Review of a Family-Style Restaurant – Expectations vs. Reality

This restaurant has received many positive reviews on TripAdvisor and Google Business. It presents itself as a family-style establishment, where guests are welcomed like at home and served traditional dishes cooked with love. We were promised an authentic Georgian experience, but reality turned out quite different.

Although the visit wasn’t entirely bad, we noticed clear inconsistencies between the advertised concept and the actual experience.

What We Liked About "Toma’s Wine Cellar"?

✅ Authentic Family Restaurant Concept
The idea of a menu-free dining experience, where guests are served traditional regional dishes, is interesting and emphasizes the home-style format of the place.

✅ Good Atmosphere
The restaurant is small but cozy, and the hosts create a feeling that you are visiting a Georgian family.

✅ Homemade Wine
The wine is truly homemade, and its presentation adds to the overall dining experience.

✅ Dinner with a Variety of Dishes
For 50 GEL per person, guests receive a set of traditional dishes, making it a convenient way to taste different flavors of the region.

What Can Be Improved in the Restaurant?

⚠️ Food Quality Doesn’t Always Meet Expectations
Despite the homemade concept, the dishes don’t seem freshly prepared.

Chicken in walnut sauce was clearly defrosted, not fresh.

Walnut rolls seemed a day or two old.

The lemonade wasn’t homemade but a regular soda, which contradicts the “family-style” dinner concept.

⚠️ Dishes Never Change
The menu-free concept is great, but returning guests always receive the same set of dishes. This creates a sense of repetition and diminishes the uniqueness of the experience.

⚠️ Artificial Interior Elements
While the restaurant creates a cozy family atmosphere, some details feel artificial:

Electric candles instead of real ones.

Plastic logs in the fireplace instead of real fire.

⚠️ Good Service at First, but Guests Are Forgotten Later

At the beginning, the waiters are friendly, but by the end of dinner, the tables are left cluttered with dirty dishes and empty glasses.

Waiters are not always attentive, and guests often have to wait too long to request something.

Recommendations for Visitors and Restaurant Owners

💡 If you like the "dinner without a menu" concept, give it a try – the atmosphere is interesting, but don’t expect full restaurant-level service.
💡 Make sure to reserve a table in advance, as the place is small and fills up quickly.
💡 The price of 50 GEL per person is reasonable, but the dishes could use more freshness and variety.

Recommendations for Restaurant Owners:

⚙️ Introduce dish rotation – so that repeat guests don’t receive the exact same dinner.
⚙️ Improve the quality and freshness of ingredients – less frozen food, more fresh ingredients.
⚙️ Offer a truly homemade lemonade – since the concept is a family-style restaurant.
⚙️ Make the interior feel more natural – remove artificial elements and add real candles or warm lighting.
⚙️ Improve waitstaff service – it’s important not to forget about guests by the end of dinner.