No. 12 APVALAUS STALO KLUBAS

POSITION IN THE TOP 30. Starting the list of the top 30 last year, this year Apvalaus stalo klubas went up by even 18 positions and it is the biggest progress in this year’s list of the best restaurants!

BRIEF RESTAURANT’S STORY. The history of Apvalaus stalo klubas was started more than 20 years ago by Rasa Šnaiderienė and her parents. Tradition to warmly welcome the guests, pleasantly surprise them by the unusual dish and a table decorated in an interesting way cherished in the owner’s house, became the starting point creating the restaurant and hotel business. The history of the restaurant, pizzeria and hotel buildings, located in the unique place in Trakai, began in 1996, but the initial view did not remind of anything even slightly similar to what we can see today.

RESTAURANT’S UNIQUENESS. An exceptional location with the best view to a historic Trakai castle obligates to create an exceptional cuisine, too. The menu of Apvalaus stalo klubas is being supervised by several prominent mentors for many years now. „We are non-stop purposefully looking for mentors“, – says R. Šnaiderienė, the founder and owner of the restaurant. For this purpose, chefs from Iceland – Ragnaras Omarssonas and Bjorgvinas Myrdalas, the Spanish culinary star Sergio Bastard, Bordeaux region chef Stephane Casset Stephano and others visited and stayed in Trakai.

BRIEF MENU. The current Apvalaus stalo klubo menu was created by chef Pasquale Palamaro from one Michelin star restaurant Indaco, located in the Italian island of Ischia. The core of this a la carte menu is the newly discovered Lithuanian cuisine products in contemporary gastronomy, crowned by the desserts by the confectioner Nello Iervolino.

„Here (what is Lithuanian) and now (seasonal goods) together with the world (global trends and technologies)“ – every new menu of this restaurant is created according to this philosophy. Thus, local products are dominant here, which depending on the seasonal possibilities are complemented by the harvest of that period from the owners' garden. Meanwhile for cooking a variety of techniques is used: from traditional and historical to modern.

CULINARY HITS. Lithuanian smoked eel – 12 EUR, Cannelloni pasta with lamb stewed in white wine, steamed cauliflower, beetroot, saffron and spinach sauces, black sepia ink – 11 EUR, dessert "Sweet Flow" (lith. Saldi srovė) – 13 EUR.

SPACE. When you arrive at Apvalaus stalo klubą, you feel as if you were blown away from the everyday reality. First of all, you will be mesmerized by the magnificent views of Trakai Castle from the restaurant. The interior of the restaurant is also extraordinary: the combination of tradition and elegance. No one can stay indifferent to the plates used in the restaurant which were brought by the representatives of the restaurant from Pordamsa factory in Spain, and it is safe to say that a number of well-known world chefs were inspired by this porcelain.