Recommended restaurants in Vilnius, Lithuania – A surprisingly delicious culinary destination

Amandus restaurant

In a single word – Wow, and in two words – Huge wow!! This is one of the best restaurants in Lithuania and with good reason. Every bite there will surprise you and excite you with unique, special flavors. We went there for a tasting’s menu. We’re big fans of tasting meals, and we don’t like browsing the menu beforehand, as we enjoy being surprised by each new dish. There wasn’t a single disappointing dish there, everything was really high quality. The presentation was unusual and one of the things I liked was that the chef himself brought out some of the dishes and told us about them. The service there is an easy five stars.

I don’t want to tell you much about the dishes we had, as I’d rather not spoil the surprise and I can say we had fish soup I’m still thinking back to even now. It was the winning dish that day, and not an easy choice. If you’re looking for a restaurant to bring a celebration to your palate, I highly recommend this one.

The meal starts at seven o’clock and lasts at least two hours. It costs 55 euros a person, or 85 euros when served with matching wines. It includes five small appetizers to start, three courses and a unique dessert. Restaurant’s website and Directions map.

Sweet Root restaurant

This restaurant is a three-hour culinary experience of colors, special presentations and local flavors. The restaurant is on the top restaurants in Vilnius list.
It’s known for dishes made of exclusively local produce, meaning the menu changes to reflect the season and the available ingredients. Each dish is a bite or two, and every new dish is different from the last.  You’ll find small dishes made of many different components, and thus you’ll experience a unique combination of flavors.

This restaurant had perfect service, as well, and the atmosphere was great. We sat there for over three hours and were intrigued by every new dish, what it looked like and what it was made of. A dish I really liked was an onion stuffed with buckwheat and many other ingredients, which when mixed together created a lightly sweet and very enjoyable taste. Another great dish was the eel.

While dishes are small, but there are so many of them – you’ll definitely not leave hungry.
If you’re looking for a restaurant for a modern, local culinary experience, this is the place for you. The meal costs 75 euros a person, with an additional 55 euros for matching wines.
The meal had 7 dishes, but the counted 15 different “tastings” (As there are some dishes comprised of several small portions).
Restaurant’s website and Directions map.

Both restaurants require reservations in advance, and should be informed two days in advance if you have any food allergies or ingredients you avoid.

Local bar – restaurant Leiciai

As soon as you walk into this restaurant, you’ll feel the local atmosphere, as if you’ve gone back to the middle ages. You’ll be able to enjoy authentic, as well as modern, Lithuanian cuisine and a wide variety of local beers. We had a tasting’s meal there as well, and I start by saying you should come here hungry, as you’ll need a lot of room for all the food and beer.

The meal started with a plate of local cheeses and sausages, and herring salad. We then received cold beet soup (A very famous Lithuanian dish on hot days), and then a few main dishes like baked potatoes with different feelings (Another famous local dish).

The meal included 5 beer tastings and a local dessert at the end of it. During the dessert stage we were already too full, but I saw on their menu that they have a pie they make in house; on that day it was a berry and yoghurt pie. I couldn’t skip trying it. So, we asked for it in addition to the dessert. I must say it’s one of the best pies I’ve ever had. I’d recommend it even if you’re quite full. The meal costs 25 euros a person. Definitely a restaurant worth coming to and trying the Lithuanian cuisine. Restaurant’s website and Directions map.

Gaspars – A Portuguese restaurant with Indian touches

This was one of our favorite restaurants this trip and we actually wanted to go there a second time, but unfortunately didn’t get the chance. If you’re seafood fans, I highly recommend this one. They have super tasty dishes with fresh ingredients and reasonable prices.

We took three entrees and a main course to share. For entrees, we ordered crab soup which was amazing with delicate flavors, a shrimp dish that ended too quickly because it was so delicious, it was a little spicy and sour, and a chicken tikka with yoghurt that was excellent, but the other two were more special.

For a main course we ordered an octopus dish that was the best octopus I ever ate. The octopus was soft and the sauce excellent! In short, this restaurant has left us a taste for more and I think it is a restaurant that must be visited by anyone in Vilnius.

The price range of the first courses was between 4-11 euros and the main dishes were between 11-46 euros. They also had a portion of curry, which is the flagship dish, which unfortunately we did not taste because we were already full. Restaurant’s website and Directions map.

Georgian House restaurant

We received a recommendation from our guide, Danny, who gave us a tour of the city. We wanted a recommendation for a Georgian restaurant because we saw there were a lot of them in town and he said this one was the best. The truth is, we did not try any other Georgian restaurants there, but this one was so good that there was no need to look for any others.

We ordered a salad with Georgian goat cheese that was refreshing and successful. After that, I ordered Khinkali (Georgian dumplings) filled with mushrooms and Roman ordered them with meat stuffing. I think the mushroom stuffing was extraordinary. I recommend you go to this restaurant especially for this dish. Roman also ordered a huge lamb skewer and he was very pleased with it, but he had to work hard to finish it because the Khinkali was filling all by itself (five big dumplings).

We also ordered Georgian lemonade which had a phosphorescent green color and its flavor reminded licorice. I was less excited by its taste but others may enjoy it. The Khinkali dish cost around 7 euros, salad cost around 7 euro and the skewer around 15 Euros. Restaurant’s website and Directions map.

Mian Chinese restaurant

This restaurant was about 50 meters from our Hotel, Hotel Vilnia. On our last night we passed there on our way to the hotel, the smell was so good we decided to have dinner there on the spot. The menu had many good sounding dishes, but I decided to go for noodles with beef and Roman had noodle beef soup.

Both dishes were really good and satisfying, the noodles themselves were really high quality. The price for each dish was about 7 euros. For those looking for quality Chinese food instead of fast-food, this place is recommended. They also have Bao buns on the menu (Steamed buns with different fillings) and spring rolls. Restaurant’s website and Directions map.

Belmontas Waterfalls grill restaurant

This restaurant is in a magical place called Belmonto. A 10-minute drive from the city center you will find a perfect place with waterfalls, hiking trails, bridges, lots of nature and various restaurants. We spent half a day there and did a short walk and lunch at a restaurant with a waterfall view. This restaurant specializes in grilling and Lithuanian dishes. Roman ordered ribs that were excellently spiced (I usually do not like ribs but these ones I really liked).

We also ordered a Greek salad that was good and I ordered a sausage dish (it was a children’s dish but it was large and tasty). If you are in the area then this could be a great option for lunch or dinner. The price range of the main courses was around 10 euros. Restaurant’s website and Directions map.

Open Kitchen – a food truck court

On Fridays and Saturdays from about four to ten o’clock there is a compound of street food. The complex also has music and lots of seating. You will find burgers, beers, Vietnamese food, Turkish food and more. There is not too much selection there but there aren’t many people either and it is definitely a fun place to visit for dinner or just to get a snack and pass the time with nice music and a fun atmosphere. The prices are cheap there, for example you can find a dish of French fries for two euros or a Vietnamese Pho soup for 5 euros. Website link and Directions map.

Augustas ir Barbora – a fairy-tale cafe

A coffee shop that we came to following a recommendation we received on Instagram. After viewing pictures of the café and reading reviews I knew we had to visit it for both the photos and for the food. The recommendation turned out to be great, as the coffee house was lovely.

We arrived there for a light breakfast and I chose a healthy breakfast of natural juice, coffee and muesli with yogurt, fruit and granola. I really liked the meal; the fruit was fresh and the crunchy granola was not overly sweet. I think it’s a great place for breakfast or coffee and an afternoon snack. There are cakes, pastries and sandwiches. It is definitely worth a visit, especially for those who are looking for Instagram-able dishes. Link to Café and Directions map.

As you can see we managed to check out a great deal of restaurants in the four and a half days we were in Vilnius, that’s what happens when traveling with a pregnant woman in her second trimester and a tall man who likes to eat endlessly 🙂 Every restaurant we were in was a hit and therefore we declared Vilnius one of the most surprising culinary destinations.

If you are looking for a special occasion meal or just to be pampered, then the chef’s restaurants were amazing! If you want a restaurant of a very high standard that’s not too expensive at the same time, then Gaspars will be perfect for that. I also highly recommend going to have the Khinkali at the Georgian restaurant and go to the open kitchen if you are there on Friday or Saturday.