[ad_1]
By the way, what a “good restaurant” is can be discussed for a long time, so we trust with the latest ranking “30 best restaurants in Lithuania”. Last year this ranking was not even announced due to the pandemic, as it will be this year, it is still not very clear.
Not everyone found arguments to work on
Many restaurants are not fully operational during the quarantine, and their owners and / or chefs have decided that it is difficult or even impossible to adapt the dishes. Finally, many recognize that this is not worth it in business terms, and the argument that it is worth keeping in touch with the visitor, giving employees a business opportunity, is quite secondary.
Džiaugsmas, which is recognized as the best in Lithuania, is not open during the quarantine, the chef Vytautas Samavičius has temporarily closed his restaurants in the three largest cities, and the chef of the restaurant Nineteen18 Matas Paulinas, which took second place in December , mentioned that the adaptations of their dishes are not possible exhaustion in preparation for the new season.
The restaurant “Šturmų švyturys” (sixth place in the ranking) disappeared from Užupis in the capital in autumn, and its owner, Česlovas Žemaitis, said he did not even want to predict whether there would ever be a Sturmu restaurant in Vilnius.
By the way, Linas Petrukaitis, founder of the Academy of Good Taste, which named the emergence of the ranking of the best restaurants some time ago, named the Sturge Lighthouse in Vilnius as one of the biggest quarantine losses in the restaurant market. “It’s a shame they all closed, especially the thirty restaurants, but Sturmu Lighthouse was unique,” he said.
Photo by Gediminas Gražys Photography / Restaurant “Sturgeon Lighthouse”
When asked which of the restaurants still in operation he thought was the best way to adapt to current conditions, he mentioned two: “In my opinion, I have been (and still am) trying to adapt more actively. Amandus and Gaspar’s, which offers a wide range of dishes and services. Such activities are unlikely to be extremely profitable, but it is truly fascinating that the chefs at these restaurants are not sitting idly by and not lacking in ideas. “
15 minutes Already mentioned Gaspar’s (10th place) and Amandus (7th place) continue the activities that started in the fall – the former still offers both daily vacuum packed lunches and more sophisticated dish preparations, Amandus continues to make popular gourmet dishes, for example one of their hits is a duck-flavored kugel.
Pans, pizza and the chance to feel like a chef
The restaurants Dine (8th place) and Somm (11th place) of the two co-owners Arminas Darasevičius and Egidijus Lapinskas also prepare dishes.
According to A.Darasevičius, even before the winter holidays, the “Somm” wine restaurant began to function as a wine shop, but this place has long been equipped with a high-quality wood stove, so the Very popular dishes in small pans are prepared for home delivery. Only if a still drinking dish reaches the table in a wine restaurant in a cast iron pan, the delicacies in foil pans go home, one of them, for example, is served with an octopus leg with various accessories. Somm has recently started baking pizzas as well, so fans of this place have a choice.
Stock photo of the restaurant. / Somm pans
We even recommend the shape of the plate in which the dish should be served.
The restaurant “Dine” offers a slightly different format for the house – from here it is possible to order a gala dinner, but not the one already finished, but the process of its preparation. The ingredients of the dishes arrive at the house, very detailed instructions, it remains to immerse ourselves in the process and after a while enjoy a dinner (almost) at restaurant level. “When preparing the elements of a dish, our chefs have done many things, applying a variety of techniques that would be difficult to implement at home. However, the final finish is already reliable for a person at home, on the other hand, we even recommend the shape of a plate in which the plate should be served ”, said A. Darasevičius, specifying that these dinners can be ordered on Fridays . .
Stock photo of the restaurant. / Dinner restaurant dish
When asked if perhaps similar food ordering options will be nurtured in the future when life gets back on track, the interviewee responded affirmatively, but with a bit of the following skepticism: “Of course, those formats could exist in parallel with the business. principal . However, it is even more pleasant and better to invite people to restaurants, it is very important for us to have communication, live action. However, it is obvious that one more year remote communication will be valid, ”he said.
He wants to diversify people’s lives on Fridays
The 14 Horses restaurant (25th place) and its chef Andrius Kubilius use a model quite similar to that of “Dine”. It is also possible to order prepared meals at this restaurant on Fridays and then finish preparing them at home by joining a restaurant event called “community dinner,” which lasts about an hour and a half.
Stock photo of the restaurant. / Dish of the restaurant “14 Caballos”
“The objective of this initiative of ours is to take care of the diversity of people’s lives on Fridays, so that everyone has the opportunity to feel like a good chef,” said A. Kubilius. The restaurant can deliver a package of ingredients directly to the house, you can come and collect it, a 4-course dinner costs 55 euros per person.
Save from a limited repertoire of homemade food
Liutauras Čeprackas, the creative director of the restaurant “Meat” (18th in the ranking) and chef Liutauras Čeprackas, decided to give it a try in January. The variety on the menu is really small, from lasagna, befstrogen with creamy mashed potatoes to steaks with side dishes and desserts.
Stock photo of the restaurant. / Beef steak
We offer dishes that would take time to prepare, save people from time-consuming preparation, and invite them to eat better.
L. Čeprackas said he was convinced that the current situation would drag on and that people missed food other than what they prepared at home. “After all, when you eat at home, the food repertoire is very defined, you eat the same about the same, I think a lot of people don’t feel good about it, they just get drunk,” he said. – We offer restaurant dishes in two formats, fully prepared and those that still need to be prepared according to the instructions, for example, to finish baking steak in the oven. Those dishes are known to our guests, we have not invented new ones, we will not bring fried kugelis, because everyone can bake them, there is little work with them. We offer dishes that take time to prepare, save people from time-consuming preparation and invite them to eat better. “
Stock photo of the restaurant. / Semi-finished product of werewolf meat
When asked if he had already started a week ago with such a service, which is offered from Wednesday to Sunday, L. Čeprackas said he still needs to spread the word about that possibility. “We decided to give it a try, we created an e-shop and lowered the prices of the dishes a bit, because, as you know, we no longer need to wash the dishes. But we’ll see how it goes ”, he summarized.
Prepare completely different dishes from the restaurant menu.
The restaurant “Vila Komoda” that operated in Palanga (5th place in the ranking) was in a very specific situation due to the quarantine. Its marketing manager, Karolina Vičiūtė-Meidė, stated that the prices of the restaurant’s dishes are on average higher for the residents of the resort, the non-locals make up the main part of the guests, they were always the visitors. However, due to the restriction of movement between municipalities, the number of visitors has been significantly reduced, unless people own the properties in this complex.
Stock photo of the restaurant. / Chicken thighs “Comfortable Villa”
That is why the restaurant does not prepare meals all the time, but takes some initiatives, often occasional, that generally focus on the weekend: the delicacies are prepared from Friday to Sunday. The restaurant prepared Christmas take-out dishes, followed by a break, and this weekend Vila Komoda fans will be spoiled again with dishes like chicken thighs, gourmet potato soup or a sandwich with lots of perfectly matched toppings, and something special to Valentine’s Day will be created soon.
Stock photo of the restaurant. / Pastry “Villa Komoda”
Sometimes we even say that these are Villa Quarantine dishes, this is our quarantine format.
“In financial terms, of course, such activities would not sustain the business, we do more to keep in touch with our guests; we really feel that they miss us and we miss them. It is true that all our dishes for the home are newly created, We do not want to prepare them from the usual menu, we look for formats that would be more convenient for the home. Sometimes we even say that these are dishes from “Villa Cuarentena”, this is our quarantine format, “said the interlocutor.
Residents of Palanga and those who have the right to come here have to go to the restaurant to pick them up, they are delivered to them outside, K. Vičiūtė-Meidė said that she has already felt that the delicacies of the restaurant are very popular, for example, waffles and donuts .
Stock photo of the restaurant. / Donuts “Villa Komoda”
[ad_2]
