Most visitors come to Batumi for the sea and leave having tried only the famous Adjarian khachapuri. That's a shame: Adjara has one of the most distinctive cuisines in Georgia, where mountain shepherd traditions meet Black Sea fish, subtropical fruit and the influence of neighbouring Turkey. The result is dishes you won't find anywhere else in the country.
Two Adjaras: sea and mountains
Coastal Adjara — Batumi, Kobuleti, Gonio, Sarpi — lives on fish, fruit and tea. Mountain Adjara — Keda, Shuakhevi, Khulo — means pastures, butter, cheese and honey. That's why many Adjarian dishes are rich and buttery: they were made for hard work in the mountains.
Adjaruli khachapuri
Adjara's most famous export is the khachapuri boat with cheese, egg yolk and butter. Every café in Batumi bakes it, from small to huge. Stir the yolk into the cheese and butter, tear off the crust and dip. Locals say a real Adjaruli has crisp edges and a soft centre.
Borano — cheese in butter
Borano is a mountain dish: sulguni or homemade cheese melted in plenty of clarified butter, sometimes with cornmeal. The result is stretchy and very filling, eaten with bread or mchadi. One portion is a day's worth of energy, so share it.
Sinori
Sinori are thin rolls of dough baked, then soaked in melted butter and served with soft nadughi curd cheese. A festive dish from mountain Adjara — soft, creamy and unlike anything else in Georgian cooking.
Chirbuli — the Adjarian breakfast
Chirbuli is eggs cooked with tomatoes, onion, walnuts and herbs, sometimes with chilli. A traditional Adjarian breakfast and a great morning alternative to khachapuri — look for it in cafés that open early.
Achma
A layered dish of boiled dough sheets with cheese and butter, like lasagne. Batumi bakeries sell it by weight — a perfect beach snack.
Black Sea fish
Batumi is the best city in Georgia for fish. Try:
- red mullet (barabulka) — small and fried whole;
- hamsi — Black Sea anchovy, in season in winter, fried or baked with cornmeal;
- horse mackerel, bluefish and turbot, depending on the season;
- trout from mountain rivers.
Batumi has a fish market where you choose fresh fish and a nearby restaurant cooks it for a small fee. Prices depend on the species and season.
Pakhlava and sweets
Adjarian pakhlava is a layered pastry with nuts and syrup or honey, a cousin of Turkish baklava, sold in pastry shops across Batumi. Try the local halva and other oriental sweets too.
Fruit and tea
Adjara is subtropical. You'll find:
- mandarins — in season from November to January, sold by the crate at markets and along roads;
- feijoa — in autumn, with a distinctive aroma, made into jam;
- persimmons, kiwis, citrus and figs.
The hills around Batumi and Kobuleti are covered with tea plantations; you can visit one and taste local tea.
Mountain honey and cheese
In Khulo, Shuakhevi and Keda beekeepers sell thick, fragrant mountain honey, along with homemade cheese and butter. If you head into mountain Adjara — to the waterfalls or the Goderdzi Pass — stop for lunch at a village restaurant.
Adjarian wine
Adjara isn't Georgia's best-known wine region, but local grapes such as Chkhaveri, used for light rosé and red wines, are being revived. The Keda area hosts wine festivals and small wineries open for tastings.
Where to eat in Batumi
- Old Town — plenty of Adjarian restaurants, but tourist prices.
- Neighbourhoods away from the boulevard — fewer tourists, more locals, fair prices.
- The fish market — for fresh fish.
- Bakeries — for achma, pakhlava and breakfast khachapuri.
What to take home
- tea from local plantations;
- feijoa or mandarin jam;
- mountain honey;
- a box of pakhlava;
- churchkhela and dried fruit from the market.
In short
In Batumi, eat more than Adjaruli: try borano and sinori from the mountains, chirbuli for breakfast, fresh Black Sea fish and pakhlava for dessert. And if you come in winter, buy a crate of mandarins straight from the roadside.
