Six Addresses in Vilnius
By Rimvydas Laužikas
Welcome to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania — a city that’s both medieval and completely modern! It will celebrate its 700th anniversary in 2023. Situated on the borders between civilizations, Vilnius was and is a creative space where different people, cultures, religions, and traditions interact, creating new and fascinating cultural layers as well as a rich gastronomic culture.
Ertlio Namas To explore that culture, start with the historical roots at the restaurant Ertlio Namas. Situated in a 17th-century house built by Jurgis Ertlis, a master of carpentry and stonemasonry, this restaurant allows visitors to smell and taste the authentic history of Lithuanian gastronomy. Chef Tomas Rimydis and the restaurant team carefully reveal layers of the historical multicultural cuisine using modern techniques in a contemporary restaurant culture. The menu follows the seasons. If you visit this place in early summer, you may taste a beaver pâté, crayfish soup, strawberry gira (a local fermented nonalcoholic drink), cucumbers, and honey dessert. Each dish is accompanied by stories about its history, ingredients, and related cultural patterns, transforming the restaurant into a kind of living museum of historical Lithuanian gastronomy. Šv. Jono Street 7, tel +370 637 33300.
Gastronomika At the 2019 Lithuanian Gastronomy Forum, chef Liutauras Čeprackas presented the Manifesto of Lithuanian Modern Cuisine, relating the historical roots and multiculturality of Lithuanian gastronomy to the use of high-quality ingredients from local farmers combined with imported ingredients and an openness to modern European gastronomy. The chef applies these ideas in the menu of Gastronomika. You can enjoy the boletus Royale, quail, venison or beef, apple and parsnip tartar, and eel dumpling from the dégustation or à la carte menu. Bokšto Street 6, tel +370 612 68808.
Beigelių krautuvėlė Vilnius’ gastronomy is unimaginable without tasting the cuisines of the city’s nationalities and cultures, and the most important of them, Jewish. Before the catastrophe of the Holocaust, Vilnius was called the “Northern Jerusalem,” marking the fundamental role and impact of Vilnius in the Jewish world and the Jewish people in Vilnius’ culture. When I eat bagels in different countries around the world, I remember that in Vilnius — the cultural metropolis of Central Europe — bagels have been popular since the end of the 16th century. So it would be inappropriate to be in Vilnius and not taste the local bagels. The best place is Beigelių krautuvėlė. I like it not only for the bagels but also for the authentic Litvaks (Lithuanian Jewish) and Israeli high-quality kosher food. Pylimo Street 2, tel +370 683 86894.
Local Pub Two drinks, beer and coffee, are essential in the Lithuanian gastronomical tradition. Since early medieval times, beer rather than water has been the typical drink of all social groups. There are many great places to taste beer in Vilnius, but I propose visiting the Local Pub, owned by the beer sommelier Vidmantas Čičelis. He offers many different alcoholic and nonalcoholic beers produced by small breweries in Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, and other countries and representing the local beer culture. Contemporary Lithuanian beer culture embraces the move from the industrial “pan-European” beer to the international and local craft beers produced by small breweries. At Local Pub you find a changing list of well-made APAs, weizens and stouts, Lithuanian-style ales and altbiers. My respect for this pub stems from not only its high-quality beer but also its social responsibility and active stance on current social issues. For example, you can see signs of support for Ukraine and for Belorussian democracy. Jasinskio Street 1, tel +370 649 16502.
The Crooked Nose & Coffee Stories Coffee, since the 17th century, has been linked to the more liberal, educated, patriotic, and urban social groups in Lithuania, and if you offer a contemporary Lithuanian tea or coffee, the usual answer is coffee. The most exciting phenomenon in modern Lithuanian coffee culture is the curiosity for and discovery of new aromas, flavors, coffees, and coffee products. So for coffee my choice is Crooked Nose & Coffee Stories, owned by Emanuelis Ryklys and Inga Pieslikaitė. The shop has an extensive choice of freshly roasted coffees from around the world. Also for sale are exclusive coffee-related products, such as cascara, cascara kombucha, and cascara chocolate, and the original Lithuanian coffee-brewing tool, BRO (made of wood and linen, two very Lithuanian materials). V. Kudirkos street 6, tel +370 670 81803.
Halės Turgus The gastronomic sightseeing map of any city must include a visit to the local market. The Halės Turgus, the largest and oldest market in Vilnius, was constructed in 1906 by the famous local architect and engineer Vaclovas Michnevičius. Today, the Halės Turgus houses a farmers’ market with a great variety of fresh and smoked meats (like the sausage skilandis), fish, dairy products (like varškės sūris, white curd cheese with caraway seeds), fruits and vegetables, dark Lithuanian rye bread, and honey. Besides, different small cafeterias and restaurants and small shops sell home-manufactured and industrial goods. Pylimo Street 58, tel +370 5 262 5536. ●
Rimvydas Laužikas is a digital heritage research and communication professor and dean of the Faculty of Communication at Vilnius University. His research covers the communication of cultural heritage, history and heritage-based identities, medieval and early modern times archaeology, and the history of gastronomy.