Albina Vilnius

I seriously doubt that Lithuanians would be strongly opinionated regarding their cuisines being the best in the world. But when it comes to nationwide famous dishes like Cepelinai or Balandėliai you’d hardly escape a discussion on whose granny/mom is the best at making those.

Don’t get me wrong, you can easily find such dishes in a bunch of restaurants in Lithuania, but 9 times out of 10 you’d be disappointed with the result. Therefore you either avoid ordering them or lower the quality control threshold on every aspect of what you have on the plate.

But sometimes you’re lucky enough to find a treasure without looking for it. Oh the glorious moment of biting into that sweet childhood memory. And all thanks to the simple canteen next door that works only at lunch time. The name of this gem of a place is ALBINA, which is coincidentally also the name of the founder herself. It has been nailing Lithuanian cuisine specialties for more than 20 years, hence the comforting taste and quality of their dishes.

The canteen is on the second floor and don't forget that they have more stuff to look for, such as my favourite Žemaičių pancakes. The Astra cutlet is another of their signature dishes. All in all you can hardly miss choosing anything they serve on each workday. Just follow the cue, smile at the counter when breaking your tongue spelling out the order and this will be the most genuine experience you'll have. And it’s extremely affordable!