Luca Polare • ლუკა პოლარე — Restaurant in Tbilisi

I’ve been a customer of this coffee shop for over 8 years. While I always enjoyed the taste of the coffee itself—especially a latte without milk, since I don’t like milk—the ordering process was often frustrating, as they would frequently prepare it differently each time.

Recently, I was told I should switch to an iced Americano instead. Unfortunately, the way it’s currently being made is disappointing—it tastes watered down, and the coffee flavor is barely there. Even though I always ask for less water, they continue adding too much. As a result, the drink comes out diluted and weak. They even serve a small coffee in a large cup just to accommodate the excess water, which makes no sense and ruins the experience.

There’s also a pricing issue that doesn’t make sense: a latte with coffee, milk, and ice cream costs 9.70 GEL, while an iced Americano with just ice cream costs 11.70 GEL. That’s not logical, considering the ingredients.

This is actually the first time I’ve ever written a negative review, but I felt it was necessary to share my experience. I hope this feedback helps...

Fantastic ice cream! My number one criterion for a good ice cream is “not too sweet”, and Luca Palore indeed gets it. Make sure to try the Tartufo Crash (chocolate with hazelnuts) flavour (It’s at a premium price point at 5.9 GEL which is a bargain that you won’t get in much of the rest of the world). It’s not too sweet and deeply satisfying. Jewels of caramelized crunchy whole hazelnuts dotted a lush scope of chocolate ice cream. What an indulgence!

Better yet, the best part about this Luca Polare store is that you can take the cone across the street and enjoy it in the Gigi Varazdatovich Garden. In a hot afternoon, sitting on the curved wooden bench, shaded under mature trees, enjoying on a cone of fine ice cream, what a precious moment in life! Did I mention Vake is my favourite...

I love, love, love Luca Polare. They have about 25 flavors anytime I go there and the gelato is just the right texture. In addition to regular vanilla, strawberry, chocolate flavors, they also have special flavors like: almond caramel, walnut, Nutella, coffee, amarena cherry, kiwi, banana, sea buckthorn, honey meringa, tartufo, tiramisu, and many more. Luca Polare shops may be small and crowded but they serve customers quickly and they put good-sized scoops in the cups and cones. There are few places in T'bilisi where you can get chocolate-chip or chocolate crinkle cookies, brownies, flavored lattes, iced coffees, and frozen coffees to go, and they are...