Katpėdėlė — Restaurant in Vilnius

Our Tuesday walk through Vilnius on August 12 was slowly coming to an end, and naturally, we started feeling hungry. Originally, we planned to visit the well-known Bernelių Užeiga chain, but after an arrogant refusal from the staff, we had to look for an alternative. Out of necessity, we ended up at Katpėdėlė, located near the main square.

The name of the restaurant translates as “Cat’s Paw.” We walked in without checking the reviews first—a mistake, as we later found out. A quick look at Google Maps afterwards revealed an average rating of 3.2, which, as it turned out, was pretty accurate. Instead of a calm dinner, we were greeted by confusion and frantic activity from the staff.

The atmosphere felt disorganized from the very start. Although the chain specializes in national cuisine, the setting lacked warmth and coziness. Several waiters and waitresses rushed chaotically between tables, giving more the impression of a busy train-station diner than a place to enjoy a relaxed evening meal.

We managed to place our order fairly quickly. My wife chose fried garlic bread bites and Chicken Kiev, while I decided to explore more of Lithuania’s traditional dishes. I was especially looking forward to trying another round of local specialties, which had impressed me so much in the days before.

Unfortunately, my enthusiasm faded the moment our food arrived. To my surprise, the waiter placed both my soup and main course on the table at the same time. As I tried to finish the cold beetroot soup (šaltibarščiai), my main dish—cepelinai dumplings—sat there cooling down, a basic mistake in food service.

Sadly, the flavors didn’t improve the overall impression. The “pink soup” was nowhere near as good as the one I had enjoyed in Kaunas. The cepelinai were lukewarm by the time I got to them, and their taste was far inferior to the version I had tried the day before.

The service, despite being numerous, was poorly organized and lacked professionalism. Serving two courses at once is an error that simply shouldn’t happen in a restaurant catering to tourists. Overall, the experience felt clumsy and impersonal, far removed from the warmth and hospitality we found in other Lithuanian restaurants—even where there was no shared language.

In summary, Katpėdėlė unfortunately lived up to its less-than-flattering online rating. The food wasn’t terrible, but it was far from memorable. This place seems more suited for quickly filling your stomach than for genuinely enjoying Lithuanian cuisine.

All in all, I cannot in good conscience recommend Katpėdėlė in Vilnius. If you want an authentic and flavorful experience, it’s worth spending a few minutes checking reviews and choosing a restaurant that truly values its guests. Sadly, our visit was proof that not everything presented as “traditional” is...

Atmosphere, decor, the restaurant itself was nice and cozy, but the poor inattentive service made us feel unwanted and therefore hit down the final score on atmosphere. Food was alright. Very high prices for tiny portions, and while I kind of expected that in the centre, it's still really not worth going here overall. service I'd give 0 stars if I could. Waiters sit around, fight and run for tip jars, very obviously prefer to service foreigners, ignore other tables even when being waved over to pay or order. I pretty much never leave no tip in restaurants, but this was one of those instances. Girl waitress who served us was really slow, looked like she didn't want to be here and didn't want to work anymore, like it was out fault for coming in and making her work, disturbing her peace. I understand this type of work is difficult, but if you hate it so much you have to roll eyes at customers, just quit and find a different job that won't make you suffer like that. The cherry on top of the cake that resulted in such a low overall score is the glasses we received for our table water and drinks. A self respecting restaurant would not allow to serve dirty glasses to customers. Murky leftover water with bits and chunks of unknown dirt inside all of the glasses, multiple fingerprints....

I’ve visited this place more than once, and I’ve tried many of the dishes — all of them were very tasty and reasonably priced. I don’t understand why some people say the food is cold, because it has always been warm for me. My favorites were the pork neck steak, chicken shashlik, chicken Kiev cutlet, and the cepelinai. If you just want a snack, the bread with cheese is really good. There’s a wide selection of drinks, and the cocktails and teas are delicious — I especially liked the Pornstar cocktail and the sea buckthorn and raspberry teas.

The staff is helpful, friendly, and attentive. They recommended dishes and served everything quickly. When it got windy, they even offered a blanket. A special thanks to the manager, Danielius, for the excellent service.

It’s a great place with a beautiful view of Vilnius Cathedral. You can comfortably come here with friends or family — it’s not noisy, so you can actually have a conversation. I’ll definitely be...