15 Best Khinkali in Tbilisi

Khinkali and cold beer is not a complicated proposition, and this pub gets it done a few steps from Liberty Square. It's on Baratashvili Street near the Gabriadze Clock Tower, with the khinkali folded by hand and its outdoor tables set against the old Tbilisi wall. There aren't many seats inside, so the wall is not the consolation option. A 5 rating across 3,977 reviews is unusual at that volume. Come here after an afternoon of walking Old Tbilisi, any day between 11 AM and 10:30 PM.

You could eat your way through a whole khinkali menu in one sitting here. The count is 10 fillings, boiled or fried, savoury through to sweet, served in a basement below Meidan that its own listing calls Tbilisi's first khinkali restaurant. The review topics read like the menu: fried at 163 mentions, chocolate at 68, chicken at 66, cherry at 57 and cheese at 37. Come with people who want to compare rather than commit, and expect company, since 6,541 reviews hold it at 4.9. Dinner needs a booking, and its Instagram says there's no charge for one.

Not every khinkali run has to end in the old town. Tsiskvili is up in Tskneti on Rustaveli Street, far enough out that getting there is part of the evening, and the reasons its review topics give for coming are a fireplace at 6 mentions, live music at 19 and cosiness at another 8. 2,673 reviews hold it at 4.8. It's a table for a day with nothing after it. Last orders in the kitchen are 10:30 PM even though the room stays up until 1 AM, so eat first and linger second.

Everyone at the table wants a different filling, which is a problem until the kitchen agrees to split the plate. One reviewer says the waiters here did exactly that, building a khinkali plate to the table's order. Gobi is a small Georgian room on Vasil Barnov Street holding 4.9 from 540 reviews, with unobtrusive music and an intimate setting taking 2 mentions each in the review topics. Portions are the standing warning, so send 2 dishes at a time rather than the whole order at once. It's open 12 to 11 PM, with bookings taken online.

Decide on khinkali at midnight and your options narrow fast. Dariko is still cooking at 1:30 AM and still open at 2, on Pkhovi Street off Orbeliani Square, with handmade khinkali at the front of its own description. Shisha has 33 mentions and welcoming staff 32, so the late table tends to stay put. It holds 4.8 from 1,827 reviews, and wheelchair access is marked at the entrance, the restroom and the seating. There's no booking form, just a WhatsApp number.

Khinkali in a dining room is one thing. Khinkali somewhere with a view is the version worth arranging a car for. Pasanauri sits in Tskneti on Aleksandre Javakhishvili Street, and its review topics run to the setting as much as the plates: atmosphere at 16 mentions, khinkali at 9, nature at 3. It holds a 5 from 248 reviews, a small count and a clean one. It's open 11 AM to 12 AM every day of the week, so you can take it as lunch or make an evening of it.

Khinkali usually means a table, a plate and an hour. Khinkluka shrinks it to a snack: its own line is that this is Georgia's first street food chain built on mini fried khinkali. It's on Jerusalem Street in Old Tbilisi, open 12 to 10 PM, with khinkali at 54 mentions in its review topics and street food at 12. Come here when you want lunch fast and cheap. One reviewer went in at 4 stars, calling the fried baby khinkali tasty but not juicy enough.

Of everything in its review topics, khinkali comes up 205 times, well ahead of Georgian food at 65 and khachapuri at 56. The kitchen on Kazbegi Avenue does plenty besides: breakfast from 10 AM, sports on the TV, a room you can book privately and a car park that usually has space. It holds 4.7 from 2,937 reviews. It's the branch for a group with a car, and the doors stay open to 12 AM, or 12:30 AM from Friday to Sunday.

Oro is a Megrelian kitchen first and a khinkali stop second. Come here when you want the dumplings as part of a bigger Georgian dinner, not the whole of it. It's the Georgian restaurant by Strada on Sandro Euli Street, cooking family recipes in what its listing calls a refined setting, and 398 reviews hold it at 4.8. There's a terrace, and calm music takes 2 mentions in its review topics. It's open 12 PM to 12 AM daily and takes bookings online.

Live music takes 177 mentions in its review topics, and nothing else on the listing comes close. It's a Georgian tavern on Atoneli Street holding 4.7 from 1,677 reviews, at a price band of 20 to 50 GEL, and homemade wine has 21 mentions of its own. Come here when you want the khinkali to arrive with a singer in the room, and know that the music can run loud. It opens at 10 AM, shuts at 12 AM and takes reservations.

It's open until 2 AM every day of the week, which narrows the field considerably when it's already midnight. Asi Khinkali is on Ierusalimi Street in the centre of the old city, holding 4.8 from 341 reviews, with kind staff at 4 mentions in its review topics, upscale at 3 and big portions at 2. Not everyone is sold: a 3-star review calls it a typical cafe at tourist prices. It takes no bookings on the listing, and it does takeaway if you'd rather eat elsewhere.

This one belongs to a winery, and you'll notice it in who walks you through the menu: the sommelier takes 3 mentions in its review topics. Badagoni sits on Freedom Square, opens at 8 AM for a Georgian breakfast and holds 4.7 from 1,146 reviews. Welcoming staff is its loudest review topic at 48 mentions, cosy place and Georgian music at 7 each. Come here when you want the wine chosen for you and the khinkali to follow it. One 4-star reviewer's warning: the same dish costs 5 to 10 GEL less around the corner.

You can order khinkali one at a time here, which is the fix for a table that can't agree. Cafe Daphna is on Samghebro Street at Meidan, 4.7 from 340 reviews, and its own listing leads on a diverse assortment of artisanal khinkali and organic chacha. The crowd is family friendly and LGBTQ+ friendly, dogs are allowed inside and out, and a meal runs 20 to 60 GEL. Reservations aren't a thing here, and on Friday and Saturday the kitchen stays on until 5 AM.

Come hungry and bring people. Large portions take 181 mentions in its review topics, and a single salad can cover 3 or 4 of you. Chokhi Veraze is on Erekle Tatishvili Street, 4.6 from 800 reviews, and its own description is about small-batch wines bought straight from artisanal producers; homemade wine has 29 mentions and kompot 19. What you shouldn't be is in a rush, since 2 reviewers waited over an hour for 6 khinkali. The room runs 12 PM to 1 AM, with the kitchen on from 11 AM.

The name tells you the 2 things to order, which saves you reading the menu. Pkhali Khinkali is on Davit Aghmashenebeli Avenue, 4.6 from 594 reviews, at 20 to 60 GEL a head, and khinkali carries 77 mentions in its review topics against 51 for wine. They're made in the building, though a 3-star review in September called them small and short on juice. Tables are limited and street parking is hard, so walk. Go earlier than the 11 PM close: the kitchen has shut as early as 9:50 PM.