- Veg by default
- Pkhali, lobio, badrijani
- Khachapuri
- Cheese bread, always veg
- Veg khinkali
- 2.40-3 GEL a piece
- Traps
- Bacon fat, butter, egg dough
- Why
- Orthodox fasting tradition
Here is the good news first: of every destination in this travel lane, Tbilisi is the easiest for Indian vegetarians. Georgian cooking grew out of the garden - beans, walnuts, eggplant, beets, spinach, herbs - and the Orthodox fasting tradition means a big share of every Georgian table is meat-free by design, not by request. You can walk into any Georgian restaurant and eat well.
The dishes that are vegetarian by tradition
Order these without a single question: pkhali (spinach, beet or eggplant pastes with walnut), badrijani nigvzit (fried eggplant rolls with walnut-garlic filling), lobio (the clay-pot bean stew, about 18 GEL at a central restaurant), ajapsandali (the Georgian ratatouille), the tomato-cucumber Georgian salad with walnut dressing, and every khachapuri - the cheese breads are always vegetarian, from the 3 GEL bakery hatch to the egg-topped Adjarian boat at 10-18 GEL. Even khinkali, normally meat dumplings, come in mushroom, potato and cheese versions at 2.40-3 GEL a piece.
The menu surprises to ask about
Four small traps. One: lobiani - the bean-stuffed bread that sounds like safe lobio in bread form - is sometimes made with bacon fat; ask. Two: clay-pot dishes often carry butter even when the ingredients read vegan; vegans should say so. Three: sulguni cheese lands on mushrooms and ghomi (the cornmeal side) unless you ask otherwise. Four: some khinkali dough contains egg. None of these is hard to dodge - one question per meal covers it. Fully vegan cafes exist too, in Sololaki and Chugureti, if you want zero negotiation.
A vegetarian day in Tbilisi
Breakfast at the guesthouse (Georgian breakfasts are bread, cheese, eggs, tomatoes and fruit - easy). Lunch at the Dezerter Bazaar: churchkhela, cheese, fruit. Dinner at any Georgian restaurant: pkhali assortment, badrijani, a clay pot of lobio with mchadi cornbread, and mushroom khinkali - a feast for two under 80 GEL (about Rs 2,700). For the wider plan, see the 3-day Tbilisi itinerary and the budget guide.
A Miranda House graduate and lawyer who traded courtrooms for slow travel. Cheshta travels with the batches we host ourselves, with a soft spot for travelling alongside elders.
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