Vilnius Coffee Crawl
This guide is for coffee lovers who make a ritual of their favourite warm drink and care about where and what kind of coffee they drink.
FACT: Archival sources reveal that residents of Vilnius started drinking coffee in the early to the mid-17th century.
Unique Places
Taste Map
Taste Map owners Ieva and Domas run three cosy places where they offer coffee roasted at their family manufactory. Although Taste Map is more of a café than a place for food, you can also find desserts, salads, pies and cheesecakes at each of their locations.
FACT: There are two more Taste Map coffeehouses in Vilnius (Gynėjų 14C and Antakalnio 17), both are part of the startup ecosystem as they are both located in popular start-up hubs – Rockit and the impressive Vilnius Tech Park.
Location: M. K. Čiurlionio 8
Opening hours: I-V 7:00-20:00, VI 9:00-20:00, VII 10:00-19:00
Strange Love
Positioned next to the main entrance to what is arguably Vilnius’ most charming park (Bernardinai), Strange Love is a three-in-one: a coffee shop, a cafe, and a place to escape from the bustle of the city without having to leave its very centre.
Location: Barboros Radvilaitės 6B
Opening hours: I-V 9:00-21:00, VI-VII: 10:00-21:00
Brew. Specialty Coffee
Brew is a cosy cafe right next to the MO Museum, in an area full of other well-regarded cafes and restaurants. Brew offers its own roasts accompanied by wholesome desserts, delicious bowls, sandwiches, and of course, smiling baristas.
Location: Pylimo 19
Opening hours: I-V 8:00-20:00, VI-VII 9:00-20:00
Crooked Nose & Coffee Stories
It's a rather niche place where guests are invited to enjoy their coffee slowly, so it's best if you come here when you’re not in a rush. The owner, Emanuelis, roasts coffee from different parts of the world himself and prepares it using different methods. As he puts it himself, the day either has a taste or it doesn't. Meaning a day is tasteless without good coffee.
Location: V. Kudirkos g. 6
Opening hours: I-V 11:00-17:00
Two in One
Raštinė
Run by a couple, Ieva and Saulius, this is not only a quality coffeehouse but also a shop selling a selection of stationery, books and magazines. This combination is perfectly complemented by the minimalist decor and wholesome desserts, such as gluten and sugar-free vegan sweets.
FACT: Raštinė is located close to the MO Museum, one of the top modern cultural spaces in the city.
Location: J. Basanavičiaus 2
Opening hours: I-V 9:00-20:00, V-VI 10:00-20:00
Elska Coffee
Elska is where you’ll meet all kinds of people: those enjoying their coffee quietly and watching passers-by, professionals working on their laptops, and groups of friends or colleagues. You will also find some balanced food free of any additives. Avocado toast and chia pudding are said to be among the café’s most popular food choices.
FACT: Elska is located on a busy intersection and shares a space with the Pamėnkalnio Art Gallery, where exhibitions have been on display since 1960!
Location: Pamėnkalnio 1
Opening hours: I-V 7:00-20:00, VI-VII 8:00-20:00
Backstage Cafe
Backstage is located in a fashionable area – the maze of lofts and creative workshops in the yard of the T. Ševčenkos 16 compound. The owners, Vytenys and Ieva, once had a photo studio here, but then they converted it into a cosy coffeehouse with a roasting room on the first floor. You can also have a snack here, and the local signature dish is key lime pie.
FACT: A second Backstage coffeehouse is located in Naujamiestis closer to the centre at the Bali Wood interior studio (Mindaugo 16), where you can enjoy your coffee in a very exotic setting.
Location: T. Ševčenkos 16H-9
Opening hours: I-V: 9.00-18.00, VI-VII: 10.00-18.00
Largest Coffeehouse Chains
Huracan
This is one of the most respected coffee culture brands in Vilnius (formerly Šviežia Kava) and one of the oldest coffeehouse chains operating in Lithuania. Its founder, Vytautas Kratulis, started roasting and selling coffee in a tiny Naujamiestis shop back in 2001. Much like his coffee’s aroma, word spread far and wide of his products, so Vytautas opened his first coffeehouse for his regular customers at the Central Department Store in 2004. Huracan currently has 9 locations in Vilnius and also supplies coffee to some of the best restaurants in the country.
Vero Café
There are currently 14 Vero Cafe locations in Vilnius. When ordering, you always have a choice of freshly roasted beans, usually one of the standard varieties and one specialty. Vero Cafe is known for its unpretentious ambience, which attracts people of various age groups.
Caffeine
Undoubtedly the largest coffeehouse chain in Lithuania, with a bright orange logo that can be seen from afar. Caffeine took the Lithuanian market by storm in 2006 and immediately became a hotspot for everyone in the city: from students to business people. There are currently 30 Caffeine locations in Vilnius.
