If there were ever such a thing as an oracle for gentrification, Eka Janashia believes her father could qualify as one. We’re sitting in Eka’s chic café, Satatsuri, with its earthy brick walls and warm wood floors – a space that used to be the family head’s modest two-bedroom ground floor apartment in a rather rundown corner of Marjanishvili.

The district was established in the early 19th century by German migrants who were invited  by Tsar Alexander I to settle in what was then part of the Russian Transcaucasian Empire. In fact, before the mass deportation of Germans and other nationalities and social groups deemed dangerous to the communist ideology by Stalin, there were about a dozen German colonies across Georgia – Marjanishvili, in particular, was a prime locality in the capital, frequented by rich merchants and nobleman of all creeds and nationalities until it fell into Soviet hands, becoming even more dilapidated in the chaotic years following the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was only recently that renovations transformed the main avenues, but side streets retain their weary old-world charm of crumbling and neglected heritage buildings.

Eka’s father had moved here in the mid-2000s to escape the transformation of their former residence (an area that many Georgians still call by its Soviet name, Pervoskaya) into Tbilisi’s first pub street. Starting in the late 1990s, a fleet of Irish-themed watering holes set up shop in their old neighborhood, serving the first wave of expats to arrive in post-Soviet Georgia, petroleum lads brought in to work on a Caspian to Black Sea pipeline. Sleazier joints and massage parlors soon followed and, unable to take it anymore, the senior Janashia and his wife moved out once their kids had grown and left the nest.

When they arrived in Marjanishvili, the elderly couple was content with the relative calm around the early-20th century red brick building in which their new apartment was located. As a bonus, their ground floor windows also faced a pretty stained glass-adorned, wood-latticed heritage building built by Armenian merchant Melkumov in 1851 that used to serve as the Consul of Persia for several years.

But their building also shared walls with an old disused Soviet garment factory that would eventually be transformed into the coolest, youth-centric multifunctional space called Fabrika, which brought hipsters crawling out of the woodwork to Tbilisi’s left bank. The noisy renovations and boisterous parties that followed had Eka’s father tearing out his hair until Eka and her husband, Iva Davitaia, offered to relocate them again to a slightly quieter street in the upscale Vake district.

Realizing the ground floor apartment was no longer suitable as a residential space with the increased traffic in the streets, the couple – who had both worked with leading hospitality firms in Georgia, including Marriot and Adjara group – decided to capitalize on the rising popularity of the left bank among tourists and western expats and try their hand at a café-restaurant serving comfort Georgian-European fusion cuisine in a sleek and stylish setting.

“The idea was to offer something a couple of notches above other joints in the neighborhood yet still keep the menu casual and healthy,” explains Eka on how their space, Satatsuri, was born. “It’s a bit of a fine-dining space, without being posh,” adds Iva.

The couple hired interior designers and roped in one of their favorite young Georgian artists, David Machavariani, famous for his illustrations in a graphic novel edition of the Georgian literary classic – “The Knight in Panther’s Skin” – to create the café’s arresting wall murals.

Local celebrity chef and Georgian MasterChef champion Luka Nachkhebia helped Eka and Iva create the menu, which offers a variety of salads, sandwiches, poke bowls, stuffed savory crepes, soups and Georgian-inspired dishes like ajapsandali (a sort of aubergine-heavy ratatouille) served with fresh hot waffles, a mashed potato and cheese dish from Svaneti called tashmijabi that’s not unlike the French aligot except for different cheeses used, and chakhondrili, a slow-cooked meat dish heavy on a Georgian herb called khondari (summer savory) which gives the dish its name. All seemed well for their planned opening day until a major setback arrived in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns.

By May 2020, when the couple had planned to launch, local restrictions had relaxed to allow take-away and delivery, but seated dining was still not permitted. The couple quickly signed up for food delivery apps and started a social media campaign with one of their unique menu items – savory buckwheat-based crepe rolls with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian fillings. “The crepes really took off on the food apps and they are still one of the best-selling items even today,” says Eka. While the apps help register the brand on the public bandwidth, footfall was still slow even after all pandemic-related restrictions were lifted. Being right next door to Fabrika, with its warren of cafés, bars and restaurants had both its benefits and drawbacks. “Many people first discovered us while on their way to Fabrika,” admits Eka – but soon, the café’s sleek yet intimate interiors drew regulars – including ourselves – who sought a quiet place for a conversation away from Fabrika’s buzzing courtyard.

Today, Satatsuri – which means “asparagus” in Georgian – is one of the landmark café-cum-restaurants in the rapidly gentrifying left bank neighborhood of Tbilisi and one that’s become a regular pit stop for those in need of a healthy lunch or a coffee break. Apart from the delectable melt-in-mouth pork belly sandwiches and crunchy arugula salad with goat cheese, we love the crisp fries served with a tart berry sauce to replace ketchup.

The ever-expanding wine menu, curated by Iva, encouraged us to extend our visits for dinners as well – our last meal of pork chakhondrili and tashmijabi and beef went down with a velvety 2020 Saperavi from a small family-owned winery called Sherma we hadn’t heard of until Iva recommended it. “We personally know most of the winemakers we serve,” says Iva, adding that one of the wines they stock is from a young winemaker who just dropped by restaurant in person with a few bottles of his excellent wine for Iva to taste. The collection also includes some commendable upcoming labels such as M7, Do Re Mi, Anapea and Ocho wines, all sold at a fairly decent VAT inclusive price of 50 Gel (18.50$) a bottle. In fact, all prices here are pleasantly tax inclusive, a rarity in most upper-to-mid-scale restaurants across Tbilisi that can often take you by surprise when the bill is served up (the small-print notice on menus is easily overlooked).

Even though Satatsuri had a slightly rocky start, the café has settled in nicely here at the address inherited from Eka’s father. But she admits things aren’t going as well for her parents, as her father is seemingly unable to escape his fate. Although they moved to one of the city’s upscale neighborhoods thinking chances of being chased by more development was less likely there, a new pub recently took over the ground floor of their current residence. “For my father’s sake, I just hope it doesn’t become too popular and noisy,” remarks Eka with a laugh.

Published on November 24, 2022

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