In the eleven-odd years I’ve been living in Tbilisi, the café culture has changed exponentially, from one or two choices in the busy Vake district and along Leselidze Street, to a burgeoning of new entrants to the market: from elegant Parisian to down-to-earth grab-and-go. There are now quite simply too many to choose from, and to do the coffee service in Tbilisi real justice, I’d have to turn this into a listing. As it is, I’ll note my top 3 guarantors of a delicious and quality start to your day!
COFFEE LAB
This is one of the few places in Tbilisi where you can taste high-quality, selected specialty coffee “grown at the perfect altitude, at the correct time of year, in the best soil, and then picked at just the right time.”(Specialty Coffee Association in America).
Besides the various tastes from Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Brazil and Columbia, Coffee LAB offers original ways of roasting and brewing coffee right before your eyes.
Located on Kazbegi Avenue, Coffee LAB offers a calm and comfy environment for working, studying and meeting. Other advantages of this place include a fresh and diverse menu excellent for breakfast, lunch and dinner and delightful desserts that perfectly suit their specialty coffee.
WHERE: 27 Kazbegi Ave, Tbilisi
SKOLA COFFEE & WINE BAR
Skola Coffee & Wine bar is a coffee sanctuary where your caffeine fix is made with love and affection and almost scientist-like obsession with detail and quality. A comfortable and welcoming atmosphere, together with its delicious natural wine and food, make this a lovely little open space to get your mornings started, grab a drink and a bite to eat and meet new people. Definitely worth your time and money.
WHERE: 17 Shota Rustaveli Ave., Tbilisi
RUSTAVELI CAFE & RESTAURANT
Café Rustaveli is to be found right on Liberty (Freedom) Square, set within the Rustaveli Boutique Hotel. The concept is inspired by ‘The Knight in the Panther's Skin,’ that Georgian epic poem written in the XII century by Shota Rustaveli. 'Georgian Brunch Reinvented' is what we'd would call the core of the menu here. Enjoy specialty coffee as you watch the world go by...
WHERE: 4 Freedom Sq., Tbilisi