Shavi Lomi — Restaurant in Tbilisi

Disclaimer: This post does not claim that Shavi is in fault of what happened to me, it's a critique of my experience with the contact I've had after my visit and how I was turned down in a situation of severe illness after my visit.

written on the 18.08.2025: I had dinner four days ago at Shavi Lomi, really loved the garden and everything seemed sweet to me. I didn't like the taste of what I ate as a main course but was thinking that it's just some taste I'm not used to so I ate it still and gave a good review. I did not drink any alcohol. Right after I've felt my stomach bloat and I was immediately very thirsty - about six hours later I started vomiting for two hours, had diarrhea and was taken to the hospital delirious, dehydrated and nauseous. Blood results implicated that this was caused by a severe acute bacterial infection or easily said: a very bad kind of food poisoning.

The only other thing I ate that day was breakfast, which is why I naturally assumed that my dinner must have something to do with my illness. I informed the restaurant in the hospital asking for help since this incident caused severe financial, physical and emotional damage to me. I have still not recovered, missed my flight home, had to stay at the hospital and am facing a damage of about 1500 GEL. I am alone in this country and have a chronical illness - my life has been hell the past days. Which I don't claim to be Shavis fault, but to illustrate my situation and why I am so very disappointed.

While the person I wrote with was "respectful" and "wished me well" their answer was quite disappointing. Because of no other complaints besides my case and their "perfect standards" they told me that they cannot take any responsibility for what happened to me. That was it. No investigations, a formal dismissal.

I believe in the illustrated standards and I believe Shavi to be a clean and safe place - nevertheless I am shocked by how lightly my incident was dismissed as not of their issue. They cannot just refuse possible responsibility and accountability. Even if I am the only person showing (severe) symptoms that lead to contacting the restaurant it is not out of question that my intoxication was caused by the dinner and or that I am the only person affected. Bacteria concentration and effects can vary extremely between portions of food and persons. If I had shown only mild symptoms I wouldn't have contacted Shavi as well. Unfortunately I didn't have mild symptoms but a severe intoxication and Shavi didn't communicate any steps which make me assume that they took what happened to me seriously.

Of course I was not expecting them to come up for all the damage I endured (and am still enduring), especially since for a lack of evidence I cannot be a 100% sure that my hypothesis is right - but this is not some little local shop without any means. Shavi is a well established and popular brand and it is unacceptable that they have turned me down like that without further investigations, direct help or other actions. Just telling me that there can't be a connection is a very easy way to go without having any medical evidence whilst someone only ate at this place and is later having very real symptoms and very real blood results pointing to a connection.

For the sake that I don't wish this on anybody, I hope they will handle possible future events like this differently. Best wishes and health...

Great high-end restaurant in Tbilisi. A perfect spot to relax in the shade on a hot day. It’s popular with foreigners.

Just a heads-up: there’s an additional 18% charge added to the bill. I was surprised to see that.

The food was flavorful and different from the usual Tbilisi fare, but the portions were tiny. I came alone and ordered three dishes, even though I can usually barely finish one in Georgia. The cherry soup was refreshing and slightly spicy, not sweet, which was exactly what I wanted. The strawberry lemonade was delicious and full of real berry flavor. The oyster mushrooms sautéed in white wine were cooked well, not overdone or mushy, but they didn’t really stand out — they tasted like regular mushrooms. The baby potatoes tasted regular, and the tkemali sauce was light and sour.

The service was mixed. The woman with dreads who served me was friendly and helpful, but the guy seemed uninterested and unapproachable. I tried to avoid interacting with him. It also felt a bit strange that none of the staff greeted guests as they arrived or said goodbye when they left, even when making direct eye contact.

What really made the experience special was the atmosphere. The summer garden is peaceful, with sleepy cats lounging around, which adds a lot of charm. I saw several families with kids, so it’s clearly kid-friendly. The music was very quiet and barely noticeable from where I was sitting, which made it even easier to relax and...

We went as a group of 4 for dinner. The restaurant is a bit away, we walked there from downtown a good 20 min and discovered another side of residential Tbilisi. The atmosphere in this restaurant is incredible. We ate indoors, in the main dining room. We also noticed a very cozy outdoor terrace: must be great in summer. Although we enjoyed our overall experience, we were a bit disappointed with the food. We did not finish more than half of the Gobi plate (the restaurant “signature” dish): except for the red pepper dip and cheese, the other dips were not at all tasty, and there was just too much of them, talk about wasting food! There should be 2serving sizes of this dish: a small one for tasting before the mains, or the big humungous one like we got for very large groups. The jonjoli specifically was hard, it was like eating straw (and we had jonjoli earlier that day at another restaurant and it was delicious). The ribs were dry: we would expect them to be soft and fall off the bone. Kebab was 2 pieces served on their own without anything else. Fortunately, the wine and service were good. Note: contrary to other people criticizing the restaurant for requesting a PCR or vaccine certificate, we are actually happy they do that. We feel the management prioritizes the safety and health of its employees and guests, and...