Mama Tuta Bronnaya

The ground floor holds a 42-seat room with an open kitchen, at the center of which stands a traditional tone oven. Georgian puri bread is baked in it all day and brought to every table as a complimentary opener, with Kakhetian butter and Svan salt. The walls are a deep blue-green with a delicate burgundy pattern, there are antique photographs and lace curtains. The Sundukovy Sisters design is restrained and precise — not a single unnecessary gesture. The room's centerpiece is a light installation of Georgy Totibadze's painting "Meat."

Our guide's team recommends starting with the mini khinkali, the salad with Kakhetian butter, and the grilled lamb tongues — three dishes worth trying first.

The second floor is an entirely different world: an antique Steinway piano, a silk carpet covering the whole floor, plush fringed curtains, and a collection of family heirlooms create the feel of a Tbilisi apartment glad to welcome guests. Behind the curtain is a wine collection recognized by Wine Spectator and FINE WINE ratings, with special attention to orange wine and the best Georgian labels. The floor is often booked for private events — birthdays, intimate weddings — and it's easy to see why: privacy here feels natural, not staged.

The menu runs to about thirty items, and none of them are filler. The classics are all present: chicken tabaka, chakapuli, khachapuri shkmeruli, dolma Avlabari-style. Alongside them are original variations where Georgian tradition meets Italian technique: ravioli with kuchmachi, ravioli with veal brains, mini khinkali with beef in a cacio e pepe sauce with gorgonzola and parmesan. The grilled lamb tongues with roasted celery root deserve special mention — a delicacy people often reserve in advance. For dessert: stewed apricots with walnuts and mascarpone cream, and a matsoni cheesecake. The portions are on the smaller side, and that's deliberate: the menu is built for trying several dishes in one sitting.

Our undercover guests rated it 7 out of 10 for dinner, for precision of flavor, a menu that's well edited without excess, and an atmosphere that makes you want to slow down.

The restaurant's name carries the word "tuta" — the mulberry tree. In the Caucasus, this tree is seen as a symbol of wisdom and abundance: its fruit goes into everything, from desserts to chacha. Gia Khuchua developed the concept together with Aram Mnatsakanov, and after the Moscow launch, GQ's restaurant ranking named it restaurant of the year. Georgian cuisine here is served without theatrical flourish — the way it's cooked at home, when family comes to visit.