Best Rooftop Bars in Kazbegi for Sunset Drinks and City Views
Words by
Nino Kvaratskhelia
Finding the best rooftop bars in Kazbegi: a local's honest guide
Kazbegi does not have a tall skyline or a sprawling metropolis to gaze down upon, which is precisely what makes its elevated drinking spots so special. Perched at the foot of the Greater Caucasus range, the best rooftop bars in Kazbegi give you a front row seat to glaciers, volcanic peaks, and valleys that change color with every passing hour of daylight. I have spent years drinking here, sometimes with locals and sometimes alone, always watching the light shift over Mount Kazbek. This is the guide I wish someone had handed me before my first visit.
Rooms Hotel Kazbegi's Rooftop Terrace in the town center
Rooms Hotel Kazbegi sits on the edge of Kazbegi's central roundabout, the one intersection everyone passes when driving into town from Tbilisi. Its rooftop terrace is arguably the most polished outdoor setup you will find if you want a proper cocktail with the snow-capped peaks framed behind your glass. The hotel was developed as part of a broader push to attract higher spending travelers during Georgia's tourism boom of the mid-2010s, and it changed the standard for what a mountain town bar could look like.
What to Drink: The Aperol Spritz here is made with Italian Aperol and local sparkling wine, and it hits exactly the right balance when the sun starts dropping behind the ridge. They also pour Georgian wines by the glass that you will not find in most village cafes, including a dry white Tavkveri that pairs well with the charcuterie board.
Best Time: Arrive around 6:30 in July or August. You get two hours of golden light on the peaks before the sun dips, and the terrace fills up after 8, so an early claim on a corner table matters.
The Vibe: Upscale but not stiff. You will see couples in hiking boots next to people in linen shirts, and nobody blinks. A small local detail tourists miss: if you ask the bartender nicely, they will let you photograph from the third floor corridor window even if you are not a guest, and the angle from there captures the church steeple with the glacier behind it.
One Thing to Know: The terrace sometimes closes on short notice if winds pick up above 40 km/h, which happens more often than you would expect at this altitude. Call ahead if the day has been gusty.
The Roof at the Posta Hotel by the central square
Posta Hotel sits practically next to Rooms Hotel, a short walk from the same roundabout, and its rooftop bar has become a quieter alternative for people who want mountain views without the same crowd density. The building itself carries some of the architectural language of late Soviet-era construction, but the rooftop has been entirely rebuilt with wood decking and low seating that keeps the wind from knocking over your drinks. It opened to the public around 2021, and locals were skeptical at first because another "rooftop bar" in Stepantsminda sounded like a marketing gimmick. It is not.
What to Drink: Their chacha sour, made with home distilled grape chacha blended with housemade sour mix, is the signature. If chacha scares you, the Georgian craft beer selection has grown in recent years, and they stock a few bottles from a Kazbegi microbrewery that is run out of a garage near the Juta road.
Best Time: Weekday evenings in June or September when the terrace is rarely full and the light lingers longer on the north face of the mountain.
The Vibe: Laid back, almost residential. Small groups, low music, the occasional barking dog from the neighborhood below carries up. Insider tip: the front corner seat on the left side looks directly at the Gergeti Trinity Church without any obstruction, and only regulars seem to know to ask for it.
One Thing to Know: The stairs up to the roof are narrow and steep. If you arrived with trekking poles or a heavy bag, leave those at the front desk.
Cafe Lounge on Gorgiladze Street near the police station
This is not technically a rooftop bar in the architectural sense: it is a raised outdoor terrace on the second floor above a small restaurant. But the sky bars Kazbegi locals actually frequent at the end of a long day often look more like this than the polished hotel terraces. Cafe Lounge sits on Gorgiladze, the quiet street that runs behind the main square, and from its terrace you get an unobstructed look at the lower slopes leading up toward Gveleti waterfall. It is a place where guides, drivers, and the handful of Georgian architects who have relocated to Kazbegi end up on a Friday night.
What to Order: Puri, the local oven bread, served with a thick smear of tklapi and a plate of local cheese. For drinks, they pour draft Kazbegi beer, which is a light lager that does the job.
Best Time: After 8 PM on a Friday when the weekend crowd trickles in from Tbilisi. The energy is social, and outdoor bars Kazbegi residents actually recommend to friends tend to fill up late.
The Vibe: Unpretentious and a little loud. Conversations overlap. You might end up talking to a paramedic from Ambrolauri who moved here two months ago. The speakers sometimes play Russian-language pop from the early 2000s, which I personally do not mind but some European visitors find surprising.
Drawback: There is no real shade covering, and late June afternoons on the western-facing terrace can be uncomfortably hot if you arrive before the sun drops.
The Kazbegi Rooms Rooftop Bar stairwell windows for non-guests
I am including this because many visitors to Kazbegi assume the famous Rooms Hotel rooftop is exclusively for paying guests, and that is only partly true. Even if you cannot or do not want to splurge on a cocktail at the main terrace bar, the third floor corridor of the hotel offers one of the best vantage points in the entire town. Floor to ceiling windows face north toward Mount Kazbek, and the light at sunset makes the glacier glow pink and orange. Locals know this, and you will sometimes see non-guest Georgians quietly standing in the hallway taking photos.
What to See: Mount Kazbek at sunset from the third floor north-facing window. Bring a zoom lens if you have one.
Best Time: 15 to 20 minutes before actual sunset. The pre-glow on the glacier is as dramatic as the sunset itself, and most photographers arrive too late.
Insider Tip: Be respectful and quiet. Do not block the corridor. The hotel staff usually tolerate non-guests photographing from the window if you are discreet, but they will ask you to leave if you linger too long or bring outside alcohol into the building.
The Shemodgon bar and view deck in the Gudauri direction
About 25 kilometers south of Kazbegi town, on the road toward Gudauri, there is a roadside bar and restaurant called Shemodgon that has a wooden deck extending out over a steep drop. It is a proper outdoor bar in Kazbegi's gravitational pull, and the view deck faces the valley looking back toward the town rather than at the peaks. I am including it because people driving south from Kazbegi consistently miss it, yet it offers one of the best sunset panorama drinking experiences in the broader region. The building was originally a Soviet-era rest stop that was privatized and rebuilt in 2016.
What to Drink: Their house wine is poured from a barrel behind the counter and costs about 7 GEL per glass. It is rough and honest. The homemade lemonade with mint is popular with drivers who are continuing south.
Best Time: On a clear evening, stop here on your way back from Gudauri before you enter Kazbegi. The deck catches the western light straight on.
The Vibe: Roadside. Trucks and tour vans pull in alongside sedans. You will hear Russian, Georgian, Armenian, and sometimes Turkish. It is one of the most linguistically diverse spots in the region, which sums up the Caucasus pretty well.
One Thing to Know: The deck railing is low. If you have children with you, keep them close, especially after the fourth glass of barrel wine.
Tergi Bar on Tamar Mefe Street in the Old Quarter
Tamar Mefe Street, named after Queen Tamar, the medieval ruler who united Georgia, winds through the older residential part of town. Tergi Bar sits at its eastern end, near where the road starts climbing toward Gergeti Trinity Church. It has a rooftop terrace that is more rustic than anything at the hotels, built from reclaimed wood and corrugated metal, but the positioning is outstanding. You sit above the valley floor and look straight at the southern face of the main ridge. The bar opened around 2018 and has changed hands twice since then, but the current owner has kept the bones of the original concept intact: local wine, simple food, uninterrupted views.
What to Drink: Saperavi, the full bodied red that Georgia is known for, served at cellar temperature even in summer. A bottle here will run you between 15 and 25 GEL depending on the producer.
Best Time: Late afternoon in early October when the larch trees on the lower slopes turn golden and the whole valley goes amber.
The Vibe: Quiet, almost contemplative. This is where I bring people who are grieving or processing something. The view does the talking.
Drawback: The Wi-Fi barely works on the terrace. If you need to upload that sunset photo, go back downstairs near the bar.
The Gergeti Hotel Rooftop near the church road junction
Gergeti Hotel sits at the base of the road that climbs to the famous Gergeti Trinity Church, about 2 kilometers outside the center of town. Its rooftop terrace is small, only about eight tables, but it faces directly north and at certain times of year the setting sun floods the terrace with warm light while the peaks behind stay in cool shadow. The hotel has been operating since the early 2000s and was one of the first in the area to build a dedicated observation platform for non-guest visitors.
What to Drink: The homemade fruit compote, served warm in winter and iced in summer, is what locals from Kazbegi town actually order here. It is made from local plums and quince. For alcohol, the Saperavi rosé is surprisingly good and reasonably priced.
Best Time: Weekday mornings in May or June when the terrace is empty and you can photograph the mountain without a single person in the frame. Most tourists think the rooftop is only for sunset, and the morning light is equally dramatic but draws a fraction of the crowd.
Insider Tip: The hotel grounds also have a small garden walk that leads to a viewpoint facing the valley to the south. It is not advertised, and almost no tourists ever go there. The current owner told me it was originally designed as a private meditation path when the hotel first opened and was only opened to the public in 2020.
Roof Camp Kazbegi near the river on the east side
Roof Camp sits on the eastern bank of the Tergi (Terek) river, about 500 minutes walk from the town center. It is less of a bar and more of an open air social space built from shipping containers and wooden platforms, with a small bar counter serving drinks from a converted van. It opened in 2022 as a seasonal outdoor bar Kazbegi visitors started gravitating toward when the hotel rooftops felt too formal. The people who run it are a mix of young Georgians from Tbilisi and a couple of French expats who got tired of city life. It has become something of an unofficial gathering point for the backpacker and van life community that passes through the area between May and September.
What to Drink: The Tbilisi lager on tap is the cheapest in the wider area, around 4 GEL for 500 ml. They also serve a seasonal fruit punch that changes daily depending on what the market delivered.
Best Time: Saturday evenings after 7 when the music picks up and someone inevitably brings a guitar. If you prefer quiet, come Wednesday afternoon.
The Vibe: Communal and slightly anarchic. Card games, charades in three languages, the occasional dog wandering up from the riverbank. This is the opposite of the hotel terrace experience, and I love it for exactly that reason.
The Vibe with a Drawback: Bring a sweater. Once the sun drops behind the ridge, the temperature on the east bank plummets fast, and the mist coming off the river makes it feel even colder. I have seen people in shorts at 6:30 PM shivering by 7:15.
When to Go and What to Know
Kazbegi's bar and rooftop season runs roughly from May through October. Between November and April, many outdoor bars and terraces either close entirely or operate with reduced hours because of snow and road conditions on the Georgian Military Highway. Altitude affects drinking speed: at 1,740 meters above sea level, alcohol hits about 10 to 15 percent faster than at sea level, and most visitors underestimate this. Drink water between every alcoholic drink, especially in summer.
Parking in central Kazbegi is extremely limited. Most of the best outdoor bars Kazbegi offers are within walking distance of the central square if you are staying in town. For Shemodgon on the Gudauri road, you will need a car. Credit card acceptance is not consistent: Rooms Hotel and Posta Hotel accept cards, but Tergi Bar, Cafe Lounge, and Roof Camp are cash only. Always carry at least 100 to 200 GEL in cash when heading out for sunset drinks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the standard tipping etiquette or service charge policy at restaurants in Kazbegi?
Most restaurants and bars in Kazbegi do not include a service charge on the bill. Rounding up the bill or leaving 10 percent is customary and appreciated but not strictly expected. At the more upscale hotel bars, a 10 percent service charge is sometimes added automatically. When paying in cash, leaving small change or rounding to the nearest 5 GEL is standard practice.
How easy is it to find pure vegetarian, vegan, or plant-based dining options in Kazbegi?
Pure vegan dining is limited in Kazbegi. Most restaurants offer vegetarian dishes such as lobiani (bean stuffed bread), pkhali (vegetable pate plates), and eggplant with walnuts, but fully plant based menus are rare. Hotel restaurants are more likely to accommodate vegan requests if notified in advance. Roof top bars and casual spots generally serve bread, cheese, and salad as their primary non meat options.
Are credit cards widely accepted across Kazbegi, or is it necessary to carry cash for daily expenses?
Credit and debit card acceptance is inconsistent. The two main hotel bars accept Visa and Mastercard. Most small bars, cafes, and outdoor vendors operate cash only. ATMs exist in central Kazbegi near the main square but occasionally run out of cash on busy weekends. Carrying 150 to 200 GEL per day in cash covers meals, casual drinks, and small purchases safely.
Is Kazbegi expensive to visit? Give a realistic daily budget breakdown for mid-tier travelers.
A mid-tier daily budget in Kazbegi runs approximately 150 to 250 GEL. This covers a guesthouse or mid range hotel room (50 to 100 GEL), two meals at local restaurants (40 to 70 GEL total), drinks at a rooftop or outdoor bar (20 to 40 GEL), and local transport or fuel (20 to 50 GEL). Guided excursions, Gergeti Trinity Church transport, or paragliding are additional.
What is the average cost of a specialty coffee or local tea in Kazbegi?
A standard espresso or cappuccino at a hotel bar in Kazbegi costs 8 to 12 GEL. Georgian tea (black, served without milk in the traditional style) runs 3 to 6 GEL depending on the venue. Artisan or single origin coffee is not widely available; the specialty coffee scene has not developed the same way it has in Tbilisi. Hotel bars tend to charge the most, while small neighborhood cafes charge closer to 5 GEL for a basic coffee.
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