Sakhinklis Riqe: more than meats the eye

Update: 30 April 2007 This restaurant - as well as its neighbors - no longer exists, having been bulldozed as part of the Georgian government's nationalization project. Read more about it here: Rike Falls to the Bulldozer in Controversial New Privatization Flurry.

From the street, Sakhinklis Riqe looks like nothing so much as a storage shed for the much larger restaurant that stands beside it, but this unassuming little eatery serves what may be the best kababi in town.

Sakhinklis Riqe is located in Riqe Place, amidst a cluster of other restaurants on the left embankment of the Mtkvari River (between the Metekhi and Baratashvili bridges, but closer to the latter). Don’t be confused by the bright lights and comely exteriors of the big restaurants - look for the squat white structure with no windows sitting cheek-by-jowl beside the restaurant with red “Sameba” letters on its roof.

Inside, you’ll find a surprisingly spacious dining area. The air might be a bit hazy with cigarette smoke, but the warm wooden shine of the large tables and chairs - the owners are clearly privy to the bochka/beer barrel aesthetic – and the friendly demeanor of the wait staff make this a cozy place to dine.

Sakhinklis Riqe doesn’t have a printed menu, but it doesn’t need one - you can count their offerings on one hand. They serve kababi, khinkali, mtsvadi and kombosto mzhave - the house pickled cabbage.

Of all of the items on the menu, the best is unquestionably the kababi.

For the most part, kababi in Tbilisi tend to be pretty predictable - heavy, spiced sausages in flatbread - without a great deal of variation from restaurant to restaurant. But the kababi at Sakhinklis Riqe, like the restaurant itself, is more than “meats” the eye.

Served without fanfare in sheets of thin lavash flatbread, the kababi are of average length and girth. An exploratory poke with a fork reveals lightly sautéed onions and cilantro with a subtle red pepper paste sprinkled beneath the lavash. But it is only upon digging in that one properly appreciates this kababi’s best qualities: the meat is moist and yielding, almost melting in your mouth, and is subtly spiced with minced onion, garlic and herbs.

If you need to round out your meal, the khinkali and mtsvadi will do. The khinkali are pedestrian - just your basic buttoned meat dumpling - but tasty, and the grilled pork mtsvadi likewise is flavorful, if a little on the dry side.

The kombosto mzhave, while simple, is quite excellent. The fermented red cabbage is a pleasing bright fuchsia, and is pickled with red pepper, which lends the dish a little kick. Be sure to order the kombosto if you’re going all-out with the meat menu. The lactic acid in the fermented cabbage will give your digestive system a much-needed boost, and the dish is also a refreshing change of pace for your taste buds.

There’s Kazbegi beer on tap, and Gomi vodka and other standard beverages (Borjomi, Limonati, etc) are also available.

In our reverie of meat, beer, and pickled cabbage my party never learned how much each item cost, but we ordered some of everything, left barely able to walk, and spent about GEL 10 each.

Georgian and Russian spoken. No English, but none is needed, so long as you master the following vocabulary: Kababi, kombosto, ludi (beer).

Sakhinklis Riqe: Riqe Place, 747020
Published in Georgia Today, 16 Feb 07