Barbar'a Bar — Restaurant in Tbilisi

Hate to be the odd one out in this case but here it goes.

Having lived in Georgia for almost 10 years and seen the development through the years, I've become some sort of restaurant food connoisseur. On the 9th, I ordered food worth over 100 gel comprising of the baked camembert, chicken candy, cheesecake and flirt passion sour.

Wolt estimated I'd receive the order in 30 minutes thereabouts but it ended up taking over an hour. I wasn't hungry and was just trying based on the good reviews so I wasn't concerned.

Food came, dug in upon accepting it. Food was cold and I didn't get a wow factor but I continued because why not.

The cheesecake while creamy was not packaged well, it was served in a plastic disposable container. The crust was non-existent, the filling smeared to accommodate the square shape of the plastic container.

I didn't enjoy the camembert because it was already cold :/

The cocktail was the star of it all.

The chicken roll wasn't what I expected from the ingredients, the sauce tasted nothing like coconut milk and the "salad" was more like dehydrated stale vegetable, nothing like romano or spinach as it should be. I just wasn't feeling it, the chicken didn't taste like chicken so I looked inside and alas, it wasn't cooked through. Immediately, I was disgusted and just put it away.

I very rarely get food poisoning and I've not in Georgia so far but this food wins at making me sick. Next day, I began feeling sick while doing something important, had to rush home. I laid down to rest thinking it's nothing, woke up feeling like death, literally couldn't do anything, I was so weak and experiencing other symptoms I typically don't exhibit.

It continued for 2 days before I decided to put my medical knowledge to use and thought it felt like typhoid. Off to the lab, the test confirmed it is indeed typhoid. I'm on antibiotics therapy and no longer feel like death.

The review isn't to dissuade others from going to the restaurant or spoiling the business, maybe a different chef was on duty that day or they were just in a hurry to get the food to me, I don't know but I have to make it known to prevent it from happening to another customer. Unfortunately, I took...

Portions are very small, sadly overall ~4/5

Pros: Outstanding food Exceptional cocktails Lovely ambiance Great service

Cons: Very expensive for local standards They charge 15% service & tax and then ask for additional tips at the end

Food 5+/5 Drinks 5+/5 Portion 2/5 Ambiance 5/5 Service ~5/5 Value for money 3.5/5

After tax and service charge, bill was 215 GEL for 1 starter, 1 salad, 2 appetisers, 1 main, 1 dessert & 4 cocktails. We tipped additionally, they made a point to ask for extra.

We first ordered 3 dishes and 2 cocktails. Everything tasted incredible, rarely am I this impressed with food and drink. So even though portions were tiny, we ordered another 2 dishes and 2 cocktails. Then finished with dessert and we were finally full (regular European appetite). Tongue tonnato, chicken candy and cocktails lemon pie & flirt passion sour are extraordinary. Even with relatively low absolute value for money, would still come back.

Hopefully they improve on portions and don't ask for additional tips after including service charge to pressure customers (we would have given it anyway but left a bad impression of their business practice).

Update after management's response: they seem very defensive about the slightest critique (across all reviews). We were definitely requested for additional tip, not simply as a "question" when paying by card, and WERE charged the "service fee" as shown in the photos. We are not "hearty" eaters, we mentioned regular appetites. With the attitude and lack of willingness to accept feedback, a solid 4...

This place is amazing! We love the second room hidden behind curtains very much - it feels really cozy and secluded. My top food recommendation at Barbar’a is humus with beef. As for drinks - the signature ones are on the next level! Back in 2022 we were offered ‘home-made’ Advocate liquor and the staff suggested to make a make a special version of their signature cocktail with their liquor. For a couple of visits that was our go-to drink. During my recent visit two week ago my favourite Basil Cinnamon Sour was out of stock but they met my expectations knowing what I was to order. Every time the experience at Barbar’a feels so special....