Thirty Best Lithuanian Restaurants Announced during a Ceremony
This evening, on 5 July, all 30 best Lithuanian restaurants were announced which were evaluated by over 100 members of Good Food Academy. The title of the best restaurant in the country was granted to the chef Martynas Praškevičius who heads the restaurant Stebuklai in Vilnius.
Stebuklai Became the Best of the Best Restaurants in the Country this Year
A few months ago several stages were organised during which using their experience and skills, the members of the Academy evaluated food and its presentation in Lithuanian restaurants, they also took into consideration the quality of service, the environment of the restaurant and the beverage menu. The biggest number of votes was given to the restaurant of self-educated chef Mr. Praškevičius Stebuklai (Miracles) and it is no miracle but the result of a long and consistent work.
“How do I feel? Damn good! I would like to thank all my team members who work from the early morning to late night, from Monday to Sunday. Thank you”, Mr. Praškevičius said in delight when he collected the award.
Stebuklai is a place in Vilnius which delights its clients from the early morning to late evening seven days a week. Martynas tries to give a touch to every dish which leaves the kitchen through the so-called “window” on the way to a guests’ table. It is hard to find such devotion to the most loyal clients. Actually, this place is one of those that does not close its door to private events – again, the restaurant does not want to disappoint its most loyal breakfast, lunch and dinner eaters.
The head of the restaurant and the kitchen – Martynas Praškevičius – is one of the most valued Lithuanian chefs who not only believes that you can learn everything yourself in a kitchen but has also proved this belief himself.
Best Restaurants Can Be Found Where Owners Are Their Chefs
To find out what restaurants are the best in Lithuania as objectively as possible, Good Food Academy was set up. The Academy now has over 100 professionals of food industry: best Lithuanian chefs, restaurant owners, journalists writing about the industry, sommeliers, the most sharp-eyed diners and other experts of the industry – all of them gave their vote to evaluate Lithuanian restaurants.
“The aim of the project is to become continuous and to present changes on the map of the Lithuanian restaurants annually, to increase the number of members of the Good Food Academy, to provide them with the opportunity to make new but prospective restaurants visible, to improve the system of ranking and to become a high-quality, reliable and creative guide to all good food lovers in Lithuania and foreign guests,” Linas Petrukaitis, founder of the Good Food Academy said after the ceremony.
Even after the ceremony, the website of the project will announce restaurant ratings from different points of view. For instance, which restaurant was evaluated best for its service quality, and which – for the best environment, etc.
Following the analysis of votes given this year, the project organisers understood that most best Lithuanian restaurants were those whose owners were also chefs.This is especially evident in top 10.
“We are delighted at the opportunity to initiate such project and contribute to fostering of restaurant culture. I personally would have considered much what restaurant should be the first because all restaurants in the top 30 are worth this evaluation. Today I want to think about the next year. The life of restaurants is dynamic, so you can never know what new could happen in this area,” Rolandas Viršilas, CEO of the brewery Švyturio-Utenos Alus and the main initiator of the project during the ceremony.
The project 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. The first such ranking in Lithuania was initiated by Švyturys when it introduced it collection of tradition beer.
LIST OF THE 30 BEST LITHUANIAN RESTAURANTS:
No. 30. SALVETE CITY (Vilnius) – chef Antonio Serra. Modern Italian cuisine
No. 29. BRASSERIE DE VERRES EN VERS (Vilnius) – chef Gediminas Andriuškevičius. French cuisine.
No. 28. ŠIAURĖS JŪRA (Vilnius) – chef Donatas Dabrovolskas. Fish and seafood restaurant.
No. 27. LA PROVENCE (Vilnius) – chef Arūnas Oželis. Mediterranean cuisine
No. 26. BISTRO 18 (Vilnius) – chef Saulius Taučius. European classics.
No. 25. PALANGA SPA LUXURY (Palanga)
No. 24. NERIJA (Nida) – chef Jonas Bilotas. European cuisine.
No. 23. DIA (Kaunas) – chef Algirdas Matačiūnas. World cuisine.
No. 22. STIKLIAI (Vilnius) – chef Linas Bražinskas. European cuisine with the emphasis on the Lithuanian fare.
No. 21. DA ANTONIO (Vilnius) – chef Dmitrij Babenko. Modern Italian cuisine.
No. 20. IMPERIAL (Vilnius) – chef Aldona Gečienė. Inspired by the American cuisine with the spices of the Italian and French cuisines.
No. 19. TIME (Vilnius) – chef Andrius Kubilius. Creative cuisine.
No. 18. MEAT (Vilnius) – chef Indrė Medeliauskaitė. Meat restaurant.
No. 17. TELEGRAFAS (Vilnius) – chef Javier Lopez. Modern European cuisine.
No. 16. UOKSAS (Kaunas) – chef Artūras Naidenko. The new Lithuanian cuisine.
No. 15. MONTE PACIS (Kaunas) – chef Ernestas Viršilas. World cuisine.
No. 14. MARCHE DE PROVENCE (Vilnius) – chef Linas Barysas. Lithuanian and Mediterranean cuisine.
No. 13. BOFF (Vilnius) – chef Mher Gevorkjan. Steak restaurant.
No. 12. SOFA DE PANCHO (Vilnius) – chefs Martynas Maciulevičius and Mantas Dobradziejus. Mexico-inspired cuisine.
No. 11. GASPAR'S (Vilnius) – chef Gaspar Fernandes. Modern cuisine inspired by India
No. 10. SAINT GERMAIN (Vilnius) – chef Gediminas Švenčionis. French cuisine.
No. 9. SWEET ROOT (Vilnius) – chef Justinas Misius. Seasonal local cuisine.
No. 8. IDW ESPERANZA RESORT (Trakai district) – chef Mickey Bhoite. Modern creative cuisine.
No. 7. ŠTURMŲ ŠVYTURYS (Vilnius and Ventės Ragas) – chef and owner Česlovas Žemaitis. Fresh fish restaurant.
No. 6. MOMO GRILL (Klaipėda) – chefs and owners Vytautas Samavičius and Valdas Anusevičius. Grill&bar restaurant.
No. 5. GASTRONOMIKA (Vilnius) – chef and owner Liutauras Čeprackas. Fine dining restaurant
No. 4. MONAI (Klaipėda) – chef and owner Vytautas Samavičius. Home restaurant.
No. 3. DINE (Vilnius) – chefs and owners Egidijus Lapinskas and Žilvinas Laurinėnas . Fine dining restaurant.
No. 2. DUBLIS (Vilnius) – chef and owner Deivydas Praspaliauskas. Brasserie and fine dining restaurant.
No. 1. STEBUKLAI (Vilnius) – chef and owner Martynas Praškevičius. Grill&bar restaurant.
