Dining in style

As the sun sets over the Vilnia river valley, bathing the slopes in golden evening sun, the lanterns turn on and the clinking of glasses mixes with the steady hum of the stream gushing over a waterfall at the Belmontas riverside restaurant. I will never claim to be an expert on the Vilnius dining scene, but after sampling a few of the top recommendations, I will stand by my previous comment that Lithuanian cuisine still has a lot of room for improvement. But that is not the same as saying that Vilnius doesn’t have some fantastic dining spots, and so here is a mention to the restaurant with the unrivalled best scenery in Vilnius – the Belmontas riverside grill. The spacious alfresco restaurant is cradled by the Vilnia rapids after they have tumbled over the Belmontas mill dam, offering a gentle acoustic backdrop, and I’ve spent enough posts on this blog going on about the beautiful scenery. There are plenty of cozy places to go downtown, of course, and if you keep an eye out for signs to “vasaros terasa” – summer terrace – you can expect to be treated to a great experience in one of Vilnius’ many courtyards. But Belmontas easily takes the top prize for location even among stiff competition, and the food is not something to be wowed about, but as far as grills go it is very tasty and slips down well with some of the locally-brewed beer. And for the kids, there’s even an enchanting playground at the far end of the restaurant to keep them entertained.