Pietu Parkas, Vilnius: Cocktails and sand castles

Pietu Parkas Vilnius is a new summer terrace, which combines drinks, chill and some culture.

The name

First, a bit about the name of this place for those of you, who do not speak Lithuanian (how come?). In Lithuanian the word “pietu” would mean both “lunch” and “south,” so the name of the place “Pietu Parkas” translates both as a South Park or Lunch park.

Ruin bar concept

As many of you know, my husband Zsolt comes from Budapest, and one of the things he misses in Vilnius is the culture of ruin pubs or romkocsma in Hungarian. The best example of such bar is Budapest Szimpla, which used to be the first. However, now in the trendy district VII of Budapest almost every third bar would be more or less ruined. The main traits of such bar would be some open-air space, use of different and rather old furniture, decor and crockery items, and generally avoiding the slick and new look as much as possible.

The look

So, Zsolt was running through the suburb of Zverynas in Vilnius, when he noticed this little piece of Budapest. Pietu parkas’s bar is located in one of the typical wooden houses and uses the whole yard as a place to eat, chill and relax. Once you cross the entrance to the yard from the main street, you are in a different world. The owners have brought 10 tons of sand to create a little beach with a fire place, table football and a DJ booth. They also remade an old bus into a mini-bar with a kitchenette and an eating area. You can either eat inside or take the stairs up to sit on the roof with the view over Zverynas.

The place gives you both bread and circuses – you can have a look at some photo exhibitions around while waiting for your order.

Ok, but if it is first and foremost a bar, what about food and drinks?

The drinks

Let’s start with the drink menu.

• Several cocktails for 5 euro, including a South Park special: black rum+lime+sugar+ice+black currant juice. Didn’t get to taste it (didn’t want to get drunk before Robbie Williams concert ;)), but would actually like to come back just for this!

• A decent selection of beer for usual Vilnius prices

• Sider

• Some wine, including house wine, sparkling wine

• Shots

If you prefer to stay sober, your choice is rather poor. That is water, Coke/Fanta/Sprite, cocoa and coffee (no variations here). Oh well, but it’s always worth asking for that special cocktail, just without rum. Still sounds rather good.

The food

And the food? Here it gets a couple of minus points.

You chose from nachos, tortillas and grill. We were at once advised that grill would take long, so we went for tortillas. They took around 20 minutes, so yeah, if that’s quick, than long must be really long. And the portion size was not too big, more of a snack than a main. But hey, now you are warned – this Lunch Park place is best not for lunch, but for an evening drink.

So, all in all?

I applaud the idea. Both Zsolt and I felt back in Budapest for an hour, and it was a quick and enjoyable trip. It really stood out from the rest of the places we have in Vilnius, and I love brave decisions. The drinks are good, the staff is friendly. The food could be better, but would go well as a snack.

And I will be back for a not-too-late evening drink with friends AND my toddler, because it is probably the only place in Vilnius, where I can have a cocktail, while Mark is building sand castles. Win-win!

Location: Vytauto str. 57, Vilnius, Lithuania

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