Georgian Food Guide: What to Eat in Georgia

Georgian food has quietly built an international following on its own merits, distinct from the country's scenery or wine. Two dishes anchor it: khachapuri and khinkali.

Khachapuri: the national dish

Khachapuri is cheese-filled bread, and it comes in regional variations across the country. The best-known outside Georgia is Adjaruli khachapuri, boat-shaped bread filled with cheese and topped with a raw egg and a pat of butter, stirred into the hot cheese at the table before eating. Imeretian khachapuri, a rounder, flatter version, is the more everyday variant found across the country.

Khinkali: the soup dumpling

Khinkali are dumplings, most commonly filled with spiced minced meat and a savoury broth sealed inside, though vegetarian versions with mushroom or potato filling are widely available. The correct way to eat them is by hand: pick up by the twisted knot at the top, take a bite from the side to release the broth first, then eat the rest, leaving the tough knot itself uneaten. Using a knife and fork on khinkali is considered a minor faux pas by locals and a genuine miss on the broth, the dish's whole point.

Georgian wine and qvevri

Wine is inseparable from Georgian food culture. The traditional method ferments and ages wine in qvevri, large clay vessels buried underground, producing a distinctly different character from oak or steel-aged wine, often more tannic with a deeper amber or orange colour for white grape varieties. Kakheti is the region most associated with this, and a wine-region day trip (covered in our dedicated Kakheti guide) is the best way to taste it at source.

The supra: Georgia's feast tradition

A supra is a traditional Georgian feast built around toasts led by a tamada, a designated toastmaster, moving through a set sequence of subjects, family, homeland, the departed. Tourist-facing versions of a supra are sometimes offered as an evening add-on on longer tours, particularly in Kakheti, and are worth experiencing at least once for the cultural context even if brief.

Other dishes worth seeking out

Beyond the two headline dishes, look for badrijani nigvzit (walnut-stuffed eggplant rolls), lobio (a bean stew, often served in a clay pot), and churchkhela, a strung-nut candy dipped repeatedly in grape juice thickened with flour, sold widely as a street snack and souvenir.

Where to eat

Tbilisi's Old Town has the highest density of Georgian restaurants aimed at both locals and visitors, but some of the best khinkali is found in unassuming, functional spots rather than polished tourist restaurants; a busy, simple-looking place is often a better sign than an elaborate menu.

Vegetarian and dietary considerations

Vegetarian options are genuinely accessible: cheese-based khachapuri, vegetable khinkali, badrijani and lobio all fit easily. Strict vegan travellers will need to check more carefully, since butter and cheese feature heavily across the cuisine's signature dishes.

A quick reference table

The one etiquette rule worth remembering

At any khinkali table, cutlery is optional but the twisted knot at the top is never eaten. Locals count uneaten knots on your plate as a rough (and good-natured) measure of how many you've had.

Street food and markets worth seeking out

Beyond restaurant khachapuri and khinkali, Tbilisi's markets and street stalls sell churchkhela and fresh bread straight from tone (clay oven) bakeries, worth trying for a cheap, genuine taste of daily Georgian eating rather than a restaurant version. Batumi's boulevard and Old Town also have their own street-food scene worth exploring separately from Tbilisi's.

Coffee culture as a side note

While wine dominates Georgia's drink culture, Tbilisi (particularly the Vera neighbourhood) has developed a genuinely good specialty coffee scene in recent years, worth knowing about if you want a break from wine tastings and toasts partway through a trip.

Dining costs to expect

A sit-down Georgian meal in Tbilisi typically runs modestly by European standards. A serving of five khinkali runs 10-25 GEL, roughly Rs 320-800, and Adjaruli khachapuri runs 9-12 GEL at a local spot, roughly Rs 290-385, climbing to 16-18 GEL, roughly Rs 510-575, at a tourist-facing restaurant near the main sights (TripRoadwayPlanner). A full local lunch with both dishes plus a drink runs 15-25 GEL, roughly Rs 480-800, while a mid-range restaurant meal runs 45-80 GEL per person, roughly Rs 1,450-2,600, comparable to a casual sit-down meal for two back home. Food rarely becomes the most expensive part of a Georgia trip, even eating out for every meal across a week.

Bringing the flavours home

Beyond bottled wine and chacha, dried herbs and spice blends used in Georgian cooking, along with churchkhela, travel well in check-in luggage and make for a more distinctive souvenir than the usual magnet or keychain, genuinely tied to what makes Georgian food memorable. Check India's customs allowance for food items before packing large quantities, but small amounts for personal use are a straightforward, no-fuss way to bring a piece of the trip back with you. Between the wine, the churchkhela and the memory of a good khinkali lunch, food ends up being one of the most talked-about parts of a Georgia trip long after the mountains fade from the photo roll.