I don't usually like to return to places often if I'm spending a few days in a new environment. But there's a cafe that has genuinely surprised me here in Kutaisi, and it's an unlikely winner: Biblusi Books. In Tbilisi, this is a brand that I've come to hate. Usually really cheap looking shops that have few selections to choose from and being in very depressing, poorly designed (if any) interiors. It's a book shop that I actively avoid in Tbilisi. Yet here, to much surprise, Kutaisi is home to one of the coziest cafe spots I've seen. Though this isn't the usual book shop, it's a cafe and restaurant. It's odd to see that the capital of Georgia is so lacking in creative sand cozy spaces whereas a significantly smaller and poorer city manages to capture an environment so well. I think we returned to this cafe at least three times during our stay here. This isn't to say the other cafe spots around the little city of Kutaisi aren't good, there are many we enjoyed and many we still didn't get a chance to visit. But the way in which this one manages to capture the feeling of a bit of everything is what makes it stand out just that little bit more.
These days cafes do have to find new ways to compete with each other, after all there is so much demand for coffee but interior and environment is just as important as the beans and their pricing. Biblusi Book Cafe has an entire row of seating dedicated to workers that come and would like to sit somewhere a little more isolated with the electronics they have, with plenty of sockets to allow for charging devices. During the few times I've been here, I have seen a few people sitting there slamming away at their laptop keyboards. Other times people are writing on paper and notebooks at the tables. Though I don't think it was ever all that busy. It's surprising for a cafe spot like this to not feel like it's constantly seeing the door opening and closing, but some of that may be from Kutaisi's generally lower population and large number of spots to choose from throughout it. This spot being found in the very centre, in one of the most beautiful buildings of that city I must add! I was surprised that not only was this building that beautiful, but that it had been repurposed in such a great way, being something people can spend quite a varying amount of time within depending on their interests. I do think that's important for buildings that are approaching almost a century in age.
In a more modern approach, and it's something that is rarely seen here in Georgia, the main menu is something that you have to scan a QR code for. In many more developed nations this is the norm now, and in many cases you're even capable of ordering everything from the menu directly to your table number. Pretty convenient! But Georgia is admittedly atrocious for the most part when it comes to service industry. To even see a QR code menu was a surprise to me. Instead of ordering everything from the digital menu directly, you still have to get up or call over the waiter (who is pretty much one person that stands behind the counter and handles all the customer needs regarding orders and coffee production). That didn't bother me given Kutaisi's service industry was actually really good. The staff were friendly for once, and made it clear that if anything was needed, they'd be available. In Tbilisi I'm far too used to staff being glued to their phones, not responding when you ask them something, and just not moving one bit from their chairs. Kutaisi certainly felt like it had figured things out a bit more. The first time we went there we ordered coffee, which was still significantly cheaper than Tbilisi, despite the quality being massively better. It was about 7 or so Georgian Lari which is a great price considering Tbilisi's usual 9 - 12 Lari prices for what I'd argue should be free based on the taste.
I was more surprised that the place also had a rather extensive food menu which was equally rather cheap. Perhaps not so much for Georgia's average salary, but certainly very cheap for someone from another country on a different currency income. The food impressed me a ton. Everything was fresh, and tasted incredibly good. Not to fail to mention the insanity of the portion sizes, you really do get your money's worth. 28 Lari for a Club Sandwhich that seemed more like it was three meals in one. That's about $10 for a promise that you won't end up hungry again until tomorrow. It was the first time that I saw something like this here in Georgia. Amazing prices, incredibly good fresh ingredients and portion sizes, but also a variety in what the establishment offered. Not just being a book shop. Not just being a cafe. Having a restaurant side to it. A working space. A bit of everything I think most people around the world would already be familiar with. Though Tbilisi is quite odd: almost every cafe that seems decent just tries to milk people with laptops with co-working 'spaces' that are just a way to get them to pay up for having a laptop with them. And many places that do attempt to mix up the cafe aspect with something else just fail to really create an atmosphere: obnoxious music that's either rap or just too loud. Poor staff, and the rest I already mentioned.
Outside of the food and drinks side of things, the spot was located incredibly central, and half of it was riddled with festivities. Mostly items for sale from gigantic Santa's to various Christmas tree decorations. A bit more in the back was the spot's book options. A large area dedicated to them, but it was a franchise called Biblusi which is primarily a Georgian book shop. So your English options are incredibly limited if you're looking for something there. But that tends to be the norm here in Georgia; most book shops are small, only selling books in Georgian, and maybe a few in Russian. You might still find something there though to grab and sit with, but that's something you do also have to pay for. It's not the type of cafe where you pick out a book and sit down with it while you're there; you are going to have to cough up a few of those Georgian Lira if you want to sit and read during your time there. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just something to consider if you ever find yourself in Kutaisi and wanting a cozy spot to spend a few hours in during the day. While the interior is quite beautiful, you will need to find something to do. Though that does bring me to the next focus in this post: the interior of the cafe.
I have no idea what the building would've been in the past, but it looked beautiful inside and out. It's a really spacious environment, with a lot of the interior looking a bit like a hollowed-out factory in a way. The walls were showing the brickwork, almost like some of it had been patched up with a quick layer of some sort of cement. It had that industrial feeling to it but didn't feel cold or empty at all. A man chandelier was just by the counter, which wasn't actually holding any lights on it, but instead a plethora of half-opened books. A small wine selection was next to it. Yep, not only could you drink alcohol here from the bar, but you could also buy a very small selection of Georgian wine from there if you really wished to do so. Despite not having a main light coming from the chandelier, it instead had a more festive set of lights throughout the building. Mostly warm tones with large windows that allowed most of the natural light from outside to come in. It wasn't too bright, but also wasn't super dark in there. Not quite that usual European cafe experience where you'll want to fall asleep due to the lighting and music. Though the music played there was absolutely perfect. Finally a cafe in Georgia which manages to capture the right mood. Again, Tbilisi could never! They haven't quite figured out that people want to talk to each other and relax in a cafe. It isn't a club!
We ended up spending quite a bit of time here during our short trip to Kutaisi. We enjoyed exploring other cafes and seeing their interiors and experiencing something new, but everything about this cafe had us returning a bit more often than the rest. Definitely worth a visit, and it really puts Tbilisi's cafe and restaurant attempts to shame. Such a wonderful surprise that has us questioning (for additional reasons also) whether it's worth it to ditch Tbilisi and set up a new home in Kutaisi!