Khinkali Kitchens Tbilisi Food Tour with 12+ Tastings

4 hours (approximately)
Offered in: English

Join our lunchtime Tbilisi food tour and prepare for your taste buds to be tickled across 12+ tastings, from hidden basement kitchens to fresh produce markets that have been feeding the local crowd for generations. We meet the city's unsung food heroes; the grandmother who hasn’t changed her bread recipe since the Cold War, or the khinkali dumpling chef that has mastered the art of the fold.

Our Tbilisi food tour is capped to a maximum of eight guests, allowing us to squeeze into the hole-in-the-wall spots that larger groups miss out on. This is a crash course in the dishes and stories that define daily life for local Tbilisites.

What's Included

Bottled water included
Max 8 exclusive guests, smallest group size in Tbilisi (private tour or 9+ guests - contact us)
Led by professional foodie guides
12+ food tastings included, more than any other Tbilisi food tour
Moveable feast with 6-7 stops around the streets of old Tbilisi
Alcoholic drinks excluded (except 1 glass of wine at market)
Pick up and drop off from hotel excluded. Easy-to-find meeting point for all guests.
Vegetarians have 3-4 less tastings due to limited alternatives available
Gluten is used in 5-6 tastings with limited alternatives available
Unsuitable for severe allergies, halal & celiac disease, due to risk of traces & cross-contamination

Meeting and pickup

Meeting point

Meet outside the exit of Avlabari metro station, between exit and the fountain. During cooler or wet weather, guests can wait inside and message guide on Whatsapp.

End point
Fabrika Tbilisi

The tour ends at Fabrika Tbilsi, a collection of cafes and bars in and old sewing factory. The guide will assist you with walking or taxi directions back to your hotel. The tour duration is approximately 3.5 to 4 hours, depending on the pace of the group.

Itinerary

Duration: 4 hours (approximately)
  • 1
    Avlabari

    Tbilisi is a city that lives between the Caucasus mountains and ancient grapevines, where the only thing more dangerous than the local wine, is a Georgian grandmother who thinks you look hungry. It’s a place where a food constitution would be written in flour, cheese, and walnuts. But while everyone claims to have the best recipe, it pays to know the culinary ropes. Our feasting tour of 12+ tastings invites guests on a culinary experience around the backstreets of Tbilisi led by our team of professional foodie guides. Before we get started, our tour reflects the local cuisine and the limitations of street food vendors means we unfortunately cannot cater for every dietary restriction. Here's an honest appraisal for the tour so no-one is disappointed: ✖️Vegetarians and gluten-free guests have 3-4 less tastings due to limited alternatives. ✖️ Unsuitable for severe allergies, halal and celiac diets due to risk of traces and cross-contamination. Ready for a foodie journey? Read on!

    15 minutes Admission ticket free
  • 2

    Start at a subterranean bakery, to see shoti long bread slapped against the walls of a clay Tone oven and tear into a hot, bean-filled lobiani. These basements have fed neighbours through wars and revolutions. At a local eatery that has stood its ground for over a decade, we dive into colourful mosaic of pkhali walnut spreads of purple beetroot, and forest-green spinach. We’d rather not spoil the surprise, but a sneak peek of our 15+ tastings includes some firm favorites. Try ostri, a beef stew that’s a slow-simmered, fiery testament to the country’s Dukani tavern history.

    1 hour Admission ticket free
  • 3
    The Dezerter Bazaar

    Established in the 1920s, the Dezerter Bazaar earned its name from soldiers deserting the Red Army to trade boots for bread. Today, it’s a market cathedral of local produce, where we’ll sample a Georgian cheese assortment featuring four distinct styles, washed down with a glass of velvet Khvanchkara wine, a favourite of princes and world leaders alike. Burgundy sheets of plum fruit leather hang alongside candle-shaped churchkhela, a nutty grape candy that served as a high-protein staple for Georgian warriors centuries ago.

    1 hour Admission ticket free
  • 4
    Tbilisi

    Experience the strange, briny delight of jonjoli pickled flowers. Then at the former ticket office of the Apollo Theatre, history is served alongside chicken walnut kharcho stew, eggplant rolls and the stretchy elarji, cheese-laden cornmeal porridge.

    45 minutes Admission ticket free
  • 5
    Fabrika Tbilisi

    Later, we’ll master the art of a national dish, khinkali soup dumplings. Learn to slurp the herb-spiked urban meat version, to earthy mushroom, and molten Sulguni cheese varieties. We finish at Fabrika, a massive Soviet-era sewing factory transformed into a graffiti-clad courtyard, where the youth of Tbilisi plan the future over syrupy Georgian baklava. There’s more to this Tbilisi food tour. It’s a discovery and understanding of a city that other tourists just don’t experience. Whilst it's possible to attempt such a culinary marathon alone, you’d be hard-pushed to find these spots without our tastemaker guides.

    1 hour Admission ticket free

Additional info

  • Not recommended for pregnant travelers
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • See 'What to Expect' section and 'What's Included' for info on dietary restrictions
  • We recommend comfortable walking shoes. Bring rain gear/umbrella, if rain looks likely. There's lot of tastings to try, come hungry!
Supplied by A Chef's Tour

Tags

Half-day Tours
Private and Luxury
Cultural Tours
Walking Tours
Street Food Tours
Small Group
Food & Drink
Short term availability

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

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