For months, a sign on the door has been announcing the future of what is said to be the last restaurant license on Passeig de Gràcia: Tbilisi Boulevard. A Georgian restaurant opening this weekend that promises to become a gastronomic and cultural embassy of the country. While they finish the last details of the huge two-story venue and the kitchen is already preparing khubkalis and kachapuris, La Vanguardia has been able to take a look at the new stage of this iconic place in the city.
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We are in part of what was the Bulevard Rosa, that shopping gallery that overflowed with glamour in the 80s. The place to be of the time, with almost a hundred shops. Its closure in 2018 was another sign that the city had changed and Passeig de Gràcia was already a luxury showcase for the international public. Little remains of that boulevard which owed its name to the elegant Salón Rosa that preceded it, next to the Publi cinema. The glass dome through which light filters into the center of the restaurant and a staircase remain in place, as those who visit Tbilisi Boulevard and remember the galleries will discover. Moreover, including boulevard in the name is a tribute to the past of number 53 Passeig de Gràcia.
Including ‘boulevard’ in the name is a tribute to the history of number 53 Passeig de Gràcia
Next door, the Bulevard dels Antiquaris also draws on that idea. And until recently, the Boulevard restaurant was right here. But the historical reference is usually not enough to reconcile Barcelonans with a place that recalls a city that no longer exists. The White Rabbit museum, with which the Vives family intended to revive the Bulevard Rosa in 2024 and which many see as a tourist attraction, does not help either. This is not an easy square. Sergio Rodríguez, who is directing the restaurant opening and previously launched Nubar and the aforementioned Boulevard, the two Costa Este group projects that were here before, knows this well. Now, at the entrance, framed by the Dr. Martens shoe store, the sign talks about a “georgian gastroconcept.” It sounds odd, but it is their way of saying they want to be more than just another Georgian restaurant joining the eight already here.
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Here, the culture and wines of the country – Georgia has been making wine for 8,000 years – are also pillars of the project. On the upper floor, a large room divided into several areas with a central stage where there will be dances and performances by Georgian musicians. Going out to eat or dine in the country’s culture has a festive touch. Downstairs, in the open kitchen, pots for stews, a grill, and a large steam pot for khubkalis, delicious buns filled with meat and broth. It is one of the stars of a long menu, with almost 70 dishes. Many fewer than they wanted at first, they point out. Rodríguez has had to bring down to earth the project of three Georgian entrepreneurs long settled in Barcelona and dedicated to construction, importing Spanish products to the country, and hospitality, with four restaurants in Georgia.
In this one, the first they open here, there is room for 250 people between the upper dining room, private rooms, and the cocktail bar on the ground floor, with its own access from Passeig de Gràcia. It is clear that there is a large investment behind it, but also a certain family character. Shorena Sanikidze, in charge of the dining room, speaks with contagious enthusiasm about dishes and wines. And we return to that idea of a gastronomic embassy when we see the Georgian consul visiting the works. There are more than 20,000 Georgians in Catalonia, almost half in Barcelona, and it is clear they will be the first customers. Reaching tourists and, above all, locals will be the challenge.
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