Wining & Dining Guide

Monai, Klaipeda

This small restaurant in central Klaipeda strikes with an exceptionally homelike atmosphere. The small sitting area at the edge of the dining room offers seclusion and comfortable armchairs to enjoy an aperitif or a digestif. The kitchen cupboards with dishes stand right there on the dining room wall. The enticing aroma of fresh bread is wafting directly from the cutting board.

The city’s upper-crust fills the bijou dining room at Momo’s sister restaurant next to the Timepiece Museum for a shortlist of superbly crafted dishes and carefully paired ingredients. Octopus might go with soybeans and potato mousse, veal with polenta. Sunday brunch, with its own special menu, is especially highly sought after. Apart from rare wines lying on their sides, décor is minimal. Here it’s all about the food.

But since this is a restaurant rather than a home, locals generally visit it for a fast working lunch or business dinner. Occasionally, people bring their close ones to take their time celebrating a special occasion. For people newly in town, the order is taken and the food served at a fast food pace. Luckily, there is a way to signal that you would like to take your time. The key is in ordering an aperitif. You will be given exactly as long as you need to enjoy a glass of sparkling Altemura Rosamaro Brut Rosé. The staff will take time to introduce the four appetizers and four mains in detail. The beetroot cake is an inside out cake. The slightly marinated crunchy beetroot base is topped with sweet granola of roasted peanuts and seeds. The rump of lamb is cooked to specification and served with baby potatoes, broccoli, and green pepper sauce. The gourmand is treated to a salad made of tomatoes and raspberries from the chef’s own garden.

While Monai is ready to bring out excellent food at breakneck speed, let the chronic rushers make use of this. Slow food at fast food pace is less of an experience, more of a convenience. Take your time at Monai.

The address is 4 Liepu g., Klaipeda. To book a table, please call the restaurant staff (+370) 6266 3362 or email [email protected]