Imperial is a restaurant with the classical cuisine located next to the five-star hotel Ramada. Thus it is not surprising that many celebrities who stayed at the hotel – singers Enrique Iglesias, Sting and Montserrat Caballé, DJs David Guetta and DJ Tiësto, rockers Limp Bizkit and many others – visited the neighbouring restaurant.
HISTORY.
The history of this place might not have started at all, if not for the hotel Ramada Vilnius which was opened in 2005. In order to change the hotel’s status into five-star, a restaurant was necessary. However, the owners Mr Romualdas Jackevičius and Mr Olegas Vasinas were seeking quality from the start and did not want to open a restaurant in haste, therefore, only following a thorough search for a team, premium class restaurant Imperial received its first diners in 2011. Finally, the name of the restaurant overshadowed even the trademark of the hotel, thus from August of this year, the hotel will no longer be called Ramada, but Imperial Hotel & Restaurant.
IDEA.
Few restaurants nowadays keep all the classical canons – from service and the interior to the contents of the plate. Imperial could be called the classics of the classics. Here, people come to enjoy gourmet dishes and experience a celebration of the soul and the palate.
As it must be in a classical restaurant, the menu here is first of all written in French, and only then translations into Lithuanian and English follow. According to the owner of the hotel and restaurant Mr O. Vasinas, the menu must be live and inspired by a continuous process of creation, but the ingredients – strictly classical and of a particularly high quality.
MENU.
This restaurant has the main menu, and its certain dishes do not change year in, year out, due to their perfect finish and the likes they get from regular visitors. For instance, horsemeat cut tartare with black sturgeon caviar, New York marble beefsteak, Napoleon cake prepared according to the recipe of New York Waldorf Astoria hotel, legendary home-made foie gras, etc.
Another part of dishes on the menu is renewed according to the season, however, certain ingredients, like black caviar, lobsters, oysters, etc. are always supplied here. According to O. Vasinas, cooled seafood and fish products at Imperial are always fresh, because significant amounts that are sold guarantee their constant turnover.
The restaurant also has an additional menu. Each month at Imperial is dedicated to yet another ingredient of the micro-season: April was the month of dishes of foie gras, May – of asparagus, June – of mussels, etc. Certain hits of this additional menu are transferred to the main menu.
Besides, from suppliers, the kitchen receives only cooled products – the said lobsters, oysters, various fish, meat as well as vegetables and berries. Everything else is prepared on the spot: they bake their own bread and fresh rolls, cook sauces, etc.
WINE LIST.
In addition to the classical menu, the restaurant boasts an extensive wine list, which consists of more than 50 different sorts of champagne and more than 200 vintage sorts of wine.
BREAKFAST.
The restaurant’s kitchen is never locked because the tapas bar California located next to the restaurant is open until 5 o’clock in the morning, while cooks who prepare breakfast come to work at 4 o’clock – every day, all the year round. Besides, the restaurant accepts other visitors than the hotel guests for breakfast, too, while Sunday breakfast at Imperial always extends into lunch, i.e. residents and guests of Vilnius are invited to an abundant brunch.
THE INTERIOR.
The interior of the main space of the restaurant was created by designers from the USA, while their ideas were implemented by furniture makers from Italy. The main highlights: wall and ceiling panels of American nut were encrusted with gold, the space is decorated with amber-coloured crystal chandeliers, Versace fashion house crockery and crystal glasses. In addition to the main space, the restaurant has several other spaces for balls or state-level receptions. Visitors are also invited to a cosy internal courtyard of the restaurant.
