Otium restaurant is a very stylish, but what's interesting not at all expensive venue, located in neighborhood of Vake in Tbilisi (uphill on the Turtle lake road).
I have dozen of times passed by this restaurant during some of mine hiking trips around here (See: Hiking in Tbilisi - Turtle lake (Kus Tba) - Vake Park) but I always refused to visit it, because I thought it should be out of my league (all those SUV cars parked in front of the entrance, with CD number plates). I usually avoid too much extravagant places, but I was wrong - I really enjoyed Otium restaurant, and as said - I was surprised of relatively low price for their lunch menu.
In short - Otium rocks, their lunch menu offer is high end restaurant meal for budget price
Entrance doors at Otium restaurant in Tbilisi
Yup, that huge red/mirror construction is actually an entrance doors and stairways down to the Otium kingdom. I remember a few years ago, when construction works were held at this site, I was a bit pissed of, because down there was an abandoned garden from which I took a hike just inside the Vake park.
Probably that's the reason I avoided to step-in into this restaurant for a very long period of time, it was an obstacle for my hiking adventures,thus frankly said, I believe I could take that trail again (I just need to find it once more), but what's important - I believe a restaurant in this place is much better than just an abandoned garden. Though this place (as most places in Georgia is lacking a parking lot)
Spacious dining hall at Otium
Huge outdoor territory
They had even an ice rink for kids installed at one corner.
Now we decided to take 11GEL lunch menu, which consists of three meals - salads or soup, fish or meat and dessert + drinks. 11 GEL - you must be kidding me??!! - but that's how it works here, every work day from 12PM until 3PM - they serve a lunch menu here. Now this is a deal!
Mushroom cream soup
Wow, that soup was something special - one of the best mushroom soups I have tried (and I really love mushroom cream soups, but this one was a masterpiece)
Something cool
Sorry, cant remember name for this.
Neither for this
...or this
The bottom line
Lunch menu at Otium is a restaurant meal for a budget price. We paid in total 33GEL for our lunch meal for two persons, we ordered some additional tea and coffee. Otium rocks - I will return here without doubts, sorry environmental friends.