Shin Restaurant — Restaurant in Tbilisi

As I understand, the place opened mid March, just days before Covid-19 hit Tbilisi, so they already get a little extra credit in my books for staying open after all that is happening in the country. It's obvious they have poured their heart into this place - the atmosphere, the staff and of course the food, really made our Sunday evening special.

I recommend getting the tashmijami (potato puree with cheese. Yum!), Ara Shkmeruli (a twist on traditional chicken in creamy garlic sauce), elarji balls, steamed mushrooms, the pork belly and to top it off - stuffed apple dessert.

The Shin salad with rucola was ok, but I can't say we were crazy about it.

The lemonade deserves a special mention - our compliments to the barman, it was one of the best lemonades we've had in a while.

Will...

I was really looking forward to trying this restaurant, but sadly the Shkmeruli was by far the worst I ever had. They tried to update it with black garlic sauce, but they might as well have doused it completely in soy sauce. It was extremely salty, with only a handful of chicken pieces, very light sprinkling of greens and nuts for decoration, and a big pita bread on top for 29 lari + 10% service. Very expensive for what was essentially a fancy looking but poorly made soy sauce chicken. Go to Iasamani instead and you'll find an incredible half chicken in delicious rich creamy garlic sauce with scrumptious ham too. This was so bad I really needed to warm future customers. Service was quite nonchalant, you might have better luck with...

I had once ranked this restaurant among my favourites in Tbilisi - but after a long closure and a subsequent reopening I have to say it has lost ALL of its charm. I convinced a group of 5 friends to go there, the prices had increased by a significant amount (possibly understandable due to inflation), the menu had shrunk significantly, and the final nail in the coffin was when we ordered a carafe of the house red - which used to be excellent - and were served the sourest, cloudiest village wine we have ever had the misfortune of tasting. We paid our bill and left without ordering. Had I bothered to read any of the recent reviews from a month or so ago, I wouldn't have been so eager to revisit. Many are one...