How do you get from Rustaveli Avenue to Mtatsminda in Tbilisi?

The cable car from Rustaveli Avenue to Mtatsminda reopened in October 2024, decades after the old line closed in 1990. The other way up is the funicular, built in 1905, which climbs 501 m from Chonkadze Street to Mtatsminda Park, the highest point of Tbilisi at 770 m.

Where is the Perovskaya bar area near Rustaveli in Tbilisi?

Perovskaya is the old name still used for the streets behind Rustaveli metro, around Kiacheli and Akhvlediani streets, known for their noisy bars. The Althaus Tea House sits on the corner of Kiacheli and Akhvlediani, overlooking Republic Square, and They Said Books is at Akhvlediani 10.

Which cafés are on Atoneli Street near Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi?

Santino opened at Atoneli 15 in 2021, with a Modbar setup, siphons and pour-overs. BNKR Specialty Roasters roasts in-house at number 19, down a laneway with a small courtyard, and Coffeester at number 23 is a takeaway hatch where everything costs under ₾10.

Cafés in Rustaveli & Mtatsminda, Tbilisi: Hours and Map

Rustaveli Avenue runs about 1.5 km from Freedom Square past the Parliament, the Opera, the Rustaveli Theater and the Georgian Museum of Fine Arts, and it took the name of the medieval poet Shota Rustaveli in 1918.¹ It has carried the city's protests, from 9 April 1989 to the demonstrations of 2023–2024, and in 2026 the government closed it to traffic for rehabilitation until the end of the year.¹

Above it rises Mtatsminda, the Holy Mountain. The Pantheon of writers and public figures around St David's Church on its slope was established in 1929, and the amusement park on the summit stands at 770 m, the highest point of Tbilisi.²³ Cafés fill the side streets on both sides of the avenue, from Atoneli near Orbeliani Square to Kiacheli and Akhvlediani by Rustaveli metro.

Local tip: At the Althaus Tea House on Kiacheli Street, ask to taste before you order; each of its roughly 80 teas can be sampled.⁹

At a glance

91Cafés listed

45With opening hours

08:00Earliest opening

02:00Latest closing

Opens earliest: Duchef Tbilisi, from 08:00 (Daily 08:00–22:00).

Closes latest: Farina, until 02:00 (Mon–Thu 12:00–00:00 · Fri–Sat 12:00–02:00 · Sun 12:00–01:00).

Most common features: wi-fi (27%), card payment (24%), open late (23%).

Getting up and down

Rustaveli metro station opened at the avenue's northern end in 1966, and Liberty Square at its southern end in 1967.¹ Trains run from a little before 06:00 until midnight at a flat fare of ₾1, paid with a Metromoney card that costs ₾2.⁴

In October 2024 the cable car from Rustaveli Avenue to Mtatsminda reopened; the old line had closed in 1990 after an accident that killed 19 people.¹ The funicular, built in 1905, climbs 501 m from Chonkadze Street to Mtatsminda Park.³

Atoneli Street and Deda Ena Park

Atoneli Street has been renovated, with tables on the pavement. Santino opened at number 15 in 2021, with a Modbar setup, siphons and pour-overs, and milk coffees arrive on a bronze tray with a glass of water.⁵⁶ BNKR Specialty Roasters roasts in-house down a laneway at number 19, with a small courtyard, and Coffeester at number 23 is a takeaway hatch where everything costs under ₾10.⁶ BNKR's bar and Radiocafe at number 29 stay open until midnight.

Cityhikers opened a café inside Deda Ena Park in spring 2026, with Mamuli Roasters coffee, all-day breakfast and lunch, floor-to-ceiling windows and outdoor seating.⁷ It serves 09:30–22:00 every day.

Perovskaya: Kiacheli and Akhvlediani

The streets behind Rustaveli metro still go by the old name Perovskaya, known for its noisy bar culture.⁸ By day, the corner of Kiacheli and Akhvlediani belongs to the Althaus Tea House, whose veranda looks over Republic Square; it pours around 80 teas from the German brand Althaus, and each can be tasted before ordering.⁹

They Said Books, at Akhvlediani 10, is an English-language bookshop that serves Five Elephant coffee with breakfast, lunch and early dinner.⁷ Tea & More at Akhvlediani 8 is open until 23:00, and Nair-Nairi on Kiacheli until 01:00.

On the avenue

The Museum, on the ground floor of the Georgian Museum of Fine Arts at Rustaveli 7, sets tables under the arches facing Kashveti Church.⁶ Prospero's Books at number 34, with Caliban's Coffee House inside, has a sunlit courtyard and a shelf on the South Caucasus.⁶ The Rustaveli café at number 20 serves from 09:00 to 02:00.

Mitrofane Laghidze Street, named after the soft-drink maker, has Smile Coffee, Cafe Amazing Nook, Ruby and Ch'ika within four doors of each other.¹⁰ Ch'ika opens there at 08:00.

Cafés in Rustaveli & Mtatsminda

At a glance

26.05

Black Cup

BNKR

Breakfast is...

Brinji

Chez Bureau

Duchef Tbilisi

Farina

Roots

They Said Books

ბრინკს

ბუნკერ ბარი

გვერგო

დალოოდ

დესერტ ბალეტი

ვანილის სახლი

თერთმეტი ფანჯარა

თი & მორ

ივერია

კომბინატი

კოფესტერი

კრაბ

მერი ჯოს

მინდა

ნაირ-ნაირი

ნოუ მორ მანდეის

ნუქ

რადიოკაფე

რუბი

სტრიჩა

სუფრა ჰუმუს

ყავის სახლი

ჩაის მოყვარულთა კლუბი „MoyChay“

ჭიქა

ჭიქა

ჭიქა

Coffee chains in Rustaveli & Mtatsminda

Coffee LAB

Coffeesta

Santino

Getting up and down

Atoneli Street and Deda Ena Park

Perovskaya: Kiacheli and Akhvlediani

On the avenue

Sources

More of Tbilisi

Old Tbilisi & Sololaki

Vera

Vake

Saburtalo

Marjanishvili & Chugureti

Avlabari

Rustaveli & Mtatsminda cafés: questions

How do you get from Rustaveli Avenue to Mtatsminda in Tbilisi?

Where is the Perovskaya bar area near Rustaveli in Tbilisi?

Which cafés are on Atoneli Street near Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi?

Own a café in Rustaveli & Mtatsminda?