Of all the traditional Georgian restaurants, Kakhelebi is the one most beloved by locals, who come for the delicious khinkali. The skin on these ethereal soup dumplings needs to be thin enough to show a shadow of meaty filling, but thick enough to hold in the savory juices. The khinkali at Kakhelebi achieve this ideal balance, which makes them well worth the short trip outside the city center. Or if you are heading east to the Kakheti region, it’s a perfect pit stop just off the highway.

This unassuming, out-of-the-way bakery is known for classics like lobiani, a Georgian bean-stuffed bread, khachapuri cheese bread, and the hard-to-come-by chubureki, a deep-fried turnover filled with juicy minced-meat stuffing. They all make for an indulgent breakfast, or take some treats to go and hop a taxi to the nearby Lisi lake for a waterfront lunch.

Amra specializes in Abkhazian cuisine, and also serves fantastic shkmeruli, a traditional chicken dish cooked in milk and garlic; cheesy, grits-like elarji; kharcho, a beef and rice soup, and smoked ham typical of the Racha highlands.

Elsa Kalandia opened her restaurant in 1980, serving exclusively dishes from her home region of Samegrelo. In 2001 Mapshalia moved to its current iconic location under the old Apollo theater, where it continues to offer consistently great food. An art nouveau relief depicting old Tbilisi covers two of the four walls, and Elsa is still there watching over the dining room every day, ensuring all whims are cared for. Don’t miss the elarji, best enjoyed with a side dish of kharcho, which is cooked in a walnut-tomato sauce. Wash it all down with a pitcher of the house wine.

Fabrika is a multipurpose complex with a number of restaurants, cafes, and bars as well as shops, a ceramics studio, and a hotel. Here you’ll find comforting bowls of ramen at Shio; freshly baked bread, local cheeses, and other small plates at Tone; and frothy pints from Georgia’s first microbrewery, Shavi Lomi, at Dive. The open-air space is packed most every night with a healthy mix of tourists and locals, and it’s the only one of its kind in Tbilisi. This is a must stop.

Then first floor of this publishing house-turned-hotel features three distinct food and beverage concepts: A cafe specializing in single-origin coffee roasted in-house and bean-to-bar chocolate; a restaurant serving European-style dishes made with local ingredients; and a bar mixing modern cocktails with homemade syrups and local herbs. All three concepts have become regular hotspots for locals as well as tourists.

The laid-back Keto and Kote does an excellent job of giving traditional foods a modern twist without losing their essence. The dolmas with sour cream and tarragon are superb, and the pesto cottage cheese khinkali are a uniquely Eurasian creation. Book in advance for dinner al fresco beneath the fig tree-shaded balcony overlooking the city.  

This tucked-away garden restaurant is a popular destination come summer. The menu is large, with a number of khinkali, salads, and traditional stews, but come for the amazing pelmeni, thin, unleavened dumplings cooked in a warm yogurt sauce. Also try the pkhali, a thick vegetable dip with walnuts, and one of the best Kakhetian salads in town. Finding the restaurant can be a challenge — when you reach the corner wine shop on Revaz Tabukashvili Street, turn into the curved alleyway and walk until you find the restaurant’s signature yellow door.

The city’s first natural-wine bar, Vino Underground was opened by seven of Georgia’s leading producers. If you’ve heard any buzz around Georgian natural wines, it’s largely thanks to these folks and the dedicated community of people who work here. The bartenders are all winemakers themselves and are happy to walk you through a tasting that highlights the country’s signature varietals and regions. There’s also a great selection of local cheeses, house-made charcuterie, and other shareable small plates. As the name implies, the bar is underground. For a sunnier daytime drink, take a bottle to go and find the stone stairway off nearby Beltemi street. It leads to one of the city’s most sweeping panoramas, complete with vine-shaded benches.

Salobie — from the Georgian word for bean stew, lobio — is a very old term that translates roughly to “the bean place.” Salobie’s version of lobio is widely hailed as one of the city’s best, and the rest of the menu is equally fantastic. The food and atmosphere are casual enough for a simple lunch, but special enough to warrant a celebratory night out. Don’t leave Georgia without coming here.

At this signless, dimly lit bar, Russian-born mixologist Roman Milostivy serves up wildly creative cocktails that riff on local traditions. Milostivy makes most of his own infusions, syrups, and liquors in-house with local ingredients, and the weekly menu is hand-written in a small black notebook. Customers can browse past and present offerings, or let Milostivy whip up something special just for them.

The name poliphonia is a reference to Georgia’s traditional polyphonic form of overtone song, and hints at this restaurant’s overall aim to celebrate local traditions. Poliphonia’s cave-like interior, wool carpets, classic style qvevri wines, and a seasonal menu all fit within the theme of old meets new. Dishes — many plant based — are smart takes on Gerorgian classics with an emphasis on fermentation.

Samgori metro station is where you’ll find all the small marshrutka buses to any destination in the eastern part of the country, and conveniently attached to it is Tbilisi’s best market. The produce here mostly comes from the local countryside, and vendors are happy to let you sample from their incredible selection of spices, nuts, and preserves. Graze through a number of small bakeries and eateries here for a nonchalant lunch, and be sure to scoop up some edible souvenirs to take home.