The best restaurants in Vilnius

In comparison with other Europe's capitals, the restaurants of Vilnius have a special history. Mostly influenced by the Soviet culture, the restaurants of Vilnius were later shaped by foreigners that came in the first years of independence, and now, are being shaped by internationally educated locals. How should you choose a restaurant in Vilnius to not be left dissapointed? What should you expect and prepare for when visiting one of the catering facilities?

A map of the best Restaurants in Vilnius. These are hand-picked restaurants that we would come back to, recommend to friends, and those with an already established reputation.

Menus of the restaurants of Vilnius

As per usual, the restaurants are catering for the customers' taste, with attempts to create exceptionally tasting dishes and get customers used to these. People spending the most to eat out, are a generation that is used to food that is characteristic to the Soviet Union. This clientele does not require fancy novelties. They stick to filling food, often extinguishing natural flavours of meat and vegetables with sauce and spice. Such a restaurant will have a choice of soups, and the main dish will be a choice from a great variety of pork dishes. Soviet restaurants were famous for the peasant food, slavic, Middle Asian, and Caucasian region dishes. For the most part, owners, managers and chefs of such a restaurant will have worked in a soviet restauran, likely as waiters. More often than not, these restaurants focus on catering for events, and are not thoroughly pleased with odd customers. Frozen products are commonly used.

Many novelties and ideas were brought to the Vilnius' restaurants when foreigners established restaurants of their national cuisines. Restaurants were opened by Italians, French, Indians, Chinese, some more successful than others. Often it was not the main business, but rather a hobby or self-realisation. These restaurants were aimed at the youner generation without forgetting the older. It is doubtful that your guest, brought to such a restaurant, would be suprised by the originality. At least the contents of the plate are clear.

The restaurant  Galo do Porto offers seafood dishes. Meanwhile, Galo do Porto and the German - European food restaurant Bunte Gans, managed by the same owners, focus on the quality of food, cozy environment, customer attention. It is a great place to meet your business partner of friends. Moreover, an unforgettable romantic evening is guaranteed.

The real trend of restaurants started in the 2015. Often these are the restaurants of Lithuanians' having worked or studied abroad. Many have started the business without a clue in the industry, yet with fame gained in a variety of media projects. Some restaurants were opened by those that finished international courses. These restaurants have an individual style, mixed with culinary experiments. Yet often, after visiting such a restaurant and satisfied the curiosity, there is no need to return. These are the ones participating and winning in the competitions amongst restaurants. Whether the titles are not simply a judgmenet by a selected few, time will show. Customers are the ones that value the price and value ratio. These innovative restaurants started to build on cooking with fresh produce. Meat and vegetables are supplied by the local farmers, or through special contracts with international suppliers.

Bizarre is a contemporary style restaurant in the Old Town of Vilnius. Excellent food and exclusive interior make this restaurant attractive for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sitting at the bar. Come with friends or for a business lunch. Most of the dishes are prepared using fresh ingredients from Lithuanian farmers.

Quality of waiting in Vilnius' restaurants.

A common sluggishness of  teaching processes in Lithuania can be seen in the catering industry too. Catering studies are strongly based on soviet eperiences and teaching bases. Only in the recent years, there is a bloom of internationally trained specialists.

We recommend trying fresh fish dishes in the restaurant Žuvinė, located in the City Hall of Vilnius. The owners bring fish not only from the ponds, but also from the fishermen, catching fish in lagoon, sea, or lakes. Depending on the season, you can taste fish that is national rarity. For example, at the end of winter - beginning of spring, make sure to order marinated smelt, later - wild catfish or zander steak. The current menu of the restaurant may be found here.

Seeing an older waiter is rare even in the best restaurants of Vilnius. Many owners willfully choose young students to serve as waiters. Customers receive a genuine, yet not always a professional service. However, some of the restaurants will not offer you either of those. Seeing a negative review regarding waiting in a restaurant will not always apply to you. The rotation of waiters is so often, that even in a single year the whole team can change more than once. It is common to leave a 10% tip for good service.

A place for a restaurant of Vilnius

Restaurants in the Old Town are aimed at foreign tourists. Sometimes these hotel visitors of own, or a neighbouring hotel, sometimes, occiassional customers. Mostly there are the restaurants that do not experiment with food, they serve ordinary and popular dishes. A dinner will not cost a fortune and a seat in the terrace will open the view to the beauty of Lithuanian women. Costs of rent and operation are high in the Old Town, do not expect to have dine with a glass of wine with less than 40 euros per person. Old Town restaurants host exclusive classy buffets, weddings, company events, seminars, and conferences. Frequently, a restaurant in the Old Town owns a hotel (or the opposite, the restaurant belongs to the hotel). Which of the two is more popular, depends on the chef's capabilities. Restaurants like these are often visited by foreign guests, business lunch, or dinners are organised. Many of the new generation restaurants have been established in the central districts around the Old Town. Rent is cheaper, and the surroundings are well received by the younger generation. The city centre is full of tiny restaurants, with just a few tables to them, together with large restaurants, capable of hosting hundreds of guests. Prices in these restaurants are not necessarily indicative of the quality. Often the rarely visited restaurants increase their prices to survive.

In Bunte Gans taste restaurant selected, German made sausage, Buga Bratwurst, and of course real Swabian beer that can only be found here - Zoller Hof. Many have said that it is one of the best beers they have tried in Lithuania. The restaurant is famous for its' real schnitzel made of veal. A German restaurant is nothing without shank. You should order this meal beforehand. A signature meal of the restaurant, a 1.5kg shank will have you waiting for your next visit. Selection of pâtés made with mushrooms, and chicken-geese liver. Bunte Gans is also famous for their deer and beef steaks as well as a fantastic goose breast.

Distinct restaurants and inn's can also be found right in the outskirts of Vilnius. These often serve the food of traditional village cuisine, there are some restaurants of the Caucasian cuisine. An out of town restaurant is worth choosing on after hearing an opinion of a friend since the quality of food can distinctly vary.

How to recognise the best restraurant.

Restaurant reviews in the social media should not be a factor when choosing a place to dine. The competitors are just as able to put down a negative review, as the employees are able to put in a positive one. Finding an independent opinion might be complicated.

The restaurants that are marked in our map are those that we would come back to, and those that have an etablished reputation. We did not include those that we were not satisfied with, often poor service or food is a temporary problem of a restaurant. If problems become consistent, such restaurants will not appear on the map at all. We intend to show the positive sides of the restaurant, such that would suprise you and your guests. Not every restaurant that didn't make the cut is unsatisfactory. Some might have been overlooked, and some were not included as their reputation is not yet well established.

Kaip visada geriausias restorano vertinimo rodiklis yra kokybė ir kaina, kad abu komponentai dera, As per usual, the best criterion for the restaurant is the price and quality ratio. A match between the two can be seen by the amount of visitors in the place.

Best restaurants and clubs open at night.

There is a lack of restaurants working overnight. Usually, even during the season, head chefs leave the restaurants before midnight. In this case the choice is limited to a few dishes left for heating up. In many cases such restaurants are joined with night clubs. Spending an evening in a night club of Vilnius is safe and cheap. Especially if compared to the prices of Scandinavian night clubs.