This year’s shortlist of 60 candidate restaurants from which the 2024 “30 Best Restaurants” ranking will be selected is announced.
“This year, when compiling the list of 60 candidate restaurants, we also listened to the voice of the public, we asked restaurant visitors to express who, in their opinion, could apply for the best rating. Thanks to all lovers of gastronomic culture for the hundreds of comments with suggestions – we carefully evaluated and considered them all. We believe that this year’s list of 60 candidate restaurants has become even more diverse and interesting, reflecting how rapidly the country’s restaurant market has changed and developed over the past year. Next, all selected restaurants, of which there are 60 on the shortlist, will be judged by members of the Academy of Good Food. Voting will continue throughout May and June, and the top thirty will be revealed in July,” says Linas Petrukaitis, founder of the Good Food Academy.
“Demo restaurant” / photo by Robert Daskevičius.
Similar restaurant ratings are held globally, and some countries also have their own restaurant ratings. In Lithuania, the “30 best restaurants” election is being held for the sixth time. The ranking is organized by the Academy of Good Food together with the Lithuanian Hotel and Restaurant Association, the Lithuanian Association of Head Chefs and Pastry Chefs and the magazine Geras Skonis.
Good Food Academy Board Meeting (6 photo)
“Revived last year after the Covid break, the rating is once again becoming an integral part of the country’s gastronomic life, a welcome tradition and an impulse for restaurants to strive for more every year, to become visible and noticed.” The ranking of “30 best restaurants” is important not only for restaurant owners or chefs, but also for visitors – for many a lover of food culture, it has become a kind of guide that is taken into account when looking for places to eat a cozy evening, celebration or business partners. This is a list that both visitors to local restaurants and tourists follow when looking for new tastes,” says Evalda Šiškauskienė, president of the Lithuanian Hotel and Restaurant Association and member of the board of the Good Food Academy.
The most representative restaurant guide in Lithuania is called the “30 best restaurants” list – a collection of the best places of that year, which reflects changes and trends in the public catering sector.
“This rating strongly contributes to the development of restaurant culture in the country, draws public attention to the sector, its development, and new trends. For the restaurant industry – owners and kitchen chefs – this is a kind of bar that you want to overcome, for visitors – a new map of tastes and experiences every year, which allows you to discover, experience and savor the best that we offer here in Lithuania”, says the head of the magazine “Geras Skonis” . editor, chancellor of the Lithuanian branch of the International Gastronomy Association “Chaîne des Rôtisseurs”, Rasa Ščeponienė-Gurevičė.
How will restaurants be rated next?
Restaurants from a shortlist of 60 candidates will be judged based on the food and drinks they serve, the environment they create, the culture of service and the quality. The restaurants will get the highest score for the revealed flavors of the food.
The members of the Academy of Good Food will appreciate restaurants that have already established themselves in the market, have their own clear face and direction, and have been developing their activities no less than March 1 of this year.
Who made the restaurant shortlist?
As before, the list of 60 candidate restaurants was compiled by the Council of the Good Food Academy taking into account the list of all catering establishments in Lithuania.
This year’s short list of 60 candidates is characterized by a very wide geography: although the largest part consists of restaurants in the capital (39 out of 60), in total, restaurants from twelve different cities and areas of Lithuania were on the list – from Nida, Juodkrantė and Kretinga to Radiškis in the Ukmergė district.
This year, 17 newly nominated restaurants made it to the short list, most of them in Vilnius, where the food culture has developed rapidly in recent years and more than one place with a new concept has opened its doors. Newcomers to the list are also on the seaside – “Monist” in Palanga, in the regions – “Red Brick” in Radišky.
The list includes all restaurants that entered the TOP 30 in 2023. Next, all selected restaurants, of which there are 60 on the shortlist, will be judged by members of the Academy of Good Food.
“30 Best Restaurants” announced the list of candidates for the 2024 ranking (55 photo)
A short list of the country’s best 2024. restaurants:
In Vilnius: 14Horses, Amandus, Augustin, Bizarre (in Vilnius and Nida), Bon Chop, Casa Peligrosa, Da Antonio, Demo restaurant, Dine, Joy, El Gato Negro, Elven, House of Ertlio, Factory, Farmer & The Ocean, Firenze, Gaspar’s, Gastronomika, HeJi, I Hate Sushi, La Capital “, “Le Travi”, MEAT (in Vilnius, Nida and Palanga), “Momo Grill” (in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda), MOTÍF, “Narushi” (in Vilnius and Nida), “Nineteen18”, “Pacai”, “Pachamama Dinner Club”, “Pas mus restaurantas”, “Ancestors”, “River Town”, “Saint Germain”, “Somm”, “Pupuklai”, “Stikliai”, “Sushi Masters (several cities), “Taste Boutique”, ” Telegraph”.
In Kaunas: Agave, Arrivée, DIA, La Papa Loca Monte Pacis, Nüman
in Klaipėda: Alba Bistro, Monai, ToLi from Classics
In Palanga: “Avenue Brasserie”, “Monist”, “Pušų Paunknė”, “Restoranas Palanga”, “Todá” (in Palanga and Nida), “Vila Komoda”.
In other cities: Round Table Club (Trakui), Fisheria (Nida), Juodasis kalnas (Juodkrantė), Red Brick (Radišky, Ukmergė district), Štrumų lighthouse (Ventės Raga), Zelvė Village & SPA (Kretinga district)
