Home Kitchen — Restaurant in Tbilisi

We ended up staying in the neighborhood longer than planned, and Home Kitchen became our daily blessing. It was the closest spot to eat—and turned out to be the best. We’ve tried nearly the entire menu, and we can recommend it with our whole stomachs!

This place feels like visiting your Georgian aunt’s home. The atmosphere is cozy, authentic, and full of character. Guests from all over the world leave behind banknotes, drawings, and dedications—better than any Google review. The food? Fresh, delicious, and served in generous portions. We’ve learned how to order for two, but it’s always fun watching newcomers’ faces when they realize they’ve ordered way too much (don’t worry, takeaway boxes are available!).

The ladies running the kitchen are incredible. They might not wear constant smiles, but the sparkle in their eyes and the way they masterfully prepare everything in a tiny kitchen right in front of you—that’s priceless. They’re also wonderfully flexible: the menu lists wine by the liter, but if you ask, they’ll happily serve you half. Same with one of the family-style dishes—they made a half portion just for us. It’s that kind of thoughtful hospitality that makes you feel truly cared for.

If you’re lucky with your fellow diners, you might end up sharing dishes between tables. That’s how we met a couple from Russia and a group from Czechia—our plates traveled, and so did the laughter.

We felt welcome every single time. Just one tip: come early or be ready to wait during peak hours....

We ate at this restaurant, several days again and I had to wait and think about how I would address this review.

Inga the owner and host was delightful as a person and you can see she cooks with love. All that being said now it's time to be honest about how we felt afterwards.

First, there is no menu and my partner spoke enough Russia (from his communist days in Poland) to tell he what we wanted, unfortunately she did not listen and gave us something completely different. The portions were entirely to large for two people and it made us uncomfortable, since we hate to waste food. The pork and roasted potatoes was nice but did not justify $50 gel, after all this is still Georgia. The meat kubdare was so salty I couldn't eat one slice. Though we requested with cheese. We asked to take the leftover food and we gave it to the poor. We refused the bread when offered which was an entire loaf of Georgian bread.

Yes the owner is a sweetheart but in some respects we felt like we were taken advantage of weather it was intentional or not. Our meal was over $33 usd and we just had water. Compared to other restaurants it we paid double for the three items. I was excited to try the restaurant after reading the reviews but this is not my type of restaurant. We don't like surprises and don't like wasting food. This is my honest review. Best of...

Der erste Eindruck täuscht. Ein wirklich uriges Restaurant. Der Abstieg ins Kellergewölbe ist sehr steil, die Stufen sind uneben, und man muss aufpassen, sich nicht den Kopf zu stoßen. Unten angekommen, begrüßen einen vier Tische. Es ist gemütlich, 10-15 Personen finden hier Platz. Die beiden älteren Damen, die die „Home Kitchen“ betreiben, geben einem das Gefühl, nicht willkommen zu sein. Aber das gehört offenbar zur georgischen Kultur.

Nach einer Woche harter Arbeit an einem Sonntag-Abend sind die beiden Damen merklich müde. Man merkt es den beiden Großmütter an. Sie kochen am Sonntag nicht mehr für sich oder für die Gäste sondern ausschließlich für den schnöden Manon und den Feierabend. Wir bestellten, alles wurde auf Karte gezeigt und notiert. Ein Gericht kam das falsche und ein Gericht kam gar nicht. Keine Information oder Entschuldigung. Beim Bezahlen wurde dann der Bestellzettel zur Kalkulation herbeigezogen und wir mussten alles Bestellte bezahlen und nicht das servierte. Leider kein Internetempfang im Keller, daher keine Übersetzungs-APP. Auch wenn wir verstehen, dass man am Abend vor dem Frei- Feiertag nicht mehr alle Gerichte auf der Karte hat, fühlten wir uns betrogen und nur als Geldgeber behandelt. Dieser zweite Besuch zerstörte auch meine eher positivere Meinung welche ich nach dem ersten Besuch hatte. Trotzdem noch einen Resümee von ersten Besuch. Alles wird in der kleinen, offenen Küche zubereitet. Beim Bestellen überschätzt man schnell seinen Magen und möchte möglichst viele Gerichte probieren. Wir waren dankbar für die Plastikbehälter, um die Reste mit nach Hause zu nehmen. Ich kann das Lokal nicht empfehlen. Besonders nicht an einem Sonntag-Abend.

After a week of hard work on a Sunday evening, the two ladies are noticeably tired. You can tell by the two grandmothers. They no longer cook for themselves or for the guests on Sundays, but exclusively for the ignoble Manon and the end of the day. We ordered, and everything was shown and noted on the menu. One dish was the wrong one, and one didn't arrive at all. No information or apology. When paying, the order slip was used for calculations, and we had to pay for everything we ordered, not what was served. Unfortunately, there was no internet reception in the basement, so no translation app. Even though we understand that not all dishes are available on the menu the evening before a holiday, we felt cheated and treated like mere spenders. This second visit also ruined my more positive opinion after the first visit. Nevertheless, here's a summary of the first visit: Everything is prepared in the small, open kitchen. When ordering, you quickly overestimate your stomach and want to try as many dishes as possible. We were grateful for the plastic containers to take the leftovers home with us. I can't recommend this place, especially not on a...