Café Literaturuli

Café Literaturuli is the restaurant that singlehandedly showed Batumi that Georgian cooking could be refined without being diluted. It opened in 2013 on the ground floor of a restored 19th-century merchant's house on Abashidze Avenue, the old town's main pedestrian street, and has run with the same chef-owner — Nino Kartvelishvili, who trained in Tbilisi and worked the kitchens of Paris and Istanbul — for twelve years.

The menu is modern Adjarian with Tbilisi and European touches: a deconstructed Adjarian khachapuri served as three small plates rather than one giant boat; a charcoal-grilled sturgeon over walnut-and-pomegranate sauce; aged beef from the Khevsureti highlands with a tkemali plum reduction; satsivi (walnut-stuffed chicken) refined down to a single elegant portion; a Georgian cheese course featuring cheeses from five different regional producers.

The wine list is the finest in Batumi — 200 Georgian references, including qvevri wines from small producers in Kakheti and Kartli that do not reach Tbilisi's restaurants in any quantity. The sommelier runs a weekly tasting flight of five wines for $18. The dining room is warm, book-lined, with a mezzanine library; the service is warm and slow; the bill for two with wine rarely exceeds $70.

For a First Date: Café Literaturuli is disarming in the best way. The library walls, the candlelit two-tops, the slow pace of service, and the chance to order a shared Adjarian-khachapuri tasting together create an evening that is romantic without pressure. The sommelier will take the wine decision off your hands if asked. It is the most conversational room in Batumi.