Mismatched plates, crocheted tablecloths, cheese bread straight out of a clay oven and live jazz twice a week. Here’s what you need to know before you book.
Downtown Dubai is not short of restaurants. Most of them are loud, polished and built for a view. Qartuli is none of those things. It sits in Dunya Tower, tucked behind Address Dubai Mall, and the first thing you notice walking in is how small it is. The second thing is the plates. None of them match. There are family photographs on the wall, net curtains, a green banker’s lamp, crochet trim along the shelves. It looks less like a restaurant and more like someone moved a Tbilisi living room to Burj Khalifa Boulevard and started feeding people in it.
But Qartuli isn’t just about nostalgic dĂ©cor. It’s the food, the stories behind every dish, and the warm, home-style atmosphere that make it stand out in a city full of flashy dining spots. Here’s what this charming Georgian restaurant in Dubai has in store for you.
Two Georgian women, one clay oven
Qartuli is owned and run by Nino Chantladze and Mariam Shevardnadze, who met in Tbilisi during the pandemic and later built their businesses in the UAE. They started in September 2023 with a delivery-only Georgian concept called Tamada. Four months later, it became a sit-down restaurant. Qartuli opened at the end of January 2024, roughly a month after they took the space.
Their first venture together was not a restaurant. They started by importing and distributing Georgian ingredients across the region, which nobody was doing at scale at the time. That supply chain still runs underneath the restaurant, and it is why the pantry here is genuinely Georgian rather than approximated with local substitutes. Shevardnadze’s go-to is unfiltered Kakhetian oil, pressed in eastern Georgia, thick and heavily aromatic.
In September 2023, they launched Tamada, a Georgian cloud kitchen, to find out whether Dubai actually wanted this food. It worked. Four months later they had a venue. Qartuli opened at the end of January 2024.
The name simply means “Georgian” in Georgian. No concept deck, no invented backstory. It picked up a spot on Time Out’s 100 Best Restaurants in the UAE list for 2024/2025. It is also a licensed venue, which means you can now enjoy UNESCO-recognized Georgian wine and beer made the same way it has been for centuries.
What the room is actually like
There are two seating options, and they give you completely different evenings.
- Inside is the vintage room. Low light, antique cutlery, glassware that clearly came from different decades, and interiors styled after a 19th-century Georgian home. It seats a small number of people, which is why walk-ins on a weekend rarely work out.
- The terrace is enclosed and full of plants, with ambient lighting after dark. In July and August this is a hard sell unless you go late. Between October and April it is the better table.
What to order at Qartuli Dubai
Georgian food is built for sharing, so order across the table rather than one plate each.
- Khachapuri: The cheese bread everyone photographs. The clay oven runs continuously, so it arrives hot enough to be a hazard. The Adjaruli version comes boat-shaped with an egg yolk and butter dropped into the middle, and you stir it in yourself. If that sounds heavy at 9 pm, order the round Imeruli instead, which is cheese-filled and much easier going.
- Lobiani: Flaky bread stuffed with spiced beans. Underrated, and the one vegetarians at the table will fight over.
- Khinkali: Twisted dumplings filled with meat and broth. There is a technique: hold the knot, bite a small opening, sip the juice, then eat the rest and leave the doughy top on your plate. Nobody will judge you for leaving the knot. They will judge you slightly for using a fork.
- Lobio: Red kidney beans slow-cooked with herbs and spices, served in a clay pot. Order it with cornbread.
- Blini: Thin crepes, good as an opener if half your table has never eaten Georgian food before.
- Grilled meats and slow-cooked dishes: Georgian-style kebabs, oven-baked plates, the sort of food designed to sit in the middle of the table for two hours.
One detail worth knowing: a lot of the pantry comes from Georgia rather than local suppliers. Shevardnadze says cooking with unfiltered Kakhetian sunflower oil, which is thick, strongly aromatic and does a lot of the heavy lifting in the flavour.
The 25% weekday deal and jazz nights
Qartuli Dubai is running a weekday early-evening offer of 25% off the total bill for dine-in, Monday to Friday between 6 pm and 8 pm. It applies to the full menu, which makes it one of the better midweek Downtown deals going.
Live jazz runs twice a week, Wednesday and Saturday, from 8 pm. The overlap is the smart booking. Arrive at 6.30 pm on a Wednesday, eat under the offer, then stay on for the music as the room fills up and the lighting drops.
Details at a glance
- Opening hours: Daily, 12 pm to 12 am
- Licensed: Yes
- Parking: Free valet
- Weekday offer: 25 percent off total bill, dine-in only, Monday to Friday, 6 pm to 8 pm
- Live jazz: Wednesday and Saturday from 8 pm
- Reservations: Book online via EatApp or call 058 120 9347
- Delivery and takeaway: Available through the restaurant’s own ordering site
- Also does: Catering and private celebrations
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FAQs
Where is Qartuli in Dubai?
Qartuli Authentic Georgian is in Dunya Tower on Burj Khalifa Boulevard in Downtown Dubai, directly behind Address Dubai Mall and opposite Address Fountain Views. Free valet parking is available.
What are Qartuli’s opening hours?
The restaurant is open daily from 12 pm to 12 am.
Does Qartuli have a discount offer?
Yes. Qartuli offers 25 percent off the total bill for dine-in guests from Monday to Friday, between 6 pm and 8 pm. Confirm the offer is still running when you book.
Who owns Qartuli?
It was founded and is operated by two Georgian women, Nino Chantladze and Mariam Shevardnadze, who met in Tbilisi and later moved to the UAE. The restaurant opened at the end of January 2024, after starting as a delivery concept called Tamada in September 2023.
Is Qartuli vegetarian-friendly?
Yes. Several core Georgian dishes are vegetarian, including Imeruli khachapuri, lobiani and lobio.
Images: Official websites
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