Nick & Nora Cocktail Bar — Restaurant in Vilnius

Two years ago, I left this feedback: "Unique cocktails with Lithuanian spirits, very helpful and friendly staff, cozy atmosphere, not too noisy. Perfect place for get-togethers."

However, the last two recent visits to this place made me sad and a bit angry. It's very sad to see one of your favourite places to turn into regular bar. So what has changed?

Staff and atmosphere: two years ago you could see the owners behind the bar, making cocktails, enjoying their work and most importantly, taking pride in their work. They had character, individual look and aura. I was always looking forward to chat with one of them and whenever you asked something about a particular drink, they would tell you all about the nuances and details. Always helpful, always happy to see you. The place had that "family owned business" feel and it made the place cozy. However, as time went by and business bloomed, seems like the owners decided to sit back and relax while they were replaced by waiters and bartenders with stone face, self entitlement and absolute lack of any character whatsover. They will greet you at the entrance like the neighbour whom you owe money. They will show their annoyance if you ask something about a particular drink and will give you a generic useless answer. The absolute lack of character and regard for their work has turned this place into your regular coffee shop run by zoomers.

Drinks: 2 years ago, every drink you ordered from the menu was a masterpiece. Perfectly balanced, visually appealing, with a unique twist. You could always ask for some small custom tweak. It was always a hard decision to pick the drinks for the evening because each one was unique and trully tasty. And these days, the drinks are unbalanced and the ones I used to enjoy a lot now taste like something my 75 year old mother would try to make on her first try while following instructions on the backside of the label on a bottle. For example, the last cocktail had so much cinamon or tumeric sprinkled on the foam that my throat was still burning by the time I walked to the White Bridge. And the foam was almost half of the whole glass when it should be a fairly thin layer at the top of the drink.

To summarise: the level of service makes you feel guilty that you came there at all. The quality of drinks is something you could expect at a regular pizzeria or pasta place. And the prices...

They had an extensive list of different types of cocktails. Lots of care is used to make the cocktails, including creative garnishes. We sat at the bar and had no wait at all on a Saturday night at 10:30 PM at the beginning of August. The bar was pretty full though inside and out. One bartender was super nice (with light brown hair on the left side of bar when the customer is facing the bar); he could quickly identified the types of drinks I would like. He also gave us a taste of their homemade Limoncello with quince. It was amazing and I wish I could’ve bought a bottle to take home. We tried four cocktails and each of them were delicious. I had my favorite Manhattan ever there (with beet Amaro) and I don’t like Manhattans. We highly recommend this place and we frequent craft cocktail bars in every city we visit. If you are in Vilnius, you should...

Stumbled upon this cocktail bar by accident and it turned out to be an exquisite experience!

The bar itself is a lovely combination of classic, modern and cozy. What truly made the experience though were the simply amazing cocktails and the staff that served them. The staff has created a creative menu of cocktails with a twist. All these cocktails are made with fresh ingredients and a lot of love.

The staff is obviously very passionate about their work and serve you in the best way possible.

Highly recommended! One cannot skip this bar when...