promenade in Tbilisi early in the morning, glass towers and a bridge under a mackerel sky. Breakfast at Brod: a single slice of sourdough with two boiled eggs, cheese, fig chutney and herb butter, plus a yoghurt and granola bowl. A bakery counter with labelled cakes including a vegan carrot cake at 8 GEL, a cannele and cookies. A clay bowl of tomato, cucumber and onion salad and a bowl of green leaves on a marble table. Five mushroom khinkali on a patterned plate. Panorama over the whole of Tbilisi from high on the ridge. Looking down over Tbilisi from inside the gondola, the cable visible above. Sarah and Tyler in a leafy Tbilisi park at golden hour with a cat on a ledge behind.

Wed Jul 22: A city again. Being back in a city after the mountains was mildly overstimulating, in a good way.

We went for a run north along the river in the morning. It is tree-lined and pretty, and it runs right beside a road, so there is noise and traffic fumes the whole way. Very few pedestrian crossings, though also very few traffic lights to stop at, which roughly cancels out.

Breakfast at Brod, a Danish bakery, which was good but arrived with far too little bread for the quantity of butter, jam and eggs served alongside. One slice. Everything on it was delicious, there was simply a ratio problem. Coffee and carrot cake nearby afterwards at Shavi.

The mushroom khinkali from Gala were still on my mind two days later, so we went to Pkhali Khinkali for lunch and had them again, with a few salads alongside.

In the afternoon Sarah got her nails done and I walked up to Turtle Lake, carried on over to Mtatsminda Park, the amusement park on the ridge, and took the cable car back down. The view from up there covers the whole city. The walk came in at 14.36 km and 582 m of climbing over about three hours. Strava

Dinner was at Reserve, which gets its own section below.

A slice of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and seeds beside a black coffee at Tsvari Roasters. Sarah and Tyler in front of Holy Trinity Cathedral with the stone crosses lining the approach in hard midday sun. A produce stall stacked with blueberries, raspberries, plums, figs, apples, pomegranates and cherries. Sarah in the old town in front of a plywood hoarding painted with large black leaping cats, one batting a paper aeroplane. An aubergine and vegetable stew and a large fresh salad with tomato, cucumber, radish and a whole green pepper at Asi Khinkali. The wider table at Asi Khinkali: a round lobiani scattered with herbs, a green herb soup, salads and grilled meat with onion. Five mushroom khinkali on a teal plate with the stew and salads around it.

Thu Jul 23: Last full day. Another run for both of us, then coffee and carrot cake at Tsvari Roasters. The carrot cake was moist and excellent and comfortably better than the one the day before.

We walked up to Holy Trinity Cathedral, which is far newer than it looks: built between 1995 and 2002 and consecrated in 2004. We did not go inside. It requires covered legs and we were in shorts in thirty degree heat, which felt like a fight we were going to lose.

Lunch was another picnic, vegetables from a market stall and lavash from a bakery. Then through the old town for souvenirs, and a stop at a bakery we happened to walk past for kada, the traditional sweet pastry: round and layered, with a golden, slightly caramelised crust and a sugar and butter filling, sometimes semolina or nuts depending on the region. Flaky and rich, somewhere between a shortcrust tart and a coffee cake.

Cold shower, chill hotel time, then an amber wine for Sarah at Flying Cafe, which is well decorated with chilled jazz playing.

For the last dinner I wanted mushroom khinkali one more time. By this point it had become a bit of an obsession. We wanted somewhere nearby and traditional and went to Asi Khinkali, which was excellent. The lobiani and the veal chakhokhbili were the highlights, alongside a final fill of mushroom khinkali.

Fri Jul 24: Home. A Bolt to the airport and the 7:10 AM to Heathrow, landing at 10 AM. Home on Friday morning.

Reserve, course by course

The Reserve tasting menu, Colors of Georgia, listing eight courses at 220 GEL. An amuse of a small fried croquette with a cucumber slice and chive on white sauce. Bread service: a dark rustic loaf torn into pieces with butter. Lobio and shkmeruli: a black bowl of purple speckled beans with a chicken element and a green-topped tartlet under a white coral tuile. Chakapuli: sliced pink veal on a deep green tarragon sauce under a large airy foam bubble. Trout in kindzmari: a trout fillet with shaved fennel and dots of cilantro sauce. Imeretian adjika: a wrapped terrine cylinder standing on an oak block with dill and micro greens. Megrelian kharcho: beef with orange walnut sauce, a green crisp, edible flowers and a slab of ghomi. Adjarian khachapuri: a small boat of bread with a quail egg yolk and a knob of butter. Satsivi: chicken in pale walnut sauce with a fried chvishtari rectangle and basil. Churchkhela dessert: dark Saperavi sorbet, gozinaki rounds, cherries and a bright yellow pumpkin ice cream quenelle.

Reserve sits in a park, secluded, and we ate outside. The service was excellent. We had mentioned it was an anniversary trip when booking and were brought a glass of sparkling wine on arrival without any fuss being made of it.

We both took the Colors of Georgia tasting menu, 220 GEL, eight courses, each one a regional dish rebuilt. Sarah added the three-wine pairing at 51 GEL; there is a seven-wine set at 108. Bread and an amuse arrive first and are not listed on the menu. The pacing was right, the explanations were interesting rather than rehearsed, and it was surprisingly quiet for what it is.

  1. Lobio and shkmeruli. Beans, corn pastry, chicken.
  2. Chakapuli. Veal, plums, tarragon.
  3. Trout in kindzmari. Cilantro sauce, green vegetables. Sarah’s pick of the fish courses.
  4. Imeretian adjika. Beans, pork, crispy lavash.
  5. Megrelian kharcho. Beef stew, walnuts, ghomi. My pick of the eight.
  6. Adjarian khachapuri. Sulguni cheese, quail egg. A miniature of the boat-shaped classic, and we both loved it.
  7. Satsivi. Chicken, walnut sauce, chvishtari.
  8. Churchkhela. Saperavi, gozinaki, pumpkin.

One criticism, and it is the only one. Dessert should have been split into two courses. There were a lot of different flavours on one plate, and with ice cream and sorbet melting on it there was a time pressure that the rest of the meal had carefully avoided.

Best sweet treat

Carrot cake at Tsvari Roasters, Tbilisi, Jul 23. Moist, properly frosted, and the clear winner of the two carrot cakes we ate on consecutive mornings.

Honourable mention to the kada from the old town bakery on the last afternoon.

Practical notes

Kutaisi to Tbilisi by train. Three and a half hours, busy but with enough space, and not hot. Thirty minutes at the station beforehand is about twenty nine more than you need.

Where to stay in Tbilisi. Communal Plekhanovi worked for us: about a kilometre from the river, with restaurants, wine bars, coffee and vintage shops within a ten minute walk, and none of the tourist-heavy feel of the old town. The suite had a tub and a balcony and looked elegant, though it was a little form over function. Every side table was too small to put a cup of tea and a hat on, and the coffee machine was jammed inside the wardrobe. The staff were exceptionally friendly and found us decaf pods on request.

Eat. Gala in Kutaisi, for the mushroom khinkali and the lobiani, at prices that seem like a mistake. Reserve in Tbilisi for fine dining. Asi Khinkali for the traditional version of the same thing. Mushroom khinkali was my favourite thing I ate in Georgia.