The Best Cocktail Bars in Tbilisi

Tbilisi is known for its wine, but the city's cocktail bars hold their own: speakeasies behind unmarked doors, bartenders working chacha and pinecone liqueur into their signatures, and prices well below Western Europe. Here's what you need to know about the 11 cocktail bars I'd pick, the speakeasies and how to get in, what a cocktail costs, and how to string three or four bars into one walkable evening.

The best cocktail bars in Tbilisi at a glance

Tbilisi's cocktail bars are small, personal and mostly central. Five of my 11 picks sit within a few minutes' walk of Freedom Square, two sit in converted industrial buildings in Vera, and nearly every one has a drink you can only get here. This is how they compare.

The 11 best cocktail bars in Tbilisi, ranked

My order runs from the bar I'd send a first-time visitor to, down to the picks that suit a particular mood. The first 4 are the ones I'd build a night around.

1. Crossroads Bar

Crossroads is the best cocktail bar in Tbilisi to make new friends, and the bar I send people to first. It sits at 30 Shalva Dadiani Street in Sololaki, a few minutes' walk from Freedom Square and the old town. The drinks are refined, but the room is the reason to go: very open and social, with a real mix of expats and locals at the same bar, and nobody looks twice at someone who walks in alone.

Order the Pinelet, the bestseller: gin, pinecone liqueur, lime and simple syrup, with a gentle pine aroma. Whiskey drinkers should go for the Walnut Ember, bourbon with red vermouth and walnut bitters under a layer of oak smoke. The Bloody Mary is the most Georgian drink on the menu, built on a house sangrita of orange, tomato, lemon and grapefruit juice with sriracha, cilantro and Svan salt. The White Russian arrives with a smoking cinnamon stick.

The weekly calendar is built for meeting people: an expat meetup every Wednesday, karaoke on Tuesdays and Sundays, and live music on Thursdays. Wednesday is the night I'd pick if you want to leave with new friends. The small kitchen stays open until midnight with mini quiches at 7 GEL and potato pancakes. Skip it only if you want a quiet room on an event night. Abragi, a Georgian craft beer bar with drafts you won't find elsewhere, is on the same street if half your group wants a pint.

2. 41° Art of Drinks

41° is the bar for people who plan trips around cocktails. You find it at 19 Galaktion Tabidze Street: slide open a metal door and walk down into a brick-walled basement with seats for about 25. The house menu is seasonal, handwritten in a diary and rewritten roughly every month, so I can't promise what will be on it, only that it will be thought through.

Past menus have carried the Back to Black, Monkey Shoulder and Nikka From The Barrel served with black walnuts, and a Peruvian Flip. The bartenders mix to order as well, and that is where this bar is at its best. With 25 seats, a Friday arrival after 10 PM is a gamble, so I'd go early or midweek. Skip it if you want room for a group of eight; it suits two to four people at the bar.

3. Apotheka Bar and Lounge

Apotheka is the prettiest room on this list. It fills a former 1902 pharmacy on Leonidze Street, a short walk from Freedom Square, and was opened by chef Tekuna Gachechiladze with the Art Nouveau interior kept. The bartenders work in white lab coats and the signatures carry prescription names: Penicillin, Valeriana, Aspirin and Floradol.

It's the one I'd pick for a date, or for a first drink with someone who doesn't usually go to cocktail bars, because the room does half the talking. Skip it for a loud group night; it suits two or four people at a table better than eight at the bar. Pair it with Crossroads or Lado, since all three are within a few minutes of each other.

4. Ambavi

Ambavi looks like a residential building, and that is the point. At 12 Galaktion Tabidze Street, on the same street as 41°, look for the beige wooden door with AMBAVI written under the number, climb to the top floor and ring the bell or knock. A doorman lets people in only when there's room.

Inside it's red light, vintage cinema chairs, a DJ and a separate smoking room. The drinks lean classic, so a Negroni is the safe order, and there's local bottled beer for anyone taking a break from cocktails. Ambavi works best late, as the second or third stop after dinner, when the DJ has the room going. Skip it if you want a quiet conversation, because the music sets the volume. If the door says full, 41° is a short walk along the same street.

5. Chacha Time

Chacha is Georgia's grape spirit, and Chacha Time at 5 Geronti Kikodze Street is the place to learn it. The shelves hold 40+ chachas from across the country, including barrel-aged and single-grape bottles, poured in 25 ml measures or as tasting flights.

The cocktails make the spirit easy to like. The Old Georgia is an Old Fashioned made on chacha aged in smoked oak barrels, and the list runs to a Chacha Spritz, a Chacha Sour, a Bloody Mariam, a Mimoza and a New York Saperavi. Ask about the off-menu chacha Manhattan. Eat something while you drink: nadughi with matsoni and ajika sauce, or fried garlic bread with cheese sauce. Weekdays are quieter, and the staff have more time to talk you through the bottles.

6. Kikodze Bar

Kikodze Bar lives in Wine Factory N1 at 1 Vasil Petriashvili Street in Vera, just above the center, inside the 1896 winery building. It works as a coffee and brunch spot by day and a cocktail bar at night, with infused spirits lined up on the shelves, a small room and a patio on the factory square.

The drink I'd order is the White Leather: peanut-oil fat-washed bourbon with agave, ginger, lemon and a touch of Laphroaig. Wine Factory N1 can fill an evening on its own, too. Taqueria Teko's Tacos does a passion fruit margarita, and Sadzvele Wine Hub pours about 200 wines in the same building. Kikodze suits a warm evening on the patio best; in winter the room is small and fills quickly.

7. Barbar'a Bar

Barbar'a is the fun one. It sits at 33 Kote Afkhazi Street in the Old Town, the main street below the fortress, in a white room with Art Deco touches, neon and disco balls, and the list of signatures and spritzes is long.

The Carrot Spices sounds odd and works: bourbon, fresh carrot juice, spiced syrup, lemon and egg white. It's my pick for a group that wants a bit of glamour and photos, and the spritz list makes it an easy first stop before dinner. Skip it if you're after a dark, serious cocktail den; 41° and Ambavi do that better.

8. Cafe Stamba

Cafe Stamba sits in the Stamba Hotel at 14 Merab Kostava Street in Vera, inside a former Soviet printing house. Pink walls, tiled floors and an outdoor garden that doubles as the smoking area set a softer mood than the basements on this list.

The cocktails are light and fruity, made with house-made ingredients, and Genese is the one whiskey drink on the list. I'd come here for the first drink of the evening, ideally in the garden on a warm night, then move somewhere darker. Warehouse, a wine bar with no menu and a few open bottles on ice, is in the same courtyard if someone in your group would rather have a glass of amber.

9. Lado by Valiko Mansion

Lado is a vintage, eclectic bar on Gudiashvili Square, a few minutes' walk from Freedom Square, with comfortable couches and light food: salads, bruschetta and pasta. The signature is the Yellow Mellow.

Its two moods depend on the day. Weekdays are quiet, which makes it a good spot for a long conversation over two drinks. On Friday and Saturday it fills with a pre-club crowd warming up for the night, so the room gets louder as the night goes on. Pick your night by which of those you want.

10. Brouge

Brouge is a moody basement bar inside Zeche, a hall in a former tobacco factory canteen. Raw brick walls, candles on the tables and live sets from local acts set the tone, and the drinks are there to go with the music.

It's my pick if you want a cocktail with a performance instead of a DJ. Check what's on before you go, because the night depends on who's playing. Skip it if you want to talk; when the band starts, conversation stops.

11. Unfound Door

Unfound Door is a hotel, restaurant and basement club space in a 19th-century merchant house. Signature cocktails are poured upstairs, and the basement plays music until 2 AM, so it's the one bar on this list where a cocktail evening can turn into dancing without a taxi.

I'd put it last in the night rather than first: arrive for a signature upstairs, then follow the music down. Skip it if you want to be in bed by midnight.

Tbilisi speakeasies and how to get in

Tbilisi's speakeasies are less about passwords than about doors you would walk straight past. These are the ones I'd look for, and how to get through each door.

I'd save the last two for a second night: Woland's names its cocktails after characters from Russian novels, and the alley walk to Fantastic Douqan is half the fun.

Cocktail Factory isn't hidden, but it brings in guest bartenders, so it pays to ask who is behind the bar that week. It opens at 8 PM and runs until 2 AM from Tuesday to Saturday and until 1 AM on Sunday and Monday. Its Tbilisi Mule comes in a ceramic jug.

Georgian cocktails to order in Tbilisi

The best reason to drink cocktails here instead of at home is the local twist: chacha, Svan salt, walnuts, pinecone liqueur. These are the drinks I'd go looking for.

Svan salt is the one ingredient I'd single out. It's a garlicky, herby salt from the mountains of Svaneti, and it turns a Bloody Mary into something you can only drink in Georgia. Saperavi, the flagship red grape of Georgian wine, turns up in cocktails too, and Chacha Time's New York Saperavi is the one I'd order to try it.

How much a cocktail costs in Tbilisi

Drinks in Tbilisi cost less than in Western Europe, and cocktails are no exception. These are the 2026 ranges I'd budget with.

So a four-cocktail night at ordinary-bar prices comes to 56 to 80 GEL before food. Most bars take cards, so you rarely need cash for the cocktails themselves, but keep some lari in cash for the club afterwards, since clubs prefer it. Check the bill for a service charge before you tip, because some bars add one.

Cocktail bars by neighborhood

Tbilisi is compact, and its cocktail bars cluster in four areas. Pick one, walk between the bars, and save the taxi for the ride home.

Sololaki and Freedom Square

This is where I'd spend the night. Crossroads is on Dadiani Street, Apotheka on Leonidze Street, and Lado by Valiko Mansion on Gudiashvili Square, all within a few minutes of each other and of Freedom Square. Woland's Speakeasy is in Sololaki too, and Abragi pours craft beer on the same street as Crossroads.

Galaktion Tabidze Street

One street, four very different bars: 41° Art of Drinks at number 19, Ambavi at number 12, Vino Underground for natural wine a few doors from 41°, and Rum Roof at number 4 for a drink with a view. If you only have two hours, this street gives you a speakeasy, a DJ bar and a glass of amber without a single taxi.

The Old Town

Barbar'a Bar on Kote Afkhazi Street is the cocktail pick here. Erekle II Street, a pedestrian lane of bars and restaurants with outdoor tables and string lights, is pleasant for a glass outside, while Shardeni Street is where prices climb.

Vera and Chugureti

Cafe Stamba on Merab Kostava Street and Kikodze Bar at Wine Factory N1 are the Vera pair, best on a warm evening when the garden and the patio are open.

Across the river, Fabrika, the converted Soviet sewing factory at 8 Egnate Ninoshvili Street, has a big courtyard bar with cocktails at 14 to 20 GEL, no cover charge and DJs from Thursday.

Tips for a cocktail night out in Tbilisi

Get around by app. Bolt and Yandex Taxi run around the clock, so there's no reason to haggle on the street. Ordering a taxi in Tbilisi through an app also means the driver already knows the address, which matters for a speakeasy with no sign.

Pick weekdays for conversation. Lado and Chacha Time are noticeably quieter from Monday to Thursday, and the small speakeasies are easier to get into. Friday and Saturday bring the pre-club crowd, which is fun if that's the plan.

Expect English. Bar staff in the mixed-crowd cocktail bars speak English, and solo travelers fit in easily, especially at the Wednesday expat meetup at Crossroads.

Drink water between rounds. Tbilisi tap water is safe to drink, and chacha at 40% or more catches up with people fast.

Know where the night ends. Cocktail bars come first and clubs later. Tbilisi's techno clubs charge 15 to 25 GEL on a local night and 30 to 50 GEL for an international DJ. Georgia's drug laws are very strict, so keep the night to what's on the menu.

Which cocktail bar suits you

• Making new friends: Crossroads Bar, for the Pinelet, the mix of expats and locals, and the Wednesday meetup, Tuesday and Sunday karaoke and Thursday live music.
• Cocktail obsessives: 41° Art of Drinks, where the menu changes monthly and the bartenders build drinks to order.
• A date: Apotheka, for the pharmacy room and the lab-coat service, or Lado on a weekday.
• Trying chacha properly: Chacha Time, with 40+ bottles, 25 ml pours and the Old Georgia.
• A warm evening outside: the Cafe Stamba garden or the Kikodze Bar patio in Vera.

Where a cocktail bar is the wrong call:

• If you mostly drink wine, the natural wine bars in Tbilisi pour more interesting glasses than any cocktail list.
• For sunset over Narikala, a rooftop bar with a view beats every basement on this list.
• If your group wants beer, wine and cocktails in one night, a mix of Tbilisi's best bars serves everyone better than a cocktail crawl.