Today, Vilnius TV Tower is reopening its renewed panoramic restaurant Milky Way (Paukščių Takas in Lithuanian), restoring the city’s one-of-a-kind dining venue attracting over 130,000 visitors yearly. The restaurant’s culinary direction reimagines Lithuanian cuisine through a contemporary lens and takes a unique approach to the wine selection.
“We are focusing on fresh produce, as Lithuania grows incredibly crispy cucumbers, mushrooms, herbs and berries coming from local farms. Our menu is reinterpreting familiar flavours and ingredients in lighter, modern ways: trout brightened by sea buckthorn and finished with black bread crumble and dill, or another fish dish served with traditional švilpikai potato dumplings. We developed the food and wine side by side, so every pairing feels natural. If a wine is recommended with a dish, chances are you’ll find it reflected in the sauce or discover how it brings new dimensions to the flavours on the plate. Together, the cuisine, the wines and the view are designed to create one seamless experience,” said the restaurant’s Chef Aleksandras Buiko.
A distinctive focus is placed on elevation as a conceptual framework for the wine card. The list features wines sourced from vineyards located at the same elevation as the restaurant’s own altitude.
Alongside this, Lithuanian producers are included under a different logic of “northern elevation,” where cool climate conditions, extended daylight hours, and short growing seasons shape acidity and structure rather than altitude itself.
“Our aim isn’t to replicate conventional fine dining formats but to anchor the experience in contrast: height versus flatland, urban skyline versus agricultural horizon, and engineered structure versus natural constraint,” said Sandra Vambutė, Marketing Manager at Vilnius TV Tower.
TV Tower © Go Vilnius, Gabriel Khiterer
Located at 165 metres, the restaurant turns a full 360 degrees every 55 minutes, offering continuously shifting views of Lithuania’s capital and a visibility range of up to 50 kilometres in clear weather. At 326.4 metres, the Vilnius TV Tower is the tallest structure in the country, the 8th tallest TV tower in Europe, and just three metres shorter than the Eiffel Tower.
Originally completed in 1980 as a telecommunications tower, it became internationally known after the events of 13 January 1991, when unarmed civilians defended it during a Soviet military attack and secured Lithuania’s independence. Today, that history is preserved in the “Fight for Freedom” exhibition on display inside the tower.
In recent years, the tower has evolved into a multi-use visitor site, including two apartments at 175 meters with panoramic views as one of the highest hotels in the region, as well as the Edge Walk experience, allowing visitors to traverse the exterior platform at 170 m height. At the restored restaurant, a new fresco by an accomplished contemporary artist Jurgis Tarabilda, depicting the founding story of Vilnius can be admired.
Across Europe, elevated dining has become an integral part of several landmark towers and mountain destinations. Berlin’s TV Tower houses the revolving Sphere restaurant at 207 metres above the city, while Amsterdam’s A’DAM Tower and restaurant on the 19th floor offer stunning 360° views of the historical center. In the Swiss Alps, on the Mittelallalin peak in Saas-Fee stands the tallest revolving restaurant in the world at around 3,500 meters above sea level, overlooking snowy mountaintops.
Go Vilnius is the official tourism and business development agency of the City of Vilnius. The agency provides visitors, investors, and businesses with all the essential information about the Lithuanian capital.
