Snack crawl
The Bakery Crawl: Tbilisi
Start hungry and start early; the best stalls in Tbilisi sell out long before the guidebooks say they open.
- Stops
- 6
- Walking
- 4 km
- Budget
- Moderate
Before you set off
Carry cash, tissues and a bottle of water. Thank us later. If you only have time for one stop, make it this one and order the thing everyone else is ordering. Here the celery is piled on with abandon and the chilli is not a suggestion. Stop 10 is a hole in the wall with four stools and a queue. Join the queue. The queue knows.
Here the coriander is piled on with abandon and the chilli is not a suggestion. Stop 8 is a hole in the wall with four stools and a queue. Join the queue. The queue knows. Carry cash, tissues and a bottle of water. Thank us later. Order one portion between two at every stop. A crawl is a marathon made of sprints.
Order one portion between two at every stop. A crawl is a marathon made of sprints. Walk between stops. It is the only reason any of this is physically possible. Carry cash, tissues and a bottle of water. Thank us later. We recreated this one at home — see the recipe section — but it never tastes quite like it does on a kerb at midnight.
Stop 1: The corner cart near the flower stalls
We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. We tested this 8 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with gochujang won every single round. Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this.
The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. We recreated this one at home — see the recipe section — but it never tastes quite like it does on a kerb at midnight.
There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are bakery — the kind you clear your evening for. Walk between stops. It is the only reason any of this is physically possible. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner.
Stop 2: The basement counter near the river
It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. Order one portion between two at every stop. A crawl is a marathon made of sprints.
Here the garlic is piled on with abandon and the chilli is not a suggestion. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning.
If you can chop basil and hold a digital thermometer, you can make this. We promise. Stop 5 is a hole in the wall with four stools and a queue. Join the queue. The queue knows. There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are bakery — the kind you clear your evening for. Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this.
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