Retro Batumi

Retro sits on the Seaside Boulevard halfway between the old town and the new skyline — a two-storey glass-fronted pavilion with a first-floor dining room and a rooftop terrace. The view is the thing: a 180-degree Black Sea panorama, sunset behind you, the boulevard's cyclists and evening walkers below, the lights of the tanker shipping lane a mile offshore.

The cooking is contemporary Georgian tuned for a wider palate. Classics remain — Adjarian khachapuri, satsivi, mtsvadi — but the menu adds modernised plates: a Batumi sturgeon tartare with walnut oil and dill; a slow-cooked Adjarian lamb shoulder with tkemali glaze; a Black Sea crab salad with a pomegranate vinaigrette. The wine list runs 80 Georgian references with a strong focus on the best qvevri producers.

The rooftop terrace is the reason to reserve. Fourteen two-top tables facing directly west over the sea. Service is polished enough to feel like a destination restaurant and casual enough that dressing up is optional. Sunset is the prime booking — 20:30 in summer, 17:45 in winter — and reservations for those tables open exactly a week ahead.

For a Birthday: the rooftop terrace at sunset, the Black Sea panorama, a bottle of qvevri Saperavi, and the shared Adjarian khachapuri arriving with the first stars makes Retro the most memorably Batumi room for a celebratory dinner. The kitchen will arrange a candle on the dessert; the sommelier will pour a Khikhvi amber wine worth remembering.