RIGI — Restaurant in Tbilisi

This restaurant was the most luxurious one we had meal on our Tbilisi trip. The place is a riverside restaurant and serves mostly Georgian and some dishes from world cuisine. A real fine-dining restaurant.

The atmosphere is very beautiful, there are both normal and isolated tables (at these ones, the seats have privacy extensions). No need for reservation. We didn't have one and didn't have any difficulty to sit. At special days, you may need one.

The toilets are very spacious, clean and well decorated. The cabins were also in good condition. Nothing untidy in general terms.

The food. Before that i want to have a word about the menu. As tourists, we don't know Georgian. Also we are not familiar with Georgian cuisine. Despite we know and can speak English, it was so hard to order meal because Georgian dishes are very different then our food (we are Turkish), everything is very meaty or floury. If the menu had pictures near the food name, it would be very perfect. It took us like 30-40 minutes to order because we had to ask everything we wandered about food, luckily all the waiters were very very kind and noone rushed us to order quickly even it was 8pm and the restaurant was crowded.

One more thing, the portions of Georgian meals are very very big ! With one dish, 2 people can easily get full and we experienced this whole the Tbilisi trip, not only at this restaurant. Order wisely, considering this pro tip. We ordered 4 DISHES like stupids :) With 4 dishes, 6-8 people can easily get full, no exaggeration.

Okey, now the food. We ordered Kinkhali with beef (6 pieces), a salat, a mtsvadi and a shkmeruli. Khinkali was good but while there were other main dishes, we only tried one khinkali (from 6 pieces). Salat was very delicious, loved it. Meat skewers were on the well-cooked side so a little bit hard to chew, but again very delicious. Well shkmeruli. It was tasty first, with the whole chicken in the garlic and buttery sauce. But after having some, it got too much for our taste despite we love spice and saouces in Turkish cuisine. Know what shkmeruli really is before ordering it. We barely finished salat, skewers and shkmeruli, and we took khinkali to our hotel to eat them later.

The general experience was very very good. The staff were lovely from the beginning. When we were leaving the restaurant, it was almost 11pm and noone stared at us or said anything to finish and leave. Loved the time we spent here and will probably visit here...

5 stars for the location, gorgeous interior and the exceptionally nice lady at the restaurant entrance. Well done! As this is Georgian food only, the menu is limited and we found it very expensive. Wine, beer, brandy vodka and chaha available . No cocktails available. The food was very very tasty but the portion size was ridiculously small for the price you pay . We had Ostri (beef stew,) with one extra small piece of meat in the bowl surrounded by sauce and a small dollop of mash floating in the sauce. Although it was extremely tasty I would not call it a stew but a soup. 4 pieces of bread between the 4 of us and rock rock hard. Off course the bread had to be paid extra for. Such a beautiful place but we were disappointed. We left hungry after wanting to order dessert and being told there's none of the desserts on the menu, available. Really? That is hard to believe . Got the feeling waiters didn't like us. They were cordial and good manners but made us feel stupid. Maybe because they thought we were tourists. We are not. We all live here permanently and though not fluent in the language yet, this is now our country too. American couple with kids at the table next door were not impressed either and did not stay long. Would have loved to go there again but you can feel when you are just an inconvenience for people ( this does not include the lady at the door, she was lovely and the kitchen staff also all smiling and friendly) just the waiters that has superiority complex Love the decor location and...

I visited this restaurant twice about a month ago. The atmosphere is very nice; you can feel the attention and effort poured into the design and the overall spirit of the place.

As for the food, it’s undeniably good. While not entirely traditional Georgian in presentation for some dishes. Here’s what we tried:

Khinkali – tasty and well-prepared, but at 23 Laris for six pieces, it feels quite expensive. You can try good khinkali for less price. Chvistari – A good dish with a generous portion, satisfying and well-executed. Chebureki – Deliciously juicy with excellent meat filling. However, given the restaurant’s unique menu, I’d suggest exploring other options instead of Chebureki. Snack Board “Khoncha” – Light and flavorful, this is a great choice for vegetarians or as a refreshing starter. Megrelian Kupati – The dish was good but didn’t stand out for us. The presentation deviated from the classic Kupati we’re accustomed to, which might have influenced our impression. Chicken Liver Salad – A good salad, but the flavors felt a bit overwhelming due to the combination of so many different mix of interesting flavors and a well-balanced sauce. for me the salad could have used more sauce to bring everything together. Overall, the food quality and ambiance make this restaurant worth a visit. Some dishes might not align perfectly with traditional expectations, but the unique takes and the effort behind the menu...