Restaurant Rating List Is to be Compiled this Year as Well. Which Were Included in the List?

Restaurant "Stebuklai" was announced No. 1 restaurant in Lithuania - who will get to this position this year?, 2017-03-29

The project “30 Best Restaurants” has been launched for the second time in Lithuania. On this occasion, a shortlist of 60 restaurants was compiled by the Good Food Academy and announced in Stebuklai, a restaurant which was No. 1 in 2016, today in the morning. The shortlist is to be narrowed down to 30 best restaurants. Among them, there are as many as 22 new candidates.

Restaurants Ranked by the Gastronomic Experts

This morning, the Council of the Academy revealed a shortlist which will be subject to the rating of the best restaurants in the country in 2017. The list was compiled based on the same criteria which were followed by the Academy members when ranking the best restaurants of the country.

“Just like last year, the initial list of the restaurants was compiled by the Council of the Academy which has representatives from the Lithuanian Hotel and Restaurant Association, the Lithuanian Association of Restaurant Chefs and Confectioners and the magazine Geras Skonis. Now the restaurants will be evaluated by the members of the Good Food Academy of which there are more than 100,” Linas Petrukaitis, founder of the Academy briefly introduced the procedure of the project.

Restaurant Rating Criteria Remain the Same

Similar restaurant rating takes place on a global scale; some countries have their own restaurant rating. The project of this kind is organised for the second time in Lithuania.

“30 Best Restaurants” not only unites gastronomic professionals, discovers pearls among mass caterers, but also aims at becoming quality, reliable and creative guide to all good food lovers,” Ms. Evalda Šiškauskienė, the president of the Lithuanian Hotel and Restaurant Association, said.

When rating the restaurants, food and its presentation is given the most consideration. When voting, the Academy members are asked to take into account the specificity of dishes, the genuiness, the complexity, quality of food products, their origin, freshness, compatibility of tastes, creativity, price and quality ratio. 

In addition, beverage menu, quality of service (interaction with client, helpfulness, the booking option, reception, etc.) and ambience (experiences, aesthetics, harmony with the represented cuisine, cleanliness, neatness, cosiness and comfort, etc.) are also evaluated.

Based on the ratings of all Academy members, this year a list of the 30 best Lithuanian restaurants will be compiled which will be audited by the audit and tax consulting company FMG. 

The aim of the project is to engage as many gastronomic experts and professionals as possible for unanimous rating. Thus new members are continuously considered and admitted as well as the initial list of restaurants which meet the project criteria most is compiled.

To attend the activities of the Good Food Academy, Lithuanian chefs as well as foreign chefs working in Lithuania, restaurant owners, bloggers and journalists writing about the industry, sommeliers, and other gastronomic experts are invited. 

Awards in the Middle of June

The project “30 Bets Lithuanian Restaurants” will be crowned by the awards of the best restaurants in Lithuania 2017 which will take place in summer, namely, in the middle of June.

“This year, we have as many as 22 new restaurants – candidates in the list, which were not included even in the shortlist last year. The dynamics of the discovery of new restaurants is delighting not only the guests but also those who rate – a greater intrigue is created when compiling the final rating table. It is truly hard to guess who will be the best this year,” Rasa Ščeponienė, editor of the magazine Geras Skonis  and a member of the project’s Council, said.

“Švyturys has always found the stage of the Lithuanian restaurant close to its heart. We feel that recently the revival of gastronomy in Lithuania has been taking place at a great pace. This is evidenced by a number of new restaurants in the shortlist. It is very important for Švyturys to have the most talented chefs who work with passion and enthusiasm in Lithuania growing. We hold the view that this contributes to the raising of beer culture. Beer and food combination has become an increasingly ordinary thing in restaurants and the local beer has been seen no less valuable than other beverages brought from abroad,” Andrius Bagdzevičius, trademark manager of Švyturys  and the initiator of the main project, noted.

The so-called election or rather ranking is organised by the Good Food Academy in cooperation with the Lithuanian Hotel and Restaurant Association, the Lithuanian Association of Restaurant Chefs and Confectioners and the magazine Geras Skonis.

Project’s shortlist

Vilnius: Bistro 18, Bizarre, Boff, Brasserie Astorija, Chef 2 Food House, Da Antonio, Dine, Dublis, Džiaugsmas, Galo do Porto, Gaspar’s, Gastronomika, Imperial, Lauro Lapas, Le Paysage, Mabre Steakhouse Hazienda, Marche de Provence, Meat, Mykolo 4, Paralelė 39, Paupio 12, Pranciškonai Bistro, Rib Room, Rise, Salvete City, Šiaurės Jūra, Sofa de Pancho, Somm, Sonnets (Šekspyras), St. Germain, Stebuklai, Stikliai, Sugamour, Sweet Root, Telegrafas, Ti'ana, Time, Town, Trinity 

Kaunas: Agave, Dia, Medžiotojų Užeiga, Monte Pacis, Nüman, Režisierius, Uoksas, Višta Puode

Klaipėda: Friedricho restoranas, Momo Grill, Monai

Druskininkai: Toli Toli, Velvetti

Seaside: Hotel Palanga Restaurant, Onore, Pušų Paunksnėje, Žuvinė (also in Vilnius), Nerija, Šturmų Švyturys (also in Vilnius)

Trakai: Apvalaus Stalo Klubas, IDW Esperanza Resort