The short answer: Georgia is one of the easier countries in the region to travel as a vegetarian, and a manageable one as a vegan. Many everyday dishes are made from vegetables, beans and walnuts, and the Orthodox Church's fasting rules mean most restaurants already have dishes with no meat, dairy or eggs, often marked on the menu as "fasting" [1][2]. The pitfalls are butter, cheese and the odd hidden stock, so it pays to know a few words and to ask.
Why it works: the fasting tradition
Observant Georgian Orthodox Christians keep long fasts. The two big ones are the Great Lent before Easter (about seven weeks) and the Nativity fast of about 40 days before Christmas, which Georgia celebrates on 7 January [2]. Wednesdays and Fridays are also fast days through much of the year. Fasting in the Georgian sense, samarkhvo, means no meat, poultry, eggs or dairy [1]. The result is a whole repertoire of plant-based cooking that restaurants keep ready.
In practice:
- Many menus have a fasting section or mark fasting dishes; in Georgian the word to look for is samarkhvo.
- If there is no marking, ask what is samarkhvo today. Waiters understand the question even when they don't understand "vegan".
- During Lent and the Nativity fast, the choice gets wider, and some bakeries and cafés add fasting versions of their usual dishes.
Visiting in December puts you inside the Nativity fast, which is good news for plant-based eaters.
Dishes to order
Usually vegan
- Pkhali: finely chopped spinach, beetroot, leek or cabbage pounded with walnuts, garlic and herbs, shaped into balls and topped with pomegranate seeds. Order a mixed plate [1].
- Badrijani nigvzit: fried aubergine slices rolled around a walnut and garlic paste. On almost every menu, and almost always vegan [1].
- Lobio: a thick stew of red kidney beans with coriander and other herbs, served in a clay pot. It comes with mchadi (cornbread) and pickles [1].
- Ajapsandali: a stew of aubergine, peppers, tomato and herbs, a little like ratatouille. Some cooks add butter, so ask [1].
- Georgian salad: tomato and cucumber with herbs and onion, sometimes with a walnut dressing. Ask for Kakhetian oil on it.
- Jonjoli: pickled bladdernut flower shoots, sharp and salty, a good side.
- Mushrooms on a ketsi: baked in a clay dish; vegan unless they come with cheese (ask for them without).
- Sweets: churchkhela, walnuts threaded on a string and dipped in thickened grape juice, and pelamushi, a grape-juice pudding [1]. See our guide to Georgian bread and sweets.
Vegetarian, not vegan
- Khachapuri in all its forms is cheese bread; the Adjarian boat also has an egg and butter. Our guide to khachapuri types explains the regional versions.
- Khinkali come with mushroom, potato or cheese fillings as well as meat. Vegans should ask about the dough and the filling, since recipes vary [1]. More in our khinkali guide.
- Lobiani, bread filled with spiced beans, is often vegan, but some bakers brush it with butter.
- Elarji and ghomi, the cornmeal dishes of western Georgia, are usually made with cheese [1].
- Georgian cheeses such as sulguni and imeruli are everywhere; our Georgian cheese guide covers them.
What to watch for
- Butter: the main trap. A pat of butter may go into lobio, ajapsandali or mushrooms at the end [1]. Ask for it without.
- Stock: soups such as kharcho are meat-based. Bean soup can be made with or without meat stock; ask.
- Walnuts everywhere: if you have a nut allergy, Georgia takes care. Pkhali, badrijani, many sauces and churchkhela all contain walnuts. Tell your guide and the kitchen clearly.
- Guesthouses and family meals: hosts cook generously and meat is the sign of a good table. Say what you eat when you book, not when the food arrives. Most hosts are happy to cook for you with notice [1].
- Mountains and villages: choice narrows in remote areas, but bread, cheese, potatoes, beans and salads are always available.
Eating out in Tbilisi and beyond
Tbilisi has a good number of vegetarian and vegan cafés, plus plenty of ordinary Georgian restaurants where half the starters are plant-based anyway. Supermarkets such as Carrefour, Gastronome and Agrohub stock plant milks and tofu [1]. At markets, look for fresh herbs, pickles, dried fruit, nuts and churchkhela.
Outside the capital, Kakheti's family cellars serve lunches built around pkhali, badrijani, bread and salad; Imereti and Samegrelo lean on cheese and cornmeal; in Svaneti, kubdari is a meat pie, so ask for the cheese or potato breads instead. If you avoid animal products in wine-making too, ask the producer at the cellar door: methods vary from family to family.
Useful words
- Samarkhvo: fasting (no animal products).
- Khortsi: meat. "Ukhortso" means without meat.
- Kveli: cheese. Karaqi: butter. Kvertskhi: egg.
Your driver-guide can explain your diet in Georgian at every stop, which is often the simplest solution. For more phrases, see our Georgian language guide.
Who this suits, and who might struggle
Vegetarians will eat very well. Vegans will eat well in Tbilisi and in the wine country, and more simply in the mountains. Travellers who avoid both dairy and nuts will find it harder, since walnuts carry much of the plant-based cooking; plan with your guide before you arrive.
Food tours for vegetarians and vegans
All our tours are private, so we build the menu around you. The Tbilisi food and wine walk goes through the Dezerter Bazaar, a tone-oven bakery and an Old Town small-plates stop; tell us your diet when you book and we adjust the stops. At the Georgian cooking class in Tbilisi, vegetarian and vegan (Lent-style) menus are possible, with pkhali or badrijani on the programme. For a day in the country, the Kakheti village cooking day works with vegetarian needs if you tell us ahead. See each tour page for the current price, or plan your own trip and we send a private itinerary with a price. Nothing to pay now.
Sources
- Wander-Lush, "Vegetarian Georgian Food: 19 Traditional Dishes": wander-lush.org
- Georgian Eats, "Georgian Vegetarian and Vegan Food: The Complete Guide": georgianeats.com
- Eat This! Tours, "Vegetarian Georgian Food": eatthistours.com
Last checked: September 2026.
