Editor Pick
Decent Vegetarian Restaurant and Nice Place to Chill Out
- January 13, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
dangaroo from Warsaw, Poland
Back in 2004, I visited Balti Drambiliai for the first time. It's a vegetarian restaurant relatively central in Vilnius and also acts as the Headquarters for meetings of Vilnius Hitchhiking Club where competitions and journeys are discussed amongst other things! That time it was pretty quiet but youngsters have more money these days and it's almost always full, there's a courtyard upstairs which is usually full of smokers since the ban on smoking at the beginning of 2007. Downstairs is a little labryinth of rooms in a brick basement, there is an upper tier that runs along one side of hte wall and is well hidden to give it a romantic feel, makes it awkward to find people though!
The curry here is very good and for a mere 15 litas (4 quid almost) you can't go wrong, I can also recommend the ice cream which is excellent. This place is used mostly by students but also some young couples, it's cheap and cheerful. The staff aren't the fastest because they are often in a dream/stoned but they are friendly all the same!
Balti Drambiliai translates to White Elephant and this is a theme throughout the restaurant, starting off with the large one at the entrance and then seeping through in the Indian decor in the restaurant downstairs, it's not that in your face bad taste Indian though, it's just a few nick nacks here and there that actually make the place look very nice rather than like a junk shop in Calcutta. VHHC (www.autostop.lt), hold their meetings there every 2nd Wednesday and are always open to newcomers, their members travel far and wide by hitchhiking.
This place is located at Vilniaus 41 in the centre. It's open from 11am to midnight on weekdays and opens at midday on weekends.