They Said Books — Restaurant in Tbilisi

In every city I visit, I try and compare coffee shops. This is my "go to" v60 spot in Tbilisi. Although, it is tied with another coffee shop in this city for quality coffee, it is the genuine care, expertise, thoughtfulness and friendliness of the people who work there that put it over the top. It is by far my favorite place to have coffee in this city. (Also offered are notable wines and well-prepared menu selections at a very reasonable price. I recommend the carrot cake.)

As mentioned, there are other coffee shops that make very very good coffee in Tbilisi. In the last two years many nice and competent coffee houses are now available all over the Vera and Vake neighborhoods. But in terms of hospitality and service, they could visit "They Said Books" and learn a thing or two. It is the service that tips the scale and has me going back again and again to this discreet, but much appreciated little cafe that sits above a...

The place is nice and not boring with typical furniture and design. On the first floor they have a book shop with fancy expansive books and magazines.

On the second is the coffee shop itself. Huge minus that there aren't many places to sit and most all of them are really close to each other — you'll be feeling tight. And it was hot inside, they need to ventilate the room constantly (been there 2 times).

Coffee: okay, not great. We got filter and espresso tonic. Filter was a little underextracted (not pleasantly acidic).

Food: very badly done Avocado sandwich with salmon. And portion was ridiculous for the price. The amount of cheese on the bread was not even enough to cover it all with a thin layer, it was like 4-5 small slices of avocado. The bread itself was veeery thin, I wonder how they even managed to cut this piece.

Pricey, food is not good,...

The cafe is nothing special, with high prices for just average food. The staff seemed rude and uninterested in their work. I was there twice and both times the cafe was dominated by people working on PCs, leaving little space for regular guests.

The usefulness of a bookstore downstairs is questionable. I faced up an issue with my online-order — when I arrived for pickup, it turned out the book was out of stock, and no one had bothered to inform me in advance. This was especially troublesome since it was intended as a gift and I drove there specifically to get the book I ordered. When I asked for advice on an alternative, I was simply told to find a book myself. Obviously the main focus of this place is being 'fancy' and definitely not care about...