Report Abuse

Average food, but good atmoshere

3 Posted on 04 / 12 / 2013

Balti Drambliai is probably the most known vegetarians place in town, and one of the oldest. It has been known for attracting creative folks, new age hippies, and just people who wanted to meditate at their veg meal under the vibes of relaxing music.
The food is not bad, but not extraordinary. I have been there many times, and I think they did better in their early years, but now they lost some kind of quality and genuine feeling of the preparation of their meals.
Vegan options marked separately, but check for honey, last time I was there it was included in one or two vegan options.
I also think they the portions are too small, and too pricy for their size.

Pros: location, vegan options marked, relaxing atmosphere
Cons: small portions, more flavours needed, slow staff

Report Abuse

Good food, cool setting

3 Posted on 02 / 20 / 2013

The location and atmosphere of this restaurant is great. The food is OK, and the service is good. I'd go back, but I'd order something different. The samosas were just "OK", nothing great. I still had a good meal, though, and the price was good.

Pros: All-veg, Friendly, Aesthetically-pleasing inside

Report Abuse

Nice and cozy place

4 Posted on 09 / 18 / 2012

Very good and inexpensive food.
Most of the waiters and waitresses don't speak English but not a problem at all.

Pros: Good food, Adequate portions, Cozy place
Cons: Slow service

Report Abuse

good to hang out for a snack and beer

3 Posted on 09 / 04 / 2012

I only had french fries and beer but i saw that the menu was full of possibilities. the atmosphere is great and I would go back there if could. I can recommend this for lovers of indian cuisine!

Pros: cheap, nice garden outside, big choice
Cons: slow waitresses

Report Abuse

So-so food, but nice hang out place

3 Posted on 07 / 26 / 2012

This place has a very ambitious menu, but the food we ordered, Indian tofu and paneer, did not taste much at all. But the atmosphere was relaxed and it is still worth a visit, maybe rather for a snack than for a meal.

Pros: Nice atmosphere, Cheap
Cons: So-so food

Report Abuse

mediocre

2 Posted on 07 / 19 / 2012

the food is ridiculously bland, the service is slow, and the menu doesn't have many vegan options. on the plus side, the price is cheap and it's open late.

Pros: cheap
Cons: bland food, slow service, not many vegan options

Report Abuse

Nice but so...so....SO SLOW

3 Posted on 05 / 26 / 2012

I went to two vegetarian restaurants in Vilnius, this one and Shiva Bar.

I ordered Tibetan dumplings here. Don't get me wrong, they were delicious and cheap. But the service was SO SLOW...

It took them AGES to get me the dumplings. And the problem was, they didn't really fill me up (they were good, but they were small and few), but by the time I finished them and realized the dumplings weren't enough, it was too late. I wasn't gonna wait so long AGAIN for a second dish, so I just decided to pay, leave, and finish eating somewhere else.

So, keep this in mind, the food is good, but get ready to wait a long, long time...

Pros: Tasty, Cheap
Cons: VERY SLOW

Report Abuse

disappointing

2 Posted on 05 / 06 / 2012

Apart from the happycow reviews, the place was also recommended to me by a colleague from Vilnius. I was really very disappointed. the place looks nice, and the menu is large. I ordered a vegetable gratin. You would expect that you can't go wrong on usch a dish, but it was bad. Most vegetables were not fresh, and they did not match (olives and gherkin...), were just thrown together as leftovers. It was cheap and I suppose it's okay if you're on a student budget, but I would rather pay a bit more for food that tastes good.

Report Abuse

lovely evening

5 Posted on 12 / 15 / 2011

what a fab place, very chilled and friendly, lovely food, good vegan choices, yummy beer, spent a really nice evening here, if in the beautiful city of Vilnius this is a must place to eat and drink

Pros: atmosphere, beer, food

Report Abuse

Bland Flavourless Food

2 Posted on 12 / 12 / 2011

I really wanted to like this place. There were many positives. I liked the atmosphere (young and alternative/hippy), the interior was nice - bricked walls, quirky, the staff were friendly and efficient, the food was very cheap and I liked the fact that you could get alcohol here (so many veggie places don't serve it).

But, and it's fatal for me, the food was flavourless. I had Indian food, but there were no Indian spices at all. No coriander, no turmeric, no garam masala, no cumin. As a result everything just tasted like an unseasoned stew. Filling, healthy, vegetarian, cheap - yes, but not tasty at all.

I went on a Sunday night and it was really busy so it's obviously popular; maybe the food has been adapted for local tastes? I'm glad it's doing well, but it's not for me as I like food with a bit of flavour.

That said, it'd be a nice place to go for a drink. There's a huge selection of teas on the menu. Or just go there for a beer and a plate of chips! The terrace would be great in summer and the location is lovely.

Pros: Atmosphere, Cheap, Good range of drinks
Cons: No spices, No flavour, Bland food

Report Abuse

Nice atmosphere, appalling service

4 Posted on 12 / 09 / 2011

Even though the menu has not changed for a long time and the place is known for its absent minded waiters (it is not uncommon that they forget about your order) who are also slow and not very polite (sometimes they make you feel that you spoiled their day!), it is still the most popular meeting and dining place for vegetarians and vegans in Vilnius. The food is cooked right after you order it, so sometimes it takes long to arrive (again, this might be because of the slow service).
The food is mostly Indian, but there are salads, tofu and potato dishes, too. Their falafel is good, but not what you'd expect to get in western or northern Europe. There are many teas to choose from ( I'd say about 15 types of black, green, chai, fruit, herbal teas). Unfortunately, they do not have soy milk, so you cannot get vegan chai or latte.
Dishes of the day are hardly ever vegan, and sometimes waiters are not sure sure about the ingredients and are reluctant to check.
If it was a regular place, it would not get more than two stars. It also deserves only two stars for the service. But I gave it four cow-stars just because it's there (it's not so easy to find a vegan meal in regular cafes in Vilnius) and the food+atmosphere are nice.

Pros: It's cozy, long opening hours, Vegan dishes are clearly marked, Indoor + outdoor seating (in the summer)
Cons: Absent minded, slow and rude waiters, No soy milk, No vegan desserts

Report Abuse

Great Atmosphere

5 Posted on 12 / 05 / 2011

Visited on 02/12/11. I really liked this place, it was very friendly, had an alternative crowd/vibe and the underground setting is very cozy. There is not so many vegan dishes but the menu is clearly marked. It's mostly Indian based food and pizza. I had the fried eggplant which came with rice and salad topped with vegan mayo. It was cooked and prepared very well, I really enjoyed it. My mum had the zucchini curry with rice and she enjoyed that too. We stayed after eating for some beers - the beer here is great and the prices are amazing - the bill came to £15 for two main meals, 3 large and 2 small beers!! Would fully recommend!!

Pros: Setting/Atmosphere, Good food, great beer, Super cheap
Cons: Could have more vegan options

Report Abuse

Get the vegetable samosa!

5 Posted on 07 / 19 / 2011

Vegetarian restuarant with clearly labelled vegan options on menu. The spinach and tomato parata and vegetable samosa were very tasty. Affordable veggie food in a lovely outdoor seating area.

Pros: Vegan options, Affordable, Outdoor seating

Report Abuse

Really nice and tasty!

4 Posted on 02 / 13 / 2011

We visited this restaurant 3 times and the food was really good.If you are really hungry, it's better to take a starter and a main meal, because the portions are not so big. But thats not bad, because so you can taste more dishes! The prices are also good.The atmosphere in this underground restaurant is amazing. We had no problems with the service.

Pros: tasty food, Atmosphere

Report Abuse

Cheap but not that good

2 Posted on 10 / 29 / 2010

Ate here two times during our visit in Vilnius. Compared to reviews the food was disappointing. Tibetan dumplings were ok, eggplant curry was not seasoned well, except being too salty. Falafels were like rocks and yet again there were no flavors present. Many vegan dishes were not available as there was lack of certain ingredients. Service was passive, as almost always in eastern Europe. Quite low prices reflect the small size of the dishes. Maybe dishes of the day are ok, don't know because according the waitress they were not vegan. Customers are mostly students and there is some indian style music playing.

Pros: Price, Location, Vegan friendly
Cons: Food, Service

Report Abuse

Nice but could be better

3 Posted on 10 / 18 / 2009

I've been to Balti Dramblai twice. I think the atmosphere is nice, the prices are okay as well. The first time I had samosas filled with a bolognese style sauce which was very delicious. The second time I tried out the falafel because some reviews here say they are so good. I didn't like them very much, though. Maybe it's the - as I find - large amount of oriental spices that were strange to my taste, I don't know.
The service was always very friendly though.
Unfortunately, there is not a single vegan desert. I even had to explain to the (still friendly) staff what vegan means once. Not even hot chocolate with soy milk.

Pros: Friendly staff
Cons: Not many vegan dishes

Report Abuse

great food

4 Posted on 06 / 28 / 2009

I had a delicious meal here and returned a couple of days later and had the same thing. Photos of the dishes, and English descriptions, make it easy to order, and the wait staff understand English. I had stir-fried vegetables with baked tofu slices and white basmati rice. And a Lithuanian draft beer. Indian chanting music coming from the speakers. It's downstairs in a brick- and stone-walled cellar.

Pros: good food, nice ambience

Report Abuse

So much food!

4 Posted on 12 / 12 / 2008

This place was awesome. They had a really diverse menu including tibeatean dumplings, cheese and mushroom samosas, swedish crumbles, and various currys and pizzas. They also had a wide range of teas and chai with honey. The lassiis also quite good. Our waitress didnt speak english, but someone else in the store did - not that we would have minded because the menu is in english so we could just point at what we wanted. The atmopshere was great - it's in a little underground cellar and i didn't notice anyone smoking. The food is simple but good - and most importantly cheap.

Pros: cheap, warm, friendly

Report Abuse

interesting

3 Posted on 09 / 09 / 2007

ordering was slighty uncomfrtable...

but the red curry was nice.. little green leaf symbol means vegan. I hear they have nice falafels...

Very good for lithuania.. the only place in the city.

Be ahppy its here.. food was tasty and the fried bread was good.

YUM YUM FOOD

Pros: food, veagn, food
Cons: service, its lithuania.. vegan food haha

Report Abuse

Balti Drambliai

3 Posted on 08 / 22 / 2007

AKA the "White Elephant"

There were some vegan options to chose form such as the felafel. The only thing that bothered me was the smoking in the area, but other than that it's a nice area and good food.

Pros: healthy

Report Abuse

Balti Drambliai Vegetarinė Kavinė, Vilnius

5 Posted on 09 / 09 / 2006

This place is out of this world. Centrally located opposite the big peach coloured church on Vilniaus g. The food I had was just sensational. The tomato sauce with the falafel was delicious, the Indian set meal of the day was an absolute joy for my taste buds, a couple of other dishes that I had there again were superb. Vegan dishes are clearly marked on the menu. As well as doing Indian food they offer other foods as well as a pizza section on the menu. Inexpensive prices make it great value for money, long opening hours make it convenient for getting a meal in. Very helpful staff. An absolute gem in the Baltics.

Pros: Superb food, Location / Hours / Price, Pleasant service
Cons: None