Trauktinė is the Lithuanian herbal liqueur tradition; Žalios Devynerios 999 is the canonical brand, made from nine herbs and the digestif of choice across Lithuanian dinners.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Trauktinė is Lithuania's herbal-liqueur tradition. Žalios Devynerios (Green Nine) 999 is the most famous brand, named for the nine herbs in the recipe and the 999 lottery-luck branding from the Soviet era. It pours dark green and tastes bitter-herbal, served as a digestif after a Lithuanian dinner. Lokys and most traditional Lithuanian restaurants in Vilnius keep it on the bar. Also worth tasting: Žalgiris mead-balsam at Senoji Trobelė.
Tip from the editors. Žalios Devynerios is the canonical version; Trejos Devynerios (with 27 herbs) is the stronger sibling.
Lokys on Stiklių stays open to midnight every night; the medieval cellar that has fed Vilnius wild boar and venison since 1972 takes late-evening covers.
Try: Wild boar with lingonberry
Tip: Last bookings around 22:00; walk-ins possible later in the cellar. A solid post-Alchemikas dinner option.
Senoji Trobelė on Naugarduko is a family-run Lithuanian room with painted ceilings and a 75-percent Žalgiris mead balsam fermented for two years.
Signature: Cepelinai, Vegetarian potato dumplings with spinach, Žalgiris mead balsam
Order: Cepelinai with curd cheese; finish with a glass of Žalgiris mead balsam.
Tip: Twelve minutes uphill from Vokiečių. Order the daily-baked linseed leaven bread to start.
Šnekutis on Šv. Mikalojaus pours 30-plus Lithuanian beers including small-brewery filtered and unfiltered, with cepelinai and smoked-pig snacks.
Signature: Cepelinai, Smoked pig ear, Lithuanian beer flight
Order: Cepelinai with spirgučiai pork cracklings; pick the unfiltered farmhouse ale.
Tip: Užupis branch closed; this Mikalojaus room is the original Šnekutis. Book ahead for evening.
Etno Dvaras on Aušros Vartų cooks dishes certified by the Lithuanian Culinary Heritage Fund in a cavernous cellar with street-level windows on the strip.
Signature: Cepelinai, Bulvių blynai potato pancakes, Šaltibarščiai
Order: Cepelinai with bacon-mushroom sauce; pair with a bowl of šaltibarščiai cold beet soup.
Tip: Heritage Fund certification means every dish must be 100 years old by recipe. Touristy but real.
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