SITUATION IN THE TOP 30
Since its opening in 2018, the restaurant “Vila Komoda” quickly made its way onto the list of the 30 best restaurants, debuting in fifth place. Since then, the restaurant has maintained its position in the top thirty, and today it ranks one spot higher, securing the fourth position.
THREE WORDS THAT BEST DESCRIBE THE RESTAURANT: elegant, aesthetic, and unique.
WHY IS IT WORTH VISITING? The restaurant “Vila Komoda,” which has just celebrated its six-year anniversary, is housed in a historic building with unique architecture that once belonged to the Tiškevičius family. The restaurant, representing French-Japanese cuisine, has increasingly embraced Japanese flavors in its menu over the years, refining this culinary direction.
“I’ve always had a strong affinity for all of Asia, and especially for Japan. I believe the combination of French and Japanese cuisines is the best, and nothing can surpass these cuisines paired with quality Lithuanian ingredients,” asserts the restaurant’s chef, Martynas Meidus.
WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT THE MENU? At “Vila Komoda,” guests can choose between an à la carte or a tasting menu. The chef’s signature dish and the highlight of the à la carte menu is a chicken liver pâté with grapefruit gelée and homemade rye bread, prepared according to a 100-year-old grandmother’s recipe.
“Speaking of new additions to the menu, our signature dish is becoming our bold, flavorful overcooked risotto with lobster, aged halibut, and sweetbreads,” Martynas lists.
The tasting menu features nine dishes, and guests never know what they’ll be tasting, as the menu is not revealed in advance. “The tasting menu must be ordered in advance when reserving a table. All nine dishes are presented to the guests one by one, with descriptions. It’s a kind of magic, as you don’t know what you’ll be tasting until the last dish,” mentions the chef.
Both the à la carte and tasting menus change with the seasons, depending on what suppliers or the market offer. In the summer, the kitchen team eagerly uses seasonal vegetables, especially leafy greens, and during the warmer months, they do a lot of preserving and pickling, which they later use in winter dishes.
WHY DO GUESTS RETURN? Guests return for the unique and new flavors. “Unfamiliar new tastes are our driving force. For example, our purple carrot gazpacho—it’s not a dish you encounter every day, and not necessarily a flavor everyone will like, but it’s one that guests talk about for weeks after tasting,” says Martynas.
WHO WORKS IN THE KITCHEN?
Martynas Meidus, the driving force behind the restaurant, is a world-renowned chef who trained with the best and later opened his fine dining restaurant “INK” in the competitive center of London. He was preparing to open another restaurant there, but plans changed when this space in Palanga became available.
“I call my kitchen team a dream team—from marketing to the dishwashers. Without the team, I wouldn’t get anywhere,” the chef confidently states.
Photos by Robertas Daskevičius.
