Ilja's Hotel

11/06/2021

We stumbled over this Tbilisi restaurant guide, it looks solid and since our cafe is temporary closed we thought it could be interesting for all of you!

Especially the up and coming contemporary Georgian food is something that everyone should try so check out that section.

A hand-picked list of the 35 best restaurants in Tbilisi for this year, plus what to order. Your ultimate Georgian food guide!

26/04/2021

Hello all dear Tbilisians and guests!

We miss you and would love to reopen both the cafe and the hotel soon again but after looking in to the situation in Georgia we think it’s wiser to wait.

We hope that you stay safe and healthy and that everyone who can get vaccinated will do so when time comes!

Georgia has reported 521 new cases of coronavirus, 1,058 recoveries and 18 deaths in the past 24 hours. 11,226 tests have been conducted around the country on the weekend. 3,463 of the 11,226 tests were rapid tests, while the remaining 7,763 were PCR tests. The country has had 304,272 cases of coron

10/04/2021

”Facing the leafy residential street outside, Ilja’s Hotel’s famous Sunday brunch, the plentiful glasses of jujuna (a local sparkling white wine) served at the bar, and the comings and goings of its guests all make sure that the activities of the café and hotel overflow the small space onto the sidewalk and street. This tiny interior is many things at once, depending on the time of day or night; this spirit of sociable transgression is something that the interior actively encourages through its willingness to experiment with thresholds, slippages, and a little (architectural) misbehaving.”

Read about the making of the cafe in Ilja’s Hotel, today featured in DIVISARE! All credits and big thanks to Karin Matz Arkitekt and Secretary!

Occupying part of a heritage-listed building in the neighborhood of Vera in Tblisi’s inner city, Ilja’s is a tiny, boutique hotel named after its owner: the effervescent 35-year-old Swede, Ilja Stenberg, who has run the hotel for the past 3 years. When th

01/02/2021

Our favorite man of words, Paul Rimple, gives us a look into the mind of a restaurant owner:

“Our deliveryman was Giorgi himself, although we didn’t recognize him bundled up and masked under his helmet. Who would expect a restaurant owner to be its delivery person, too? There are two major delivery services in Tbilisi and both exact a surcharge of over 25 percent, which is also greater than the profit margin of most restaurants. Giorgi was adamant about keeping his restaurant team together (he has only laid off his dishwashers because there are no longer dirty dishes), and as he was the only staff member who rides a motor scooter, he took it upon himself to deliver while someone else cooked.

”Our deliveryman was Giorgi himself, although we didn’t recognize him bundled up and masked under his helmet. Who would expect a restaurant owner to be its delivery person, too? There are two major delivery services in Tbilisi and both exact a surcharge of over 25 percent, which is also greater than the profit margin of most restaurants. Giorgi was adamant about keeping his restaurant team together (he has only laid off his dishwashers because there are no longer dirty dishes), and as he was the only staff member who rides a motor scooter, he took it upon himself to deliver while someone else cooked.”

When Covid-19 hit Tbilisi, Giorgi Iosava, the chef-owner of Salobie Bia, moved his restaurant to a new, larger location and began offering delivery.

13/01/2021

გილოცავთ ძველით ახალ წელს!
Happy New Year from Ilja’s Hotel!

Today is Georgian New Years and we want to take the opportunity to wish you all a bright future! We hope that the coming year will be more social and open and that we’ll be able to host you in our hotel and cafe!

06/01/2021

21/12/2020

A gallery of Tbilisi's amazing 20th Century architecture

04/12/2020

"A former police chief in Russia’s third-largest city of Novosibirsk has been convicted for accepting bribes in the form of the popular Georgian dumpling khinkali"

Corruption comes in many flavors.