Barbarestan

Rating: 16.5
Author: Gault&Millau

Davit Aghmasheneblis Gamziri 132, Tbilisi, Georgia

16.5/20
Remarkable Restaurant

17 PHOTOS

Cooking: Fusion | Modern | Traditional
Style: Brunch | Casual | Romantic

Gault&Millau's review 2025

The 19th century was an era of female empowerment, a time of courageand an age of discovery. Even though women often had to exist behindthe scenes, they managed to leave an inimitable trace in literature, andto influence the life and society of their motherland. This is our Barbare –Barbare Eristavi-Jorjadze – a 19th century writer, poet and feminist whowas inquisitive to the last; a woman who lived life in perpetual motion,and the author of The Complete Cuisine, which set a new course forgaonomy in Georgia. The family behind the Barbarestan restaurant haverevived her cuisine by basing their menu on her cookbook. The 19thcentury atmosphere is easily felt throughout both the interior and exterior. On Agmashenebeli Avenue, which in its time represented part of aGerman colony and which is now one of the most multi-ethnic streets inTbilisi, Barbarestan boasts tables laid with traditional tablecloths, tapercandles, and gorgeous ceramics with grandmotherly motifs and modernshapes. Antique mirrors hang in clusters on walls of exposed brick. Ina dining nook, a portrait of Jorjadze presides over a small shrine to thelady: candelabra, reading glasses, a red ink pen. To get a real sense ofher magic, though, you’ll have to visit Barbarestan yourself: you’ll enjoythe brilliant service and hospitality provided by its staff, not to mentionthe exquisite cuisine.