Tabla

The first floor of Tabla, photo courtesy of Caucusus Business Week

Located in the more residential neighborhood of Tbilisi on 33 Chavchavadze Ave, Tabla is a high-end restaurant that's great for having a typical Georgian feast with a large group of people. The decor inside is traditional with a hint of modern and features real photos and artifacts from Georgian families. During the afternoons (usually around 7-8) Tabla features Georgian dancers on their second floor of the various regions of Georgia. Each region in Georgia has its own traditional dance because even though Georgia is small, the mountains led to isolation and subcultures within each region. Each region has its own variation on the traditional dress because often the environments varied as well. One thing to look for while

watching each traditional dance is how if there is a man and a woman in the dance, the man, no matter how close he may get to her, never actually touches the woman. Additionally, in the Caucasus region dances like Svaneti's, the traditional dance is essentially a sword fight because of how the mountains were traditionally the first line of defense, however, as soon as a woman steps onto the dance floor, all the fighting stops. This is because the dances are meant to show respect for women.

With regards to the food, Tabla serves all the traditional Georgian

food you could want. One thing you should definitely try however is

their khinkali (which is essentially a Georgian dumpling). Personally,

I am not the biggest fan of khinkali like most other Georgians and

tourists seem to be, but the khinkali in Tabla is different because it's

smaller than the typical Tbilisian khinkali, and just tastes really good.

Khinkali has its own seasonings in the meat, but a pro tip from a

Georgian is to add pepper on top of each before digging in (make

sure to check out the Tbilisi Tips page for more info on how to best

enjoy some of the more "bizarre" Georgian foods). Any other thing

you order of course, like any of the places I'm suggesting on this site

lol, will be good. Tabla can get a little pricey, but if you're going with

a group it should be fine if you split the bill.

The second floor of Tabla where the dancers and live music is

The baby Khinkalis