SITUATION IN THE TOP THIRTY
Located in Klaipėda, “Alba Bistro” opened its doors last year and is already the second newcomer in the top thirty. It debuts in the ranking at 24th place.
3 WORDS THAT BEST DESCRIBE THE RESTAURANT:
enthusiasm, ingredients, discoveries.
WHY IS IT WORTH VISITING?
“Alba Bistro” is named after a town in Piedmont, famous for some of the most highly prized white truffles in the world. These truffles can be enjoyed during tasting dinners at the restaurant.
The restaurant’s cuisine is inspired by Italy’s Piedmont region, which the creators of the restaurant chose deliberately as it closely resembles Lithuania. “In this region, like in Lithuania, people consume a lot of root vegetables, rich and intense sauces, and meat dominates the daily diet. Moreover, the Piedmont region is famous for some of the most highly valued wines in the world, such as Barolo and Barbaresco, which are also abundant on our wine list,” says the restaurant’s manager, Linas Gumuliauskas.
According to him, the restaurant always offers a wide and constantly changing selection of wines by the glass, including several types of champagne, and wines from Tuscany, Piedmont, and other regions. The restaurant also pays special attention to wines crafted by individuals with unique stories to tell.
In addition to ingredients from the Piedmont region, guests will also find those sourced from across Italy. The restaurant imports these ingredients directly, emphasizing that they offer products that are hard to find in everyday life.
“Alba Bistro” refers to itself as a bistro rather than a restaurant because it aims to be a casual, everyday space where people can visit both daily and during special occasions. “We don’t want to impose formalities like tablecloths or dress codes; on the contrary, we want to be a daily joy,” says the restaurant’s manager.
WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT THE MENU?
“Alba Bistro” offers comfort food with fine elements. “Sometimes they are more noticeable, and sometimes just subtle,” says Linas.
The highlight of the à la carte menu is the Hybrid pizza, which combines the styles of Rome and Naples, arriving from the oven to the table crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. For the pizza dough, the bistro mixes different flours—whole grain, white, and sourdough—and ferments the dough for up to 72 hours to ensure the pizza is easy to digest.
“We view pizza as a bread-plate, meaning we place various fun combinations of ingredients on top, and the pizza base complements them,” Linas explains. The bistro prides itself on using Mozzarella Fior di Latte di Agerola and San Marzano tomatoes from Campania, some of the most highly valued in the world.
Another highlight of the “Alba Bistro” menu is fresh pasta dishes, made using the egg-rich method that is currently popular worldwide. The eggs are specially sourced from a local farmer in Šilalė, with the aim of achieving the most orange yolks possible. Fifty egg yolks are used to prepare one kilogram of this pasta. The fresh pasta is made from durum wheat imported from Italy and eggs or just a mixture of wheat and water.
In the summer, “Alba Bistro” features seafood appetizers, while in the colder season, they are prepared with autumn vegetables. The bistro typically offers three to four main courses, most of which are meat dishes with the rich flavors characteristic of Piedmont.
WHY DO GUESTS RETURN?
“For the heart we put into making the food,” says Linas. He adds that the bistro also offers a well-balanced wine list in terms of price and quality, combining famous names with lesser-known discoveries.
WHO WORKS IN THE KITCHEN?
“Alba Bistro” stands out for not having a single head chef—everything is handled by a team of professionals who are passionate about gastronomy. “We chose this approach deliberately because I believe it better showcases talent, allows each employee to realize their ideas without being restricted by hierarchy, and ensures that everyone on the team is heard,” explains the restaurant’s manager.
Photos by Robertas Daskevičius.
