Exclusive summer of hotel restaurants: some closed, others opened their arms to the townspeople | Food

For a frequent citizen, hotel restaurants so far have hardly been the first choice when deciding where to dine or dine. This was also due to the impression that the hotel restaurants are expensive, sometimes reasonable, sometimes not, as well as a rather formal atmosphere and the image that the hotel restaurants are mainly for the guests who live in them, and not for “street people”.

It appears that provision is being dismantled by hotel restaurants that have opened their doors while tourists are still in short supply. A growing trend: Hotel restaurants are trying to be more democratic, even lowering prices and trying to invite the townspeople not only for more solemn occasions, but also for brunch, lunch, dinner and maybe just a cup of coffee.

Of course, there are also hotel restaurants that have had to make more radical changes than changing menus or downsizing a team.

He saw no prospect even when the hotel opened

In early June, the decision to close the Time restaurant, which operated at the Comfort hotel on Kauno Street, was announced by well-known restaurants, chef Egidijus Lapinskas and beverage expert Arminas Darasevičius. According to the latter, the hotel was not yet open after quarantine, when they decided to close the restaurant, but business partners no longer saw the prospects for successful business at this location, even as the hotel would resume operations; tourists do not wait this year.

Furthermore, the duo owns several other catering establishments in the capital, from the “Somm” wine bar to the “Dine” luxury restaurant on Gediminas Avenue, so now their main interest, according to A.Darasevičius, is ” stretch these places. “

With the closure of Time, almost 40 people working here lost their jobs, and A. Darasevičius made no secret of the fact that he downsized teams elsewhere that belonged to them with a business partner.

Say goodbye to the famous chef, who returned to Stiklius

The legendary Hotel Stiklių and its 3 dining establishments have also experienced a long break and significant changes.

The Ponių laimė café, located next to the hotel, is now open and has opened its doors, as well as the Stiklių Aludė and the hotel’s main restaurant, where many celebrities have eaten, promises to open on July 1. Admittedly, in addition to chef Gerdvilas Žalis, who returned to work in France and had initiated major changes to the restaurant, starting with the formation of a new team, ending with an author menu with Lithuanian accents and French cooking techniques.

According to G.Žalys, he and the hotel and restaurant owners separated “due to different approaches to food and a vision for the future.” Without a chef, the restaurant, of course, will not stay. For a time, he worked as a chef from France, who, as promised, put together a menu featuring Lithuanian dishes using French techniques. At least for the moment, the restaurant promises to operate in a fairly modest way, only on Thursdays and Saturdays starting at 6 p.m.

It seems that the plans of another restaurant in Vilnius’ old town, Amandus, which fed the guests of the Hotel Artagonist, are also changing. Under his leadership, the well-known chef Deivydas Praspaliauskas assured at the beginning of the quarantine that the hotel’s restaurant will remain closed until autumn, as no tourist flows are expected. And this week, the restaurant’s Facebook account announced that Amandus would still open its doors in the second half of July, but in a different place, in Užupis, and with a new menu. Hotel Artagonist does not yet accept guests.

Muros attracts with reduced prices and new formats

Opening its doors a couple of years ago in the heart of the old town, the courtyard of the Hotel Pacai was probably visited by several Vilnius residents: this space surprises with its size and silence, and its heritage is wonderfully complemented by modern solutions.

It is true that far fewer people dared to visit the hotel restaurant, since Pacai really has the image of a luxury hotel. Since the beginning of this year, the hotel restaurant has been left alone, replaced by two, acquired a new name: “Muros”, its creative kitchen manager became the well-known chef Liutauras Čeprackas, the restaurant is run by the expert in Simonas Gudelis drinks.

The hotel “Pacų” is already operating, according to its manager Rūta Pulkauninkaitė-Macikė, although the number of guests is modest, but after the quarantine a couple from the Netherlands, a family from Estonia have visited here, the hotel is still far of the previous occupation, but according to the manager, optimism is not lacking. Admittedly, due to security requirements, the restaurant’s buffet breakfast is not yet open, which was also to the liking of city guests, but for lunch, dinner, and maybe just coffee with dessert or a cocktail, guests are welcome.

According to the manager of the S.Gudelis restaurant, “Muros” is very eager to invite Vilnius residents who are spending the summer in their space and patio, to achieve this goal after the opening of the next menu, how much the dish prices. Over time, both the champagne brunch format and the introduction of British afternoon tea are expected (the five o’clock tea)

This restaurant still serves dishes without which the upscale hotel restaurant is hardly imaginable: both the high-quality beef steak and fresh fish, which varies according to what vendors have to offer, are here as well as classics like the tartar of meat or salmon. Carpaccio Jekaterina Zvonkuvienė, one of the best pastry shops in Lithuania, handles exclusive desserts and cakes.

Both G.Nausėda and R.Šimašius visited the renovated restaurant.

The restaurant team of another hotel, Narutis, decided to adopt a strategy similar to that of Muros. He started his activity in the restaurant that recently opened, the new chef of the restaurant became the famous chef Justinas Kapkovičius.

This team, with a small group of just 5 people, continues to talk about wanting to create a slightly more modern restaurant menu, including luxurious ingredients: duck liver, high-quality beef, scallops and only very good cheeses and octopuses. high quality.

Incidentally, the restaurant, which opened just over a week ago, has already managed to receive guests such as His Excellency Gitanas Nausėda and the Mayor of Vilnius, Remigijus Šimašius.

However, J. Kapkovičius assured that the restaurant welcomes not only hotel guests, who so far have only a few dozen rooms or honorable men of power, but also ordinary citizens.

“We want to stand out in the context of other restaurants on Pilies Street. If someone dreams of zeppelins, they are not on the road with us, but there is something more interesting and of high quality.” I think we are halfway between Good dinner and casual restaurant, and we are not intimidated by prices, for example, you can eat a great octopus with us for 16 euros, but we invite guests to have a coffee with dessert if they wish, “said the chef, adding that it will soon be offered a brunch. The menu.

The wave of menus in this format is obviously not fading yet, or perhaps even more so, as townspeople still miss the food, especially if it’s delicious and not intimidating at an extremely high price.