No. 11 Alba bistro

WHY IS IT WORTH VISITING?

Alba bistro is named after the town of Alba in Piedmont, where some of the world’s most highly prized white truffles grow. Guests can enjoy them here during special tasting dinners.

The kitchen is inspired by Italy’s Piedmont region, chosen deliberately by the restaurant’s founders for its closeness to Lithuanian food culture. “Just like in Lithuania, people in this region eat a lot of root vegetables, rich and intense sauces, and meat plays a central role in everyday cooking. Piedmont is also famous for Barolo and Barbaresco wines, among the most highly regarded in the world – and they are well represented on our wine list,” says restaurant manager Linas Gumuliauskas.

According to him, the selection of wines and other drinks by the glass is always extensive and constantly changing, featuring several champagnes and wines from Tuscany, Piedmont, and other regions. The restaurant also places strong emphasis on wines created by distinctive personalities, each with its own unique story.

Guests will find not only Piedmont-inspired ingredients here, but also products from other parts of Italy. The restaurant imports them directly and highlights that many of these products are rarely found in everyday life.

Alba bistro deliberately calls itself a bistro rather than a restaurant, aiming to be an informal, everyday space suitable both for daily visits and special occasions. “We don’t want tablecloths or dress codes to intimidate people – on the contrary, we want to be a daily joy,” says the manager.

Over the past year, Alba bistro has matured consistently and strengthened its identity. “We refreshed the menu structure, focusing more on seasonal ingredients, lighter textures, and cleaner flavors. We introduced several new dishes that quickly became guest favorites, while keeping our classics. A new addition is tasting menus that are accessible to everyone, allowing a broader audience to get to know us,” explains L. Gumuliauskas.

What remains unchanged, he says, is what defines them most: a clean, modern bistronomique style, a strong focus on top-quality ingredients, sincere yet not overly formal service, and a stable level of quality.

“Our goal is simplicity that conceals professionalism and subtlety. It’s a value guests clearly feel,” he emphasizes.

WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT THE MENU?

At Alba bistro, you’ll find comfort food with fine-dining elements. “In some dishes they’re more noticeable, in others just a hint,” says Linas.

The highlight of the à la carte menu is the Hybrid pizza, which combines Roman and Neapolitan styles. Baked in the oven, it arrives at the table crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The dough is made from a blend of wholegrain flour, white flour, and sourdough, and fermented for up to 72 hours to make it easier to digest.

“We see pizza as a bread-plate – a base for fun ingredient combinations, with the dough complementing them,” explains Linas. The bistro is proud to use Mozzarella Fior di Latte di Agerola and San Marzano tomatoes from Campania, considered among the best in the world.

Another key feature of the menu is fresh pasta, made using the currently popular egg-rich method. Special eggs from a local farmer in Šilalė are used to achieve deep-orange yolks – 50 egg yolks are needed to make one kilogram of pasta. The pasta is prepared either from Italian-imported durum wheat flour and eggs, or simply from wheat flour and water.

In summer, seafood appetizers dominate the menu; during the colder season, they are based on autumn vegetables. The bistro typically offers three to four main courses, most of them meat-based, rich, and true to the bold Piedmont style.

GUESTS RETURN BECAUSE “we try to put as much heart as possible into our cooking,” says Linas. He adds that the bistro also offers a well-balanced wine list in terms of price and quality, combining well-known labels with lesser-known discoveries. Guests appreciate that Alba bistro never chases artificial effects – everything here is genuine.

“We wish to maintain the same stability that brought us onto the Lithuanian and international restaurant map. To grow not in quantity, but in depth: refining details, nurturing the team, inspiring guests with new experiences, and remaining a place people return to not only to eat – but to feel,” Linas reflects.

WHO WORKS IN THE KITCHEN?

Alba bistro stands out by not having a single head chef – everything is taken care of by a team of gastronomy-loving professionals. “This is one of our strengths. The Alba bistro team works as a collective kitchen, where ideas are born through collaboration. It gives more creative freedom, stability, reduces dependence on one person, and allows each team member to grow,” says the restaurant manager.