Tomas Rimvydis, the chef-proprietor of Ertlio Namas, likes to confound expectations. His highly original restaurant in the heart of Vilnius Old Town offers creative riffs on historically authentic Lithuanian recipes, embracing the kind of medieval, Renaissance and Baroque dishes once cooked for the nobility. Whilst potatoes and pork are for many, synonymous with Lithuanian cooking, they are purposely never part of the menu here. As Rimvydis explains, the kitchen looks beyond the Soviet-era limited larder (Lithuania re-gained its independence in 1990) towards a more open-minded gastronomic past. One where a far wider variety of ingredients enhanced with spices were used alongside locally foraged food, albeit with contemporary culinary techniques that create original food with veritable verve.
It’s all scrupulously seasonal - the tasting menu changes six times a year. The meal commences with exceptional black rye bread that’s unexpectedly light and pats of homemade butter which contain little pools of fermented parsley oil. It is so good that I’m already sitting up and taking notice.
The detail in the research is impressive and concisely conveyed by the welcoming serving staff though perhaps they should urge some of their more courteous customers (not me) to start whilst they’re explaining. Warm dishes taste infinitely better.
A 19th-century dish of lightly smoked vendace fillet from Baltieji Lakajai lake in eastern Lithuania sets the tone. It is an exquisitely composed dish with myriad elements yet each sings out clear and clean, from the pickled baby carrots, white fish and root vegetable jelly presented in a crisp butter dough tartlet to the dill sauce, the citrus-like tang of chard dressing and ethereal burst of beetroot foam (utterly unrelated to sturdy Soviet roots). It’s a thrilling and delicious revelation that challenges the norms of culinary evolution. The intensity of flavour in the pheasant soup with beans is compelling with a deep umami broth and roasted meat mixed with cornflowers and dried raspberries. Our server explains that flower and fruit pairings with game were greatly favoured in the nineteenth century.
More intriguing still are ingredients totally new to me such as arkas, a sophisticated, luxurious dish made of twarog, a cheese similar to a combination of cottage cheese and ricotta, with sugar, rose water and saffron. It is said to have been the favourite treat of King Jan III Sobieski, the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland. Here it is served with baked wild mushrooms and deep orange, nutty, buttery swede. Lithuania has always been rich in woodland, especially around Vilnius, and historically, mushrooms were popularly served as a main course. Moose aka venison with black salsify and beetroot juice is peak autumn in both flavour and colour. The wine pairings throughout the meal are jubilantly varied from California to Greece and testify to Lithuania’s willingness to embrace cross-cultural gastronomic influences throughout history.
The pear dessert is a triumph with flavours favoured during the 18th century reincarnated as caramelised apple ice cream, tiny eclair twirls brimming with caramel, a touch of yellow plum cream for acidity and a flash of tart cranberry sauce. We’re told that until the 20th-century pears were only cultivated in manorial gardens and considered an aristocratic fruit.
The Ertlio Namas tasting menu offers clever, subtle and thought-provoking food that is never tricksy or look-at-me sensational, giving it credibility and charm. The restaurant is housed in a historic wooden nineteenth-century building with vintage lighting and textiles which makes the whole experience a truly engaging way to explore the roots of ever-evolving yet little discovered Lithuanian cuisine.
6-course tasting dinner €50 wines paired with dishes €30. This menu is available until the end of November 2021.
Review by Sudi Pigott
