Tamtaki has always been about celebrating creativity and accessibility of unique Georgian flavors. Here is Tamta's vision.
Every restaurant has a backstory; ours is colorful: a little philosophical, a bit bold, very women owned, and completely dedicated to our food.
Get a taste of the how and why Tamtaki came to be!
. . .
It all starts with an idea.
Doing Georgian cuisine differently.
Georgian cuisine is dominated by tradition. Chef Tamta Kikaleishvili thought there was more to explore.
Georgia does centuries-old (or longer) recipes incredibly well, with ingredients that are unique to our tiny country, and even mythic origin stories to match. They are big points of national pride; often how many people discover our culture. Food is our history.
But this can also weigh the thinking down a little bit. The same is true for how Georgians celebrate food, most famously with a large, multi-course (long and boisterous) feast, or Supra. It is a big production.
So how to make this more... compact. More casual? Even more radical?
Tamta, borrowing from her background as a professional chef and culinary studies around the world, thought Tbilisi would embrace a new way of developing flavors, reimagining their presentation and interpretation, while still honoring that heritage of slow process, amazing taste, and joy in cooking for people.
So it was that Tamtaki - her eponymous signature street food, and the restaurant itself - were born!
Next came the concept.
The Tamtaki comes alive.
So, just what is it?
We've often heard (and appreciated) when the Tamtaki concept is described as the best of Supra mixed together, executed with a good balance of healthy ingredients beautifully arranged with our special bread that we bake with each order.
There is no word in Georgian for "sandwich". Now there is one 😄
And that's a good start! But we try to go a little further, in three ways.
For one thing, Tamtaki means being surprising and adventurous: introducing truly unique flavors and ingredients from all around Georgia's regions, and even beyond Georgia, to create food that you simply can't get anywhere else. We aren't trying to be the best of traditional Georgian; we set out to break the mold.
Second, we keep to Georgian tradition by emphasizing discipline and slowness in cooking. True, we call Tamtaki signature street food, but we do all of it fresh and farm to table, meaning most of our menu takes 15-20 minutes to prepare, and that's intentional. We want to get the bread and textures just right.
Finally, we make Tamtaki easy and accessible, for patrons just discovering Georgian cuisine or on the move, so there are both main and mini options. It's rare that our visitors end up trying only one flavor; they usually realize they want more. But we want you to grow into our concept, not be overwhelmed, and really enjoy it.
Always dedicated to food.
We take our values seriously.
Tamtaki proves small is beautiful. And we've grown because of our commitment to doing things right.
For us, this radical concept is only as good as its execution and values. Since our founding in 2020, as we've evolved and experimented, everything about us still comes back to our mission: thoughtful food, amazing experience, and community.
So we are truly committed:
To supporting local agriculture and exclusively using the freshest ingredients, selected each morning. Cheese, pork, beef, chicken, greens and vegetables are all sourced directly from Georgian villages and artisan producers – and they come from a variety of regions: Racha, Imereti, Guria, Kakheti, and Samegrelo.
To keeping our prices very reasonable and portions generous, in the spirit of street food.
And most of all, it means always bringing extra love and care to all of our patrons, which their reviews of us often reflect. Our space and team are really a reflection of our food: comforting, entertaining, never rushed - feeling European and open to the world, while also distinctly Georgian.
Don't take our word for it. We'd love to help you discover Tamtaki personally, and show you more!