Cepelinai are the Lithuanian national dish: large potato dumplings stuffed with pork (or curd, or mushrooms) and served with bacon-mushroom sauce and sour cream.
Cepelinai (zeppelins) take their name from the German zeppelin airship that flew over Lithuania in 1908. The dish itself predates the airship by centuries as didžkukuliai. The modern cepelinai recipe of grated and shredded potato dough stuffed with pork-and-onion mixture solidified in interwar Lithuania (1918-1940) and became the national dish through Soviet kitchens. Today every Lithuanian restaurant runs a version, from Etno Dvaras's Heritage Fund recipe to Lokys's medieval-cellar plate.
6 editor picks for Cepelinai in Vilnius, ranked by editorial score. All Vilnius signature dishes · Cepelinai across every city.
Lokys ★ 4.4
senamiestis · Stiklių g. 8, 01131 Vilnius
Lokys has run since 1972 in a 15th-century merchant's cellar on Stiklių, serving wild boar, venison and beaver under the second generation of the same family.
Šnekutis ★ 4.3
senamiestis · Šv. Mikalojaus g. 15, 01133 Vilnius
Šnekutis on Šv. Mikalojaus pours 30-plus Lithuanian beers from small breweries, with cepelinai and smoked-pig snacks to match the unfiltered pours.
Senoji Trobelė ★ 4.2
naujamiestis · Naugarduko g. 36, Vilnius
Senoji Trobelė on Naugarduko is a family-run Lithuanian room with painted ceilings and a 75-percent Žalgiris mead balsam fermented for two years.
Etno Dvaras (Aušros Vartų) ★ 4.0
senamiestis · Aušros Vartų g. 2, 01303 Vilnius
Etno Dvaras on Aušros Vartų cooks dishes certified by the Lithuanian Culinary Heritage Fund in a warm cavernous cellar with street-level windows.
Užupio Kavinė ★ 4.0
uzupis · Užupio g. 2, 01200 Vilnius
Užupio Kavinė sits on the Vilnelė riverbank at the edge of the Užupis Republic, the bohemian district's longest-running Lithuanian dining room.
Forto Dvaras (Pilies) ★ 3.8
senamiestis · Pilies g. 16, Vilnius
Forto Dvaras on Pilies is the same Heritage Fund-certified Lithuanian chain as Etno Dvaras, named after the medieval forts theme of the Old Town strip.