How to Book the Funicular Restaurant, Tbilisi
Published
The number that matters is 1938: the year the Kurdiani brothers’ funicular palace opened on Mtatsminda, seven hundred-odd metres above Tbilisi. Getting a table means two bookings in one — the restaurant (+995 577 74 44 00) and the funicular ride itself, a ₾2 card plus roughly ₾10 each way, last car around 23:30 in summer.
One Building, Four Ways to Eat
“The Funicular” is not one restaurant but a 1938 landmark holding several: Restaurant Funicular, the fine-dining hall, running 18:00–midnight under executive chef Jorge Da Silva, a Madeiran cooking European technique over Georgian product; a Georgian bistro (branded Chela) for khinkali and khachapuri with the view at daytime prices; and Cafe Funicular, home of the ponchiki — the vanilla-cream doughnuts three generations of Tbilisi have ridden the hill for. Gault&Millau rates the fine-dining hall 14.5/20, high praise in a city it covers sparingly. Our Funicular review covers the complex; this page is the logistics.
The Two-Booking Problem
The table. Call +995 577 74 44 00 or use the form on funicular.ge. The fine-dining hall wants a reservation for dinner, especially weekend window tables; the bistro and cafe are walk-in. A day or two ahead is normally enough — this is a landmark, not a lottery.
The ride. The funicular runs from Chonkadze Street to the plateau in about four minutes; you buy a rechargeable Mtatsminda Card (₾2) and load the fare (about ₾10–12 each way). Summer cars run to roughly 23:30 — confirm the last descent when you book, or budget a taxi down the mountain road. The ride up at dusk, city lights switching on beneath you, is half the dinner.
What to Eat at 720 Metres
In the hall: Da Silva’s European-Georgian menu — mtsvadi grilled over grapevine, handmade khinkali done at fine-dining tension, Adjarian khachapuri, pkhali to start. In the cafe: ponchiki, full stop — the original vanilla filled to order, or the chocolate version served as three spheres with hazelnuts; locals plan the visit around them. Prices are unpublished; recent diners put the hall at roughly ₾50–70 a person before wine (VAT is added at the till), the bistro at half that, and the ponchiki at pocket change. The view is priced into all three.
Plan It Like a Local
Ride up an hour before sunset, walk the plateau rim, take the window table at dusk, and finish with ponchiki from the cafe on the way down — the sequence beats any single sitting. Ferris-wheel screams from the adjacent amusement park reach the terrace early evening and fade after nine. Pair the mountain with Ninia’s Garden the following night for the city’s other essential table; the wider list is in our Tbilisi dining guide, and the hall holds a place on our impress-clients ranking for the obvious reason: no boardroom beats the window.
View the Funicular complex on Restaurants for Kings →
Related Reading
- Our full profile: Funicular Restaurant Complex review.
- The city: Tbilisi dining guide.
- The valley-floor essential: Ninia’s Garden.
- Views elsewhere: Panorama Dubrovnik — the cable-car dinner.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you book the Funicular Restaurant in Tbilisi?
Call +995 577 74 44 00 or use the contact form on funicular.ge for the fine-dining hall; the Georgian bistro and the ponchiki cafe in the same building are walk-in. A day or two ahead secures a dinner table; ask for the window.
How do you get up to the restaurant?
The funicular railway from Chonkadze Street: buy the rechargeable Mtatsminda Card (₾2) and load about ₾10–12 each way for the four-minute climb. Summer cars run until roughly 23:30 — confirm the last descent when you book, or plan a taxi down.
What are ponchiki and why does everyone mention them?
Cream-filled doughnuts, made at Cafe Funicular since the Soviet era and filled to order — vanilla in the original, or a chocolate version plated as three spheres with hazelnuts. Generations of Tbilisi ride the hill just for them; skipping them is a rookie error.
Who cooks at the Funicular and what does it cost?
Executive chef Jorge Da Silva, from Madeira, runs the fine-dining hall — Gault&Millau scores it 14.5/20. Recent diners report roughly ₾50–70 a person before wine, with VAT added to menu prices; the Georgian bistro in the same building eats at about half that.
Is the Funicular complex worth it for the view alone?
Yes — it is the best table-with-a-view in Georgia, seven hundred metres over the city in a 1938 landmark. Come at dusk, and structure the evening around the ride: rim walk, window table, ponchiki for the descent.