Recommended restaurants in Kaunas – A city with incredible culinary diversity

DIA, gourmet restaurant

We visited this restaurant on the third day of our trip for lunch, though I would honestly recommend it as a dinner option, as it’s a gourmet restaurant fit for a romantic dinner or just a high-quality meal with friends. The service there was the best we’ve had on our trip and our waiter was absolutely delightful. Though it’s a gourmet restaurant, the prices were more than reasonable. Starters were around 6-12 euros and the mains were around 10 to 20 euros.

For starters, Michal and I decided to share three dishes. We ordered a ravioli dish (Made in-house), stuffed with meat in a truffle sauce, Tataki – which is a tuna tartar dish and a starter of three tiger shrimps wrapped in a Kadaif-like pastry. All three were so delicious I couldn’t stop eating. Eventually I gave up on the ravioli, as I knew I still had a main course to expect, and I was going to need to save space for it.

For mains I ordered an octopus dish with beet and yoghurt sauce and Michal ordered Salmon. We were both pleased with the dishes and it was truly one of the best octopus dishes I’ve ever had. It was cooked to perfection and the sauce really added a lot to the dish.
For dessert we decided to have a cheesecake with chocolate sauce and a ball of salty caramel ice-cream (Yummy), as well as cappuccino. To be honest, I was quite full at this point, and only tried a bite of the cake and ice-cream, but it tasted amazing. I was glad to finish the meal with it.
Restaurant address, website link and map

Monte Pacis, monastery restaurant

This restaurant is located rather far from the city center, but during the summer there’s a bus directly to it, and during the winter you can easily catch a cab there or rent your own vehicle.
This restaurant is located in a monastery which now also serves as  a 4 stars hotel Monte Pacis  (Which also seemed like a great place to spend a night for those looking for a quiet romantic time in a charming location).

We reached the restaurant during lunch, with me, Michal and our guide, Linas. This one is also kind of a gourmet restaurant, with only a few tables. We were given a rigid menu from which we could choose between sweet potato soup and beef tartar for a starter. The mains were either a meat or fish dish. Then there was dessert.

We all chose sweet potato soup for a starter and a fish main.
Wow, the soup was delicious, as well as quite filling. It was were creamy and contained sunflower seeds, it was simply excellent (I hope they serve it when you’re there, as the menu changes constantly, however Lins said he’s been to this restaurant several times and the dishes are always very good). The fish was served with delicious roast vegetables, it was a good, light dish. Dessert was a pear in wine and vanilla ice-cream, and we were also served green tea.
It was a great finish to this sort of meal, being light and tasty. In short, it was a light yet filling three course meal and I’ll definitely be coming back the next time I’m in Kaunas.Restaurant address, website link and map.

Vista Puode – The chicken restaurant

A homey restaurant, its name translating to Chicken in a pot. Most of the dishes are chicken based, so if you enjoy poultry – you’ll definitely like it. Surprisingly, this restaurant offers good vegetarian dishes as well. We didn’t get to try any of the desserts, but they seemed great as well.
I ordered a starter of bread and chicken, mayonnaise and pears. A fun, light starter to get the meal going. I also ordered small toasts with a spread that I’m still not entirely sure what it was made of, but it was a kind of Pâté – they were great too. Michal ordered Borscht soup and liked it a lot.

For mains I had a salad with cranberries and cheese, while Michal had a type of cake considered a main dish and made of the local cheese (It thus looked and, honestly, tasted like a kind of cheesecake). These dishes were good as well, and Michal’s was a bit like dessert, so if you’re looking for something more savory, you may want to try another dish.
What I especially liked about this place is the atmosphere, the design is charming and makes you want to stay there for hours on end.
Restaurant address, website link and map.

Uoksas, Lithuanian gourmet restaurant

This was the first restaurant of our trip. We landed in the afternoon, and after checking in to our hotel, went to this place for dinner. It was a great way to start the trip.
Our meal was a 4-course meal decided ahead of time, based on modern Lithuanian cuisine. After each dish was served, the chef came out to tell us of the food. The dishes were special and each one combined several flavors and ingredients. I can’t remember what each dish included, since it was so many different things, but I can tell you each one was delicious and beautifully served.
For starters we were served Mackerel, then a tartar. For mains we got a fish dish and dessert was pumpkin Brule. Of course, we also ordered white wine.

I honestly ordered wine at every restaurant we visited, since while on a culinary vacation, you have to have wine accompanying every meal :).  
The pumpkin dessert was one of the most beautiful desserts I’ve ever seen, as well as really delicious. I don’t know if you’ll get to try it, but if you do, you’re in for a treat.Restaurant address, website link and map.

The Hunters restaurant – Medžiotojų užeiga

This is a restaurant we visited on our second day for dinner. It’s located right next to the municipal building in the old town and is great for meat lovers. I must admit that when Michal and I came there, we were still full of the monastery lunch and weren’t in a state we could possibly eat any meat in. So, we decided to share three starter dishes and have a bit of wine.

So, I can’t offer an opinion about the meat there, but according to reviews, it’s definitely worth a try. The starters were really good, we had Caesar salad with shrimp, herring and a salmon dish. As usual, we had white wine and truly enjoyed this meal. The prices are very reasonable, and it fits both lunch and dinner.
If you get a chance to dine here, I’d love to hear your thoughts on their meat dishes.
Restaurant address, website link and map

Rezisierius, Japanese restaurant

Update 12.2023 the restaurant is closed 

Actually, this restaurant wasn’t on our itinerary, we decided to visit it during our free evening.
We craved Asian cuisine and as soon as we came across this place, we knew it was where we were going to have dinner. The restaurant is cute and intimate. We decided to share two starters, two sushi rolls and wine – the price for the whole meal amounting to about 30 euros, so highly reasonable.
Our starters were a vegetable miso soup each and chicken dumplings with vegetables. Both dishes were good. For sushi, we ordered a salmon roll and a shrimp roll and liked them a lot.

It wasn’t the highest quality of sushi I’ve had, but definitely tasty, decent sushi.
Take into account that the sushi preparation takes a while. Around 45 minutes. We may have just been there on a slow day, but it may be the norm, so don’t go there too hungry and order starters as well, as they come out quickly. Restaurant address Vilniaus g. 10, website link 

Restaurant in the Žalgirio Arena – Sala restaurant 

This is a restaurant worth visiting if you happen to catch a basketball game while you’re in town (If there is one while you’re there, I highly!! Recommend going to it, even if you aren’t huge basketball fans, you’ll love the atmosphere, Kaunas is a basketball city!).
Anyhow, before the game we had a reservation at a restaurant at the arena (Tip: the entrance is from the back of the arena, it’s a bit hard to find, but if you walk around back and find the stairs – skip them and you’ll find the entrance).

It’s recommended to book a table in advance, as the restaurant is on the small side and has high demand on a game night. We decided to have a light meal there, I had carpaccio for a starter which was very good, and Michal ordered Salmon skewers. For mains, I had Caesar salad with shrimp and Michal had a salad combining fruits and vegetables.

My salad was tasty but had too much sauce for my taste (I usually ask for sauce on the side, as I don’t like it as much, and unfortunately forgot this time), Michal’s salad was lighter, and she loved it.
Restaurant address, website link and map