Tbilisoba
თბილისობა
About Tbilisoba
Tbilisoba (**თბილისობა**, "Tbilisi's Day") is the Georgian capital's annual city festival observed on the **last weekend of October** (October 24-25 in 2026), commemorating Tbilisi's founding by King Vakhtang I Gorgasali in the 5th century. The festival celebrates **distinctly Georgian-Caucasus** food culture — neither Russian-Slavic to the north nor Turkish-Middle-Eastern to the south, but a sovereign culinary identity centered on the **supra** (traditional feast presided by the **tamada** toastmaster). The food anchor is **Khachapuri** (cheese-filled bread, with two iconic regional forms: **Imeruli** flat-round and **Adjaruli** boat-shape with egg yolk and butter), **Khinkali** (large soup dumplings twisted at top, eaten by hand by the stem), **Mtsvadi** (skewered grilled meat similar to but distinct from shashlik), **Churchkhela** (walnut-and-grape-must "candle" sweets), and **Satsivi** (walnut-paste cold sauce typically with turkey or chicken).
Signature Dishes
Khachapuri
ხაჭაპური
Khinkali
ხინკალი
Mtsvadi
Churchkhela
ჩურჩხელა
Satsivi
Regional Variations
Tbilisi (capital, primary)
Old Tbilisi (Kala) and Abanotubani (sulfur baths quarter) host main festival events; supra feasts in Mtatsminda Park; cathedral district celebrations; King Vakhtang Gorgasali 5th-century founding legend (royal hawk lost in hot-spring area discovered the city site).
Adjara (Adjaruli Khachapuri origin)
Black Sea region Adjara: Adjaruli boat-shape Khachapuri (called 'Acharuli') with egg yolk and butter signature; Batumi coastal regional cuisine with Black Sea fish + seafood Khachapuri variants; Georgian-Turkish frontier cultural influence acknowledged but distinctly Georgian.
Imereti (Imeruli Khachapuri origin)
Western Georgia Imereti: Imeruli flat-round Khachapuri (the classic 'everyday' Khachapuri) with Imeruli sulguni cheese; Sulguni-stuffed Khachapuri Penovani; Kutaisi regional Mtsvadi traditions.
Kakheti (wine + Khinkali region)
Eastern Georgia Kakheti: ~8000-year-old wine-making tradition (UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage 2013 qvevri amphora method); Pkhali (vegetable-walnut paste salads); Khinkali fish-variants in mountain regions; Saperavi + Rkatsiteli grape varieties; supra wine-toasting integral.
Georgian diaspora (Russia + Israel + US)
Moscow + Sochi + New York + Brighton Beach + Tel Aviv Georgian restaurants preserve Tbilisi-canonical menus; post-Soviet 1991+ immigrant communities; Georgian-Jewish diaspora (Bukharan-adjacent Mountain Jews from Caucasus) preserves distinct supra traditions in Israel; Georgian-Russian restaurants Moscow's Tarakanovsky / Goravan.
Observance Practices
Last weekend of October annually — Tbilisi city festival commemorating King Vakhtang I Gorgasali 5th-century founding; modern city-celebration with food + wine + folk music + dance
Tbilisi
Supra — traditional Georgian feast presided by tamada (toastmaster); elaborate toasts in sequence (peace + family + ancestors + women + Georgia + hosts + guests); communal wine drinking from kanci (drinking horn) or qvevri-aged wine
Distinctly Georgian-Caucasus — neither Russian/Slavic to north nor Turkish/Middle-Eastern to south; Khachapuri (Imeruli + Adjaruli) + Khinkali + Mtsvadi + Churchkhela + Satsivi all Georgian-canonical (NOT collapsed to either neighbor's food culture)
Khinkali eating etiquette: hold by the stem (kudi 'tail'), bite to release broth, slurp broth, then eat the dumpling body — stems often left uneaten on plate as count
Wine + cha-cha (Georgian grape brandy) integral to supra; Kakheti qvevri amphora-aged wine UNESCO recognized 2013; Saperavi (red) + Rkatsiteli (white) signature grape varieties
Georgia + diaspora