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Wednesday, 29 May 2013

Fine dining/boozing in Vilnius

Myself and my boyfriend have just returned after a spending a food (well... šaltibarščiai, mainly), beer and family-filled week in his home city, Vilnius (Lithuania's capital city). Yet again, my obsession with the traditional cold beet soup returned in full force; two portions of the glorious pink stuff every day was the norm for me, much to my boyfriend's amusement!

A late discovery of our previous holiday there, our go-to for fast, delicious and fresh meals (plus the odd gigantic-sized cocktail or beer) was the trendy Carré bar and restaurant, positioned fairly centrally along the main street in town. Though I only ate šaltibarščiai there, my boyfriend went for a dish of grilled chicken with sweet potato and sundried tomatoes. I can confirm that it was top-notch (nosh?), and something akin to what we'd expect in a top-rated brasserie at home (doubtlessly at quadruple the price - this dish cost less than a fiver!).

For anyone who considers themselves a bit of a 'foodie', Vilnius should be considered at the top of your destinations list for the simple reason that its food is consistently brilliant - high quality ingredients, plates offering perfect combinations and an expansive selection all coming in at a fraction of the price you'd expect to pay in England (read: šaltibarščiai soup with a side plate full of sautéed potatoes generally ranges from £1 to £2. A freshly stone-baked 30cm pizza from Charlie's isn't a lot more than that, either.

So to say I enjoy the cuisine of Vilnius is an understatement! Tipples of choice ranged from freshly-squeezed carrot juice (sold in even the most obscure places, such as the indoor Aqua park we spent a day at) which cost from £1 each, to beer (Svyturys Baltas is just amazing, and less than £2 for a pint), or the whopping 800ml cocktails (as mentioned before) served in Carré. Most cocktails, including my mint mojito and 'jack in the beans' (ingredients of which remain a mystery) was around £4.25, whilst my boyfriend's hangover-inducing long island iced tea was 27 litas (around £6.75).

But enough of the details for now, moving swiftly on to the photographic evidence of our various gastronomic delights. And, on a side-note, I know for certain that If I lived in Vilnius, it would be seriously difficult for me to avoid eating (and drinking) out every day. Not to mention the potential damage to my waistline - following a healthy diet would be almost soul destroying due to the ease of eating out for the equivalent cost of purchasing your food from the supermarkets - and definitely not helped by the fact that pub snacks of deep-fried brown bread with melted cheese/mayo combo are available everywhere, complimenting a beer to perfection. Oh, Vilnius; how I miss thee already!

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The soup of all soups, šaltibarščiai
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A plateful of Lithuanian 'sashlik' (their equivalent to our BBQ food, bought from a street market stall)
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Me avec icecream - kiwi and mango (spot the Sashlik!)
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A typical pizza from Charlie's
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JUICE!
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My boyfriend, posing like the pro he is! (he practices)
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Me with an alcoholic-style grin, and my Jack in the beans cocktail. Yum.

4 comments:

  1. Yay! Another post about Lithuania and Lithuanian food :) Have I mentioned that it's really surprising that a foreign person likes šaltibarščiai? Not everyone would be eager to try a bowl of pink soup.
    By the way, you look very slim and fit! I doubt you have any problems with your waistline.
    Hope you had a great time and Lithuanians treated you well!

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  2. Yes, it's been a while! Haha I remember being quite reluctant on the first go last year, but after that I was hooked!
    Aw, thank you! I'm quite conscious of what I eat when I'm at home...that sort of went out of the window in Vilnius though - everything is so tasty! By the way, do you ever attempt to make šaltibarščiai in England? And how often do you visit Lithuania, are you from Vilnius as well? Just curious :)
    The Lithuanians treated us well (except the trolleybus control staff and police...another story entirely!!)

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  3. I've tried making šaltibarščiai once. However, I used raw beetroot instead of pickled beetroot as I was on a diet and had to eat only non-processed foods. It wasn't that tasty as my mother's šaltibarsčiai but not bad either. I believe you can find kefir (crucial ingredient for šaltibarščiai) and pickled beetroot in Polish/Lithuanian/Russian food stores. I haven't tried pickled beetroot from English stores so I'm not sure if it's the same. It may have more acidic taste.
    Well, I'm a second year student so I visit Lithuania 3 times a year (on Christmas, Easter, and Summer holidays). My family always sends me huge packages of food from Lithuania. I was born in a town called Ukmerge which is about 75km away from Vilnius. I know the city pretty well though.
    I stumbled across your blog so unexpectedly so I'm curious too :) Have you visited Lithuania twice?

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  4. Yeah, we have kefir in stock at our local Tesco.. and probably pickled beetroot somewhere! Keep meaning to search for some Eastern European food stores around our area, we're just on the outskirts of Bristol and I know there are a few closer to the city centre.
    Ohh okay! Aw, that's sweet. My boyfriend also gets the odd food package from his Mum. He's a big fan of orange caviar (which I can't stand!). Oh, another thing I wish England would take tips from Lithuania on - dark rye bread! It has so much more flavour than the soft breads that seem to be the only choice here. What do your family usually send you?
    Do you have a favourite restaurant or any other hot-spots in Vilnius? and yes, this was my second time visiting :) I love it!

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