Hill has lunch for 100 EUR: “everything is fine, but I would like more expensive”

And another thing I haven’t seen in a long time: a restaurant has opened in Vilnius during difficult times. Momo Grill, which started in Klaipeda, then started operating in Kaunas, finally found a place in the capital. When I went to Momo Grill in the port city five years ago, I was ecstatic. Then the chef, Vytautas Samavičius, asked me: how about if such a restaurant could work in Vilnius? I said I really could, and it turned out he was right.

The restaurant in Klaipeda was not Lithuanian from the start, in my opinion: it smelled of Chicago and New York, the aesthetic was American, the feeling was foreign and therefore I thought that a similar restaurant in Vilnius would be very welcome. In the capital, it is located on Totorių street, in an atypically spacious room (there used to be a bar), and that makes me happy because the feeling of a big city is being created again. The interior is probably one of the best I’ve seen in Lithuania in recent years, and perhaps even the best. The tables are so beautiful (look at those engraved brass rings on the black table surface, as if there were wine glass rings on a nightstand, it’s a reverse allusion here) that I photographed them as plates because I wanted you to see them too. .

During those five years, many meat eaters grew and matured (of course, both vegetarians and vegans appeared and increased in Lithuania, but this place is not for them at all). Now there are fewer and fewer voices explaining the nonsense that the cost of a steak is two euros (I’ve heard this often before, now hardly ever). Now people already know and understand why Lithuanian livestock, unfortunately, cannot offer so much meat that it imports from Argentina, Uruguay, Australia, Italy and, of course, from the United States; everything in America is the best in general, but here I just remind you so you don’t forget

So far, there are strangely few brasseries in Vilnius that deserve the name of a good modern barbecue – one finger is enough. Kisser and Boff, and another Bon Chop, that’s all. Markus and Ko, who have long worked inhumanely and consider themselves legendary, are sadly caught up in past perceptions of meat – there were times when a ripe cutlet, well baked until browned and placed on a plate like zeppelin , was considered an aspiration.

The menu at Momo Grill is small, and everything from sandwiches to barbecue classics: octopus, burrata, bell, pickled fish, and we want anything that is a good sign. Or maybe we were a little hungry.

A friend of mine asks, “And don’t you have that feeling when you walk in that there will be five geese?” I admit I don’t think about the evaluation when you walk in (I always say my opinion on the number of geese only when I say it), but I feel like everything will be good, it was very strong.

We only order two snacks: for historical reasons, I always have to try horseradish (tartar), which costs 12 EUR here, and we also pick pickled mackerel, 8.30 EUR, which is made so easy and recently that it’s basically a culinary journey from Lithuanian herring with potatoes towards perhaps a Mexican ischia (in the sense of that lightness), with a few small fries and a rhythmic flavor: nothing accidental, nothing unnecessary, nothing imprecise

The tartar was one of the best in the world, even if it is not traditional in presentation and composition: the minced meat is placed on a long, moist and appetizing homemade black bread (from which you can hear such an easy pinch of lithuania) and sprinkle with thin fries: how super luxurious. A sandwich to eat with a knife and fork.

The main course we chose was a set of two veal and a lamb for two normal people or a very tall person (€ 43 – a modest price, since there is still a wonderful accompaniment that I will tell you about) and there was continuous happiness.

It was the first cut of meat in a long time, which was great tasting (usually in Lithuania the cut of meat is pale, and then a gastronomic crime occurs: people still cover it with sauce, which is almost the same as pouring cola in wine of five hundred euros, which is less acidic); Even in that cut there was the elegance of smoking, and it could be eaten without a knife (I would have effortlessly retrieved it with a fork or spoon), though the knives are delivered there and offered very well, asking to choose to try from a beautiful set . I understand that this does not affect the taste of the meat, but the impact on the experience itself is enormous. The beef belly (flank), which has good fat, has a naturally punctured flavor, was great as was the lamb, but that cut was a discovery.

The garnish is a textbook example of how to take care of the following: I don’t like vegetables, and I don’t like grilled vegetables three times, but here I ate zucchini and eggplant as if they were made from meat, a tomato with filling The pesto was divine, but the fried mushrooms were finally stunned. It was the taste of childhood: once, when mushrooms could be picked up in a square near Cathedral Square, walking towards King Mindaugas Bridge, my father baked them with butter, and it was a delicacy that had nothing to do with the pale mushrooms of these times. A properly prepared mushroom is what I want to give this restaurant an extra gold star for good memories, or the Order of the Golden Mushroom. My heart dissolved completely like a piece of garlic butter.

Desserts are light, moderate, where a small amount of sugar is perfectly balanced with refreshing acid.

There were no errors, inaccuracies, overclocking or unnecessary complexity in any of the dishes, in any of the ingredients. Absolutely artisan restaurant, and prices for barbecue are surprisingly restricted: we both ate for € 91.80, which would not have reached the triple digit amount without the tip. I would have liked to pay more, of course.

Five geese out of five, and good luck with this wonderful import from Lithuania’s golden coast.

Momo Grill, Totorių street. 1 / Gedimino ave. 10, Vilnius. Tel. +370 698 57007.
Website: www.momogrill.lt
Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/momogrillvilnius/
Tuesday to Thursday: 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.