Eating in Kakheti is inseparable from drinking wine, and the region's restaurants and family tables reflect that. Meals here tend to be longer and more generous than elsewhere in the country, partly because wine culture encourages sitting rather than rushing, and partly because the Alazani Valley produces enough raw ingredients — fruit, vegetables, walnuts, herbs — to build a substantial table without much effort.
The best eating in Kakheti is usually found at smaller, family-run places rather than hotel restaurants: a table in someone's garden, a meal at a winery that has put out food alongside the tasting, or a guesthouse dinner in one of the wine towns where cooking is taken seriously. The region also has a growing number of proper restaurants aimed at visitors from Tbilisi, mostly concentrated in the main centres. The guide below covers the places worth stopping at across the region.
