Guide To The Best Restaurants In Kaunas For Vegetarians

Restaurants in Kaunas blew me away with their vegetarian offerings. Given that this is a small city in Lithuania, albeit the second largest, my expectations weren’t high.

I spent 2 days in Kaunas and ended up on somewhat of a foodie adventure trying as much local cuisine as possible at some of the best places to eat in Kaunas.

For such a meat-heavy cuisine, I was surprised to learn that vegetarianism has become very popular in Lithuania over the last few years. Particularly with the younger generation and many of the vegan restaurants in Kaunas that we visited were packed full of locals with barely a tourist in sight.

That to me is a sign of having discovered a real gem.

Here is a run down of the best restaurants in Kaunas that you should add to your itinerary.

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Restaurants in Kaunas for vegetarians

Lithuania isn’t massively vegan friendly if you want to try local cuisine, however I had expected this, so it didn’t come as a surprise. Vegetarians wouldn’t struggle as much due to many dishes containing eggs or dairy.

However, there are so many wonderful restaurants in Kaunas to discover, from the more aesthetically pleasing places to ones that haven’t changed their decor since the Soviet era which ended in the 90s.

The food is consistently great regardless of your surroundings or service and Kaunas is truly the place to visit particularly if you are a foodie traveller.

Habits Coffee House & Bakery

Habits is an aesthetically pleasing, instagrammable coffee shop in Kaunas. They have two branches that are a one minute walk away from one another; the coffee shop on the beautiful Liberty Avenue, otherwise known as Laisvės Aleja, and a bakery just around the corner.

The menu at the bakery isn’t great for vegetarians or vegans, but I chose the avocado toast minus the anchovies which was the only vegan friendly dish available. While it is the ultimate basic millennial brunch of choice, the tomato paste base and crushed hazelnuts on top made it slightly unusual to the norm and it was lovely.

coffee and matcha latte at Habits Coffee House Kaunas

While this is not somewhere I would recommend for food if you have similar dietary requirements to me, the coffee here is excellent. The service is quite slow, particularly as they seem to be busy all the time, but do go there for a coffee and great vibes. Their baked goods also look scrumptious, if you are that way inclined, but be warned that you may find it difficult to chose just one. They all look incredible!

Habits Bakery location: Gedimino g. 42, Kaunas, 44240 Kauno m. sav., Lithuania

Habits Coffee location: Laisvės al. 30, Kaunas, 44240 Kauno m. sav., Lithuania

Bernelių Užeiga

Bernelių Užeiga is a chain restaurant and is one of the best places to eat in Kaunas if you want to try traditional Lithuanian cuisine. If you read my guide to restaurants in Vilnius, you will know I first visited their restaurant in Vilnius a few days earlier.

This time I was armed with a list of more vegetarian friendly Lithuanian food to try thanks to my friend who I had spent some time with earlier that day, so I was on a mission to locate more local cuisine.

The deep fried rye bread sticks with cheese, otherwise known as skrudinta duona su sūriu were delicious in a bit of a sickly way! I would say this is a dish you need to try at least once, because it is quite the experience; incredibly rich, creamy and so naughty!

Bread and cheese is a match made in heaven and this was truly indulgent. Though I don’t think I have ever eaten so much mayonnaise in my life, which is what the bread sticks are coated in before being topped with a mountain of cheese.

I also ordered the cold beetroot soup, otherwise known as šaltibarščiai su virtomis bulvėmis – or so I thought! What was actually later served to me was borscht, a traditional Ukrainian soup – and it was hot, not cold.

I must admit I was skeptical about trying this soup, mainly because it was supposed to be cold and also because I am not a huge lover of beetroot. Pickled beetroot, great. Cooked beetroot, I’m on the fence.

The borscht however was delicious and light. I have never had soup with a side of potatoes before and this made a lovely change to bread. Alongside the cheese sticks, this lighter dish was much needed.

We washed it all down with homemade kvass also known as gira in Lithuania. This drink made from fermented bread is definitely an acquired taste that reminded me of kombucha. It’s slightly fizzy due to the fermentation process of the bread.

I am not sure I’d be rushing to order it again, but it made for an interesting, refreshing drink in the heat for sure.

Location: M. Valančiaus g. 9, Kaunas, 44275 Kauno m. sav., Lithuania. There are 3 locations in Kaunas, the one above is the location I visited.

Talutti Tex Mex

Talutti was a late night find, as unsurprisingly, we weren’t that hungry after the mountain of bread and cheese from earlier in the day.

I ordered the vegetarian burrito bowl, which I asked to be made extra spicy and they really delivered.

vegetarian burrito bowl at Talutti Tex Mex Kaunas

vegetarian burrito bowl and spicy chicken wrap at Talutti Tex Mex Kaunas

As lovely as it has been trying local cuisine, Lithuanian food it is the polar opposite of what the South Asian palate is accustomed to and I have found everything here lacking in salt, never mind any other spices.

It was incredibly nice to have something packed full of flavour for a change to switch things up.

The outdoor seating here is lovely if you happen to find yourself in Kaunas during the warmer days. The vibe is great, service was some of the best we had and it was all round an excellent find.

Location: Laisvės al. 74, Kaunas, 44249 Kauno m. sav., Lithuania

Green Cafe

Located again on the beautiful Liberty Avenue, we stopped here for a coffee and light breakfast. Breakfast wasn’t included at the hotel we stayed at in Kaunas, just around the corner – which isn’t a bad thing. I enjoy trying a variety of places while travelling, particularly if there are so many fab places that cater for vegans and vegetarians, like they do in Kaunas. Having breakfast included as part of your stay can often limit that.

The oat flat white did not disappoint. In fact it was so good, I ended up ordering two!

mango chia pudding and oat flat white at Green Cafe Kaunas

While the food isn’t labelled in English, the staff were friendly and helped point out which items were vegan, so I opted for the mango chia pudding. I couldn’t fault it, it was the perfect light breakfast after a few days of eating all of the carbs.

This is another great spot to sit outside and people-watch!

Location: Laisvės al. 46, Kaunas, 44246 Kauno m. sav., Lithuania

Zalia Pupa

Zalia Pupa is a vegetarian cheap eats, hole-in-the-wall type of small restaurant with a real homely feel. The menu is small with around 10 dishes on offer and isn’t in English, however the one member of staff was lovely at explaining what was what.

Zalia Pupa, a vegetarian restaurant in Kaunas

This place is incredibly popular with locals, with tables filling up from the second they opened and a constant stream of people collecting food they had presumably ordered in advance.

cold beetroot soup at Zalia Pupa, a vegetarian restaurant in Kaunas

We ordered the cold beetroot soup, finally! While I was initially skeptical, I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.. though I quickly realised it contained milk afterwards.

It was my own fault for not checking in advance as it didn’t even cross my mind and as I am lactose intolerant, I couldn’t eat any more which was a shame.

buddha bowls at Zalia Pupa, a vegetarian restaurant in Kaunas

We also ordered a Buddha bowl which were essentially very similar. The broccoli pancakes were not my fave due to the soggy texture, but the chickpea and vegetable stew (rice) and lightly spiced and the salads were delicious. I particularly liked the beetroot salad with peas, really unusual but tasty.

Their opening hours are very limited, but I can see why it is so popular with all the locals. This little gem is one of the best restaurants in Kaunas for vegetarians.

Location: Laisvės al. 78, Kaunas, 44249 Kauno m. sav., Lithuania

Arbatine

Saving one of the ultimate restaurants in Kaunas for vegans till last, Arbatinė is all about traditional Lithuanian food made vegan.

With the word vegan displayed in big letters on the window, this restaurant serves vegan versions of traditional Lithuanian food, like cepelinai (traditionally meat and potato stuffed dumplings), beetroot soup and bulviniai blynai (potato pancakes).

While they mostly substitute the meat with mushrooms as opposed to mock meat, the menu is also quite varied for those who might want a change. Alongside the Lithuanian dishes they serve vegan burgers, falafel, lasagne and various soups and salads.

Be warned, the menu is extremely confusing and not in English. The service at first comes across as awful. The two older ladies running the place don’t really understand English and immediately seem annoyed when you simply approach them.

I’m not going to lie, ordinarily, I would have walked out. However, I had heard such great things about Arbatine and as it was our last meal in Lithuania, I really wanted to try more of the local cuisine.

vegan potato pancakes Arbatine, a vegan Lithuanian restaurant in Kaunas

I specifically wanted to try the žemaičiu blynai as recommended by my friend; these are traditionally potato pancakes with a meat stuffing with a mushroom sauce. This vegan version was stuffed with mushrooms instead and it was well worth the bad service.!

We essentially ordered two similar dishes to try, two types of potato pancakes which had the same mushroom sauce, one dish was stuffed with mushrooms and the other wasn’t – both great, but I preferred the stuffed ones.

two types of Lithuanian potato pancakes at Arbatine, a vegan Lithuanian restaurant in Kaunas

We got chatting to a local man in the restaurant that helped us translate what some of the pastries were. These change daily and are baked fresh every morning, so often are all sold out by the afternoon. We did try a pastry with baked plums which was nice and the staff soon warmed up to us, giving us a tour of the pharmacy in the other half of the building via the help of google translate.

pastries at Arbatine, a vegan Lithuanian restaurant in Kaunas

An interesting restaurant, but essentially the food was excellent so I would wholeheartedly recommend looking past the service. It is the best vegan restaurant in Kaunas and another popular spot among the locals. Not just the vegans either, which speaks volumes!

Location: Jovarų g. 5, Kaunas, 47192 Kauno m. sav., Lithuania

Eating Our Way Around The Best Vegetarian Restaurants In Kaunas 🇱🇹

Kauno Spurgine

You cannot visit Kaunas without a trip to Spurginė, the oldest, most popular cafe serving traditional Lithuanian donuts. This is less than a 5 minute walk from Arbatine and they are renowned for their soviet style interior that hasn’t changed since the 1980s. It is like stepping back in time.

If you think the service at Arbatinė is bad, Spurginė is truly the worst I have ever encountered. It was almost comical.

One of the ladies serving here is grumpy and comes across as someone that hates all people. It felt as though she was rolling her eyes at us without actually doing so. For someone working in customer service, this was pretty comical.

Do not let that put you off though.

She is like that with every customer.

I later discovered from my Lithuanian friend that this is the norm here. Older women tend to have an angry look on their faces and come across as very grumpy at all times, it’s just the culture. The younger generation are not like this at all – and this was evident with the younger lady serving who was quite smiley and friendly.

Our experience at Arbatinė made complete sense after that explanation!

They only had two flavours of donuts left by the time we arrived; the cabbage donut which was definitely an acquired taste. This was more of a pastry than a donut as there was nothing sweet about it.

The curd donut, which is the star of the show was delicious. The curd is mixed through the dough, creating a really soft and fluffy texture inside, while the outside had a light dusting of sugar. It wasn’t overly sweet and just perfect!

The donuts are made fresh throughout the day with the original recipe that hasn’t changed in over 40 years. If you are lucky enough to time it when they are fresh out of the oven, you will be served warm donuts.

The angry lady then proceeded to kick us out whilst we were still mid way through eating, as they wanted to close early having sold the last donut. Hilarious!

The service here would give Karen’s Diner a run for their money!

Location: Laisvės al 84, Kaunas, 44250 Kauno m. sav., Lithuania

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