Hotel Traktir

The busy port city of Klaipėda plays host to this cosy restaurant where, once you’ve located the discreet entrance – a very warm welcome awaits. As you step over the threshold, a feeling of calm engulfs you, and you can drift away from the world outside. Lunch is a simple affair and represents great value, while at dinner, honest flavours shine through in modern dishes where fish is a highlight, such as in the roasted cod with coco beans, chorizo and cauliflower. This will quickly become one of your favourite new places to eat.

Chef Giorgio Pignagnoli brings plenty of Italian flair and creativity to the kitchen of this smartly dressed restaurant at the Palanga Spa Life Balance Hotel. There are often dishes to share on the menu, such as sole or chateaubriand, while standouts include his smoked eel risotto, which is as flavoursome as it is colourful. Many of the generously sized dishes come with his own original touches, but neither is he afraid of tradition – he uses his grandmother’s special recipe for his delicious tiramisu, for example.

You’ll find the Monist restaurant housed inside the boutique hotel of the same name, along with a comfortable bar for pre-dinner drinks, creating a cossetting retreat from the world outside. The room is decorated in warm, natural colours, and nature guides the cooking too, with dishes inspired by the seasons. The à la carte menu offers plenty of choice and while it's underpinned by traditional Lithuanian flavours, here they’re given a refreshingly restorative modern makeover. Highlights include the sea bass with parsnip purée and, for dessert, the sticky layered cake with quince and hazelnuts.