The resort city of Sochi is so multinational, that it is nearly impossible to select a single national dish. Russian beetroot soup (borsch) and dumplings (pelmeni), Georgian cheese-pies (khachapuri) and veg&meat stew (phalli), fish soup and walnut sauce (satsivi) have harmoniously integrated into the cooking culture of Sochi. So for an average person it is quite difficult to divide them into separate cuisines.
The multinationality of Sochi has resulted in its wide gastronomic variety: the cuisine presented at the resort is the blend of Armenian, Georgian, Uzbek, Greek, and traditional Russian cuisine, naturally. Here you will also find the most delicious kebabs, and Neapolitan pizza, and cockerel soup with Black Sea fish.
Sochi restaurateurs support the traditions of the national gastronomy, and sometimes bring their guests back to a certain culinary and historical past. A separate role belongs to gourmet tourists, who want to figure it all out about the national cuisines of the peoples inhabiting Sochi. To help you out of this wide variety of choice, we offer a list of what is a must to try in Sochi.
Churchhela
The dishes, sweets and drinks listed below are of a clearly expressed regional character. Even if someone has already tried, for example, churchhela from a supermarket, it is better not to discount it and try the local one. In most cases, it will turn out to be incomparably better.
So, as already mentioned above, it is a must trying the churchhela in Sochi. What is Churchhela? It is a favourite natural dessert of many peoples of the Caucasus. It is made from threaded nuts in pomegranate or grape juice condensed with flour and dried.
Walnut Jam
Among other special Sochi sweets, tourists like to buy local honey,
but unfortunately its taste is not much different from that of honey sold in supermarkets of any other city of Russia. Therefore, unique walnut jam is a much better choice. This amazing product is extraordinarily rich in vitamins, especially vitamin C, iodine, and minerals. It will be especially useful for residents of iodine-deficient regions.
In addition to sweet delicacies from tender walnuts, in the markets of Sochi you can buy unusual jam from pine cones, feijoa fruits or medlar. All of the above is undoubtedly very tasty, but if you can find raw feijoa and medlar during your Sochi trip, then it's worth buying them as well.
Fried Goatfish
Georgian and Armenian Dishes in Sochi
In Sochi restaurants with national Georgian or Armenian cuisine you should definitely try chebureki (meat turnovers), khinkali (something like meat dumplings), khachapuri (Georgian cheese pies) or local okroshka on madzoon (Armenian yoghurt), dolma (stuffed grape leaves) and maybe something else that you have never tried before. Most likely, any of these savvy, nourishing and spicy local dishes will be enjoyed by every holidaymaker in Sochi.
Read about National Dishes of Russian Cuisine
Read about Gourmet Tours in Russia
Read More about Sochi
Author: Vera Ivanova