Short answer
Georgian food is the cooking of the country of Georgia in the South Caucasus. It is known for khachapuri cheese bread, walnut sauces, fresh herbs, spiced stews, grilled chicken and dumplings called khinkali, all eaten family style.
Georgian food is the cooking of Georgia, a country in the South Caucasus between the Black Sea and the Caspian. It is built on cheese-filled bread called khachapuri, walnut sauces, fresh herbs, dumplings and grilled chicken, and it is usually served as many shared plates rather than one plate per person.
What is Georgian food?
Georgian food is a regional cuisine with its own breads, sauces and spice blends, shaped by Georgia’s position between Europe, Turkey, Iran and Russia. It is not a copy of any neighbor’s cooking, although it shares ideas with all of them.
Three things define it. Bread and cheese come first, because baking is central to daily meals. Walnuts come second, ground into sauces and fillings. Fresh herbs such as cilantro, dill, basil, tarragon and parsley come third, and they are eaten by the handful as well as cooked.
The cooking changes by region. The west, including Samegrelo and the Black Sea coast, is known for spicier food and corn. The east, including Kakheti, leans toward grilled meat and bread baked in a clay oven called a tone.
What are the most famous Georgian dishes?
The most famous Georgian dishes are khachapuri, khinkali, satsivi, lobiani, chicken tabaka and mtsvadi. Each one shows a different side of the cuisine: bread, dumplings, sauce, beans and fire.
| Dish | What it is | Main ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| Khachapuri | Cheese-filled or cheese-topped bread, many regional shapes | Flour, yeast or pastry, cheese, egg |
| Khinkali | Large pleated dumplings with broth inside | Dough, beef or lamb, onion, herbs, pepper |
| Lobiani | Bean-filled bread | Flour, beans, onion, spices |
| Satsivi | Chicken in a cold or warm walnut sauce | Chicken, ground walnuts, garlic, spices |
| Chicken tabaka | Chicken flattened and pan-fried under a weight | Chicken, garlic, salt, butter or oil |
| Mtsvadi | Grilled chunks of meat on a skewer | Meat, onion, salt |
| Tkemali | Sour plum sauce | Sour plums, garlic, herbs, chili |
| Churchkhela | Walnuts coated in thickened grape juice | Walnuts, grape juice, flour |
What is khachapuri and why is it so central?
Khachapuri is Georgian bread filled or topped with cheese, and it is the dish most people think of first. The name joins the words for cheese curd and bread.
Each region has its own style. Imeruli is a round, closed bread with cheese inside. Adjaruli is shaped like a boat and holds an egg yolk. Megruli carries extra cheese on top. Penovani uses flaky pastry instead of yeast dough. All of them rely on a salty, melting cheese such as the Georgian sulguni or imeruli cheeses, and cooks outside Georgia often blend mozzarella with feta as a substitute.
What sauces and flavors define Georgian cooking?
Georgian cooking is defined by walnut sauces, sour plum sauces, chili pastes and herb-heavy spice blends. Sourness and fresh herbs matter as much as salt or heat.
- Walnut sauce (bazhe): ground walnuts with garlic, vinegar and spices, served cold or warm.
- Tkemali: a tart sauce from sour plums, often served with grilled chicken and potatoes.
- Adjika: a paste of hot peppers, garlic and herbs from the west of Georgia.
- Khmeli suneli: a dried blend that usually includes coriander seed, blue fenugreek, marigold petals and savory.
- Pomegranate and sour fruit: used to bring acidity to stews and sauces.
What does a Georgian meal look like?
A Georgian meal is a spread of shared dishes placed in the middle of the table, with bread throughout. Starters, salads, hot dishes and grilled meats often arrive together instead of in strict courses.
The traditional feast is the supra, led by a toastmaster called the tamada. Everyday meals are simpler: bread, cheese, a vegetable dish, herbs and perhaps a pie or a chicken dish. Food is eaten with the hands in several cases, including khinkali and khachapuri.
Which Georgian dishes are easy for a first-timer?
Khachapuri, a bean or potato pie, and grilled or pan-fried chicken are the easiest starting points. They use familiar flavors such as cheese, bread and garlic, and they are filling.
- Start with an Imeruli or Adjaruli khachapuri.
- Add a bean bread such as lobiani or a savory pie.
- Try chicken tabaka with a sauce on the side.
- Taste adjika or tkemali in small amounts first.
- Finish with walnut candy such as churchkhela if it is available.
Which herbs and spices are typical in Georgian cooking?
Georgian cooking relies on fresh herbs and a handful of dried spices. Cilantro, dill, parsley, basil, tarragon and mint are served raw at the table, and coriander seed, blue fenugreek, marigold petals, garlic and hot pepper season the cooked dishes.
Fresh herbs are treated as a food, not a garnish. A plate of herbs, radishes and cheese is a normal part of a meal. Blue fenugreek, called utskho suneli, gives many walnut sauces their distinctive smell, and marigold petals, sometimes sold as Imeretian saffron, add color and a mild, earthy note.
How does Georgian bread differ from other flatbreads?
Georgian bread is usually baked in a tone, a round clay oven, and shaped into long boat-like loaves called shotis puri, or into round loaves called tonis puri. Khachapuri then turns that baking tradition into a filled dish.
Compared with a pita or a lavash, Georgian loaves are thicker and chewier. The tone gives the crust a blistered, smoky surface. Bakeries without a clay oven, including many in New York, use deck ovens or hot stone and still reach a crisp crust.
Can you cook Georgian food at home?
Yes, most of the cuisine works in a home kitchen. Walnut sauces, bean dishes, pan-fried chicken and simple cheese breads need no special equipment, only a food processor, a heavy skillet and a good oven.
- Cheese breads: use a blend of mozzarella and feta in place of sulguni.
- Walnut sauces: grind fresh walnuts with garlic and soak them in warm stock.
- Pan-fried chicken: flatten the bird, press it under a heavy lid or weight and cook until crisp.
- Spices: buy coriander seed and fenugreek whole and grind them yourself.
What does Genatsvale Georgian Bakery list from this cuisine?
Genatsvale Georgian Bakery in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn lists several of the dishes above. On its ordering pages, as of November 2026, the menu includes Imeruli Khachapuri at $11, Acharuli Khachapuri at $14, Megruli Khachapuri at $14, Penovani Khachapuri at $7 and Lobiani at $11.
It also lists pies, including Beef Pie at $8, Potato Pie at $6 and Mushroom Pie at $6, along with Chicken Tabaka at $10, Chicken Mtsvadi at $12 and Satsivi at $12, which is priced per pound. Khinkali, churchkhela and tkemali are not on the recorded menu. Prices come from search summaries of the ordering pages and may have changed.
See the menu page for the recorded list and the hours and location page for the address. This guide is independent and takes no orders, so ask the bakery about ingredients, diets or anything not shown there.
Common questions
Is Georgian food spicy?
Georgian food is more herby and tangy than hot. Spice comes from blends such as khmeli suneli and from adjika, a chili paste served on the side, so heat is usually the diner’s choice.
What is the national dish of Georgia?
There is no single official answer. Khachapuri and khinkali are the two dishes most often named, and many Georgians would add satsivi or a bean dish such as lobio to that short list.
Is Georgian food the same as Russian food?
No. Georgia has its own language, bread, sauces and spice blends. Some dishes became popular across former Soviet countries, but walnut sauces, cheese breads and tkemali plum sauce are distinctly Georgian.
What is a supra?
A supra is a traditional Georgian feast, a long table of many shared dishes led by a toastmaster called a tamada. Breads, cheeses, herbs, salads, walnut dishes and grilled meats usually share the table.
What do Georgians eat for breakfast?
A common breakfast is bread with cheese, often khachapuri, with tea or coffee. Eggs, yogurt, herbs and fresh vegetables also appear, and many bakeries sell hot cheese bread early in the morning.
Everything practical is on the home page: Genatsvale Georgian Bakery | Shawarma hours, menu and directions.
This article is general information from an independent guide, not from Genatsvale Georgian Bakery | Shawarma itself. For the store’s current details see hours and location.