First Time Weekend Guide to Leicester

I was never enthusiastic to go to Leicester. I didn't even look it up once in my eight years living in the UK. All I knew is two of my Saudi friends are doing their PhDs there and sometimes graffiti writers go their for a pint. That's it. I got invited to tag along with one of the writers and I just agreed because I thought why not go somewhere new in the UK just to see more of England. I was pleased to see there was a "Visit Leicester" website, which helped me plan my long weekend there. However, I was still not very excited about it UNTIL I got there! I was welcomed by the old English architecture I really like; red brick buildings with columns and towers. They just don't make them as good anymore. I also noticed all the halal signs outside of restaurants and that got me excited too! I wouldn't say Leicester has become a favourite of mine, but it shouldn't be dismissed as a place to visit. I think it's worth going there for a weekend, especially a sunny one! In this post, I will tell you about how I spent my weekend in Leicester as a first timer!   

Piece by hombre and boogie #homboog

How to get to Leicester form London?

I bought my train ticket online from National Rail. I got the direct train from St. Pancras train station to Leicester and it was only an hour. The train was PACKED, so if you are going on a bank holiday weekend, I would recommend reserving a seat online when buying your ticket. The train price for an open return ticket was about/just over £50.

St. Pancras train station

Main Highlights

As I mentioned at the start of the post, there are a few things that stood out to me when I visited the city that I wanted to highlight in this section before telling you about the things I did in details.   

• Architecture
  The thing I enjoyed was the informative signs near the main architectural buildings they have telling you the story and history of the building. Most of the gorgeous buildings are now banks, but it's still nice to look at them. 
• Graffiti
  This was the main reason I even visited the city and I was not disappointed! I especially loved the big scale pieces I saw in the area behind the curve theatre. 
• Halal food
  There is a big Muslim population in Leicester from what I have seen and that means halal food! Although, it's mostly Indian and Turkish halal rather than anything else, but I loved a few of the spots they have on the London Road, where it's higher standard halal. I listed the restaurants I tried with photos below!

Things to do in Leicester

• Appreciate the Architecture of Leicester
  As I mentioned above I was impressed with the architecture of the city and it's fun to see some of the building they have. I was interested in the 19th century building the most, but they have a few impressive stone churches to visit as well.  If you are interested in earlier architecture, they have a full functioning Tudors house to see called the Guildhall. I wasn't very impressed with it, but if you are in the area you can stop by for half an hour.  

• Learn all about Richard The Third
  One of the big draws of  Leicester is Richard the third since discovering his body under a car park in the city! Now, there is a Visiting Centre in the same place of the car park made of two stories. The first telling you about the history and the life of Richard the third and the second telling you about how the body was found and the role of science in all of it! Afterwards, you can stop by the Leicester Cathedral to see the new burial place.

• Follow the graffiti trail of Leicester
  A good place that can give you some information about where the main pieces are located is the Graffiti store: Graff HQ since it supplies the spray paint. If you are keen to see artists in action, you can schedule your trip the same dates as the annual Bring The Paint International Street Art Festival. 

Where to eat in Leicester?

I was only there for the weekend, so I didn't have time to fully indulge in food and eating out, but I proudly managed to eat at four different restaurants! PS. A lot of recommended food spots were closed on the bank holiday Monday, so double check before you go! 

Breakfast in Leicester at Kai

I only went out for one breakfast while I was in Leicester and I am happy it was at Kai. The location itself is really nice. It's basically in a court yard that felt like the equivalent of Neal's Yard in London minus the crazy crowds. I noticed that this hip little courtyard doesn't have specific halal restaurants, but they have really cute independent stores and cafes. The breakfast at Kai was nice and filling. Nothing to rave about, but still nice to go to. 

Ice Cream in Leicester at Gelato Village

28 degrees in Leicester calls for a serious ice cream session! My friend recommended this place and said it was the best in Leicester and although I haven't tried the rest of the ice cream places I think she is right! The long queue outside of it was a good sign. They also have five vegan flavours if this matters to you, which I personally prefer because I don't love the milky taste of some ice creams. 

Lunch in Leicester at Boo Burgers and German Donnar Kabab

I appreciate all my three meals a day and since I was treating myself, I went out for lunch as well, which is a luxury for me because I usually skip that for a very cheap alternative when I am travelling. It helped that the food was affordable there though! 
For my first day there, I had a yummy sandwich from the German Donnar Kabab. I am usually not a fan of Donnar (the very thin layers of meat), but the photos looked too good. It was cheap and cheerful.  

Dinner in Leicester at Konak and Paddy Martin Inn Curry House

Dinner time gets really busy especially on the weekend. I noticed that the locals love to dine out and so I would recommend that you book a table either earlier in the day or a day in advance before you go anywhere or you will be waiting for at least 45mins. My people were smart and booked in advance, so I didn't wait at all and I liked that! As I mentioned before, most of the food I found was either Turkish or Indian, so I tried both when I was there! 

The Turkish restaurant Konak is halal and located in London Road. I really loved the food and their grilled kababs with bread and yogurt YUM! Thinking back to it makes my mouth water! The service was quick and good as well. If you are in the mood for something Turkish this is a solid option! 

The other dinner restaurant I tried was the Paddy Martin Inn Curry House, which sadly was not halal, but I heard soooo much amazing stuff about it I had to go try it. I had their prawn curry and vegetarian starters, which both lived up to the reputation and were very filling and delicious.  

Where to stay in Leicester?

• The area near the Victoria Park seems really nice and quiet and you get access to the lovely park. 
• If you want to be near the town centre, the area around the curve theatre is really good and central and that's where I stayed. I found a cute one bed apartment on Airbnb. 

Get £25 off your next Airbnb booking and give me £15 by using this affiliate link. 

I usually use Booking.com to book my hotels as you see in my posts, but because I left booking for this weekend very late and it was a bank holiday weekend the prices were very high for below average options, but if you are booking a bit early, you might find a good deal on there. Here's the deal finder box to help you with your search. 

Booking.com

Watch weekend in Leicester video: 

I hope you found this post useful in planning your trip! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

More Posts about UK Travels

Travel Inspiration for your Instagram: 

Day Trip From Vilnius To The Trakai Island Castle

One of the major things I kept seeing when I was researching Vilnius was the castle in the Island near Vilnius and I really wanted to go see it in person. I am so happy I went. It was only a half day trip and getting there was easy and comfortable. 

Post Content: 

• History of Trakai
• Getting to Trakai from Vilnius with Public Transports   
• The Trakai Island Castle
• Other Sights in Trakai

History of Trakai (Why go to Trakai?)

There were two reasons that lead me to Trakai. The pretty castle on the island and the remaining population of the Turkish ethnic minority known as Karaimes, the people who followed a branch of the Jewish faith Full History of Trakai. Both of which date back to the 14th century.  

Getting to Trakai from Vilnius with Public Transports

More information on this map

I took the 12:21 train from the train station in Vilnius straight to Trakai. It was a comfortable and warm double decker train. Each way was 1.80 euros and the journey was 40 minutes. I bought my tickets on the way there from the Vilnius train station. One the way back the station in Trakai was closed, so I just got it from the train for the same price. I got the 17:15 train back. Make sure you check the train times because they aren't very frequent. It's an hour or two wait between them. In worst case scenario, you are able to get two buses to Vilnius, but that's going to take much longer (an hour and a half). 

Booking.com

The Trakai Island Castle

Entry: €3.50 Student/ €7 Adult ticket + Photography permission €1.50. 
It takes half an hour of walking to reach the castle from the train station, but it's a pleasant walk that could either be done inside the village or alongside the three lakes on the way. 
The castle was even more impressive in person rather than photos. March this year was unexpectedly cold and even colder in Trakai. It was so cold that the lake was completely frozen. I even walked on the lake to the castle rather than taking the bridge. Once you get there, it will take you between two to three hours to see it all, photograph and read most of the information. The structure of the place is what interested me the most. You can clearly see how the castle was rebuilt. the old part was the grey stones and the new one was the red bricks. The inside rooms where well heated and have various exhibitions related to the history of the area. One of the last ones was a little one specific to the Muslims who used to live there and their customs. It was such a good experience to see it. On a side note, the cafes directly around it are over priced and not that great. I went to the traditional one, but it wasn't all that. I would skip them and get something on the way back to the station. 

Powered by GetYourGuide. Become a partner.

Other Sights in Trakai

I am starting with the other sights in Trakai because they all come before the castle on the way to it. You can also see them after the castle, but I didn't have patience and wanted to see everything that was on my way. 

• Orthodox Cathedral
  This is actually one of the first sights I saw walking from the train station (15mins after walking). It was very quiet and there was only one lady observing the space. It was lovely to see. It takes between 5-10 minutes to see and photograph. 

• Wooden Houses
  As you walk to the castle, you will pass by the wooden colourful houses along the main road. It was cool to see them. If it wasn't for the cars parked everywhere I could have taken some amazing photos of that part. 

• Kraimi House of Worship
  As mentioned above the Kraimi is a minority ethnic group in Lithuania. I first thought they were Muslims because of how similar some of their traditions seems, but then realised it was a branch from the Jewish faith. The word used for thus house of worship is kenesset, which means church in Arabic. The location has always housed a place of worship, but this one was rebuilt only in the mid-nineteenth century. It's a square yellow wooden house. Sadly it was closed when I got there, so I couldn't see it on the inside. It should be open during summer times during the week.

For more information check the official tourism website of Trakai

More Posts from Lithuania: 

Islamic History in Lithuania

Just before my trip to Bosnia two years ago, I spoke to Tharik Hussain, a Muslim travel blogger focusing on documenting the European Islamic heritage, who told me over twitter about some of the rich history of Muslims in Europe. Since then, it has been on my mind. I was very busy prior to my Lithuania trip, so I didn't plan it fully, but when I got there, I remembered the European Muslims and looked into the Islamic history of Lithuania further. I looked up the closest mosques to Vilnius and it was the Nemėžis mosque. It was 5km from the city in a little city. I was very tempted by the history of the area that I decided to just go for a visit. I asked my hotel to call the number online and they said they will be open. 

The heritage of the Muslim in Lithuania goes back to the Turkish Tatars that were invited to help in the war because of their warrior reputation. Since their moved, they have preserved their Islamic practice and are spread around Lithuania in specific areas such as Nemėžis and a few others. 

Getting to Nemėžis mosque from Vilnius

Luckily, I was in Vilnius on a Friday, which means that the mosque will be open during prayer time. Finding the right bus and directions was easy through Google Maps. There were two bus options from the main bus station in Vilnius. The journey was half an hour on the bus.

Going back required a bit of wait in the very cold weather though, so plan your return according to the bus schedule because they aren't frequent. 

Nemėžis mosque

The Nemėžis mosque is located 5km from Vilnius and it went through a series of event. The same location housed a place of worship since the 14th century. In 1684 a wooden mosque was officially built. The building itself have been burnt with wars then rebuilt in 1909. It was reopened after the Soviet wars in 1993. Some part of the structure such as the dome are new and from 2009. I was just really curious to see the sight and the simple wooden square that is the mosque. I liked the simplicity of it and I felt nostalgic to what the community once was. There is a graveyard outside of the mosque and I walked through it to see how it was put together. Some graves had pictures engraved on them, which is something I haven't seen before. 

Anything else to see near Nemėžis mosque?

The village is tiny and I didn't find anything else to see or do, so I went back to Vilnius right after the prayers. Maybe I would have walked around it more if the weather was nice, but it was extremely cold and I just left. I was a little shy to approach the men in the mosque that's why I couldn't have asked about other spots and sadly there weren't any women there. 

Booking.com

If I had more time and connections, I would have gone to the Keturiasdešimt Totorių meaning 40 tatars because the history of it is even older. I couldn't figure out how to get there with public transports and I decided last minute so I had to miss it. Tharik Hussain has written about it though and it's worth a read. 

Click on the image to read it in larger format. It's page 22-23. 

More information about Muslims in Lithuania

More posts about Lithuania: 

Travel Inspiration for your Instagram: 

Best Travel Vlogging Camera

Pin Me!

Last year, I wrote about the Canon vlogging camera I swear by and use for all my travels. Almost an exact year ago actually! I used my previous camera, Canon G7X, for two years and it is still functioning well, but my needs as a vlogger developed the more I created travel content and I felt that it was time to upgrade. Canon has released the EOS M50 in March and after reading about it and watching the available video reviews, I decided to go ahead and get it to improve my filming game.   

Travel Vlogging Camera requirements: 

Most of my videos are about my travels and explorations around the world, so I have a set of requirement that any camera of mine should have. These are my own personal choices that I feel help me with videos. 

• I wanted something light and compact.
  My second camera that I ever bought back in 2013/14 was the Nikon D7100. Although the quality was fantastic, the heavy camera meant that I hardly use it. It was also big and bulky.
• A Camera that Can go without notice.
  I travel a lot of places solo and I didn't want to be a target because of my big fancy camera. My big DSLR has always given me the wrong kind of attention and with a little mirrorless camera it wasn't a problem. People only notice it when I add the mic, but I take lots of footage especially in crowded places without it!
• Flip Screen is a MUST
  As a vlogger, I HAVE to talk to the camera and see myself to make sure I am presentable and more importantly "in focus". Pervious Canon cameras that had a mic input, had the screen flip where the mic would go. Although I watched lots of hack videos that work around this issue, I feel like the flip screen possibilities in the M50 are much better especially that I can close the screen so it doesn't get so scratched up!  
• Mic Input NEEDS to be there
  This was my biggest issue to change the whole camera. Having a real mic seriously makes a difference to the audio quality and now with the light Rode mic (pictured below) this doesn't have to be a heavy set up at all!  
• Camera with Great Quality  
  Good video quality is essential if all you are creating is video and I love the colour that Canon gives me and the over all quality. 

The Canon EOS M50 ticked all my boxes and I made the decision to get it and I can already see the difference and hoping that you can too! I know I sound like an advert, but when you spend nearly £700, you make sure you love that product already before investing! 

Below are some unedited photo examples from the Canon EOS M50:

Added bonus of the EOS M50: The viewfinder!! Which means I don't always have to flip my screen and waste the battery life to take photos. Also I can switch up the lenses! I don't think I would any time soon, but planning on that for next year! 

---

Booking.com

Featured Gadgets: 

If you are planning to buy any of the mentioned products and my review has helped you, please consider buying them through my affiliate links below. These links will give me a little commission with no extra cost to you. This commission helps me maintain the blog and supports the content. Thank you for your support! 

Canon EOS M50 unboxing and test video: 

Over to you: what do you think of the Canon EOS M50? And what would you say a very important requirement to you in terms of travel vlogging? 

---

Travel Photography and Videography Books: 

---

More posts you might like: 

Travel Inspiration for your gram

Saudi Living in London April Update

Hi everyone!

I am so happy my March update was received well. I didn't think you would be interested, but I am glad you are! That's why I am doing another one for April. As you know I travelled most of the month, so I didn't get to see much of London this month, but I managed to eat in a few new places and see spots that I haven't visited before! :) And we had three days of amazing weather as well and I am glad I managed to go out then! 

Food Spots I tried in London in April

Old Cottage Coffee Shop in the Park
Website

This is a really cute little cafe in Charlton Park, where you eat and see life goes by in the park. It's also where all the cute dogs hangout. The sandwiches are simple, but the desserts and scones are delicious. I can't wait to go back there again. 

Kimchee Restaurant & Bar
Website

I was craving Korean food, more specifically Bibimbap, which is a Korean dish made in a hot stone bowl with rice, vegetable, tofu (or whatever meat you want) and an egg to be mixed with some spicy sauce. I was in the area and the Kimchee restaurant was the first thing that popped up and since I haven't there before, I just went to it. It is not halal, but they have sea food and vegetarian options. I tried the veggie dumplings and had a tofu Bibimbap with a prawn starter. It was nice and the staff were attentive, but I will search further for my perfect Bibimbap.  

Afghan Kitchen
Website

This was a little family restaurant run by women with a small menu filled with big flavours. I really enjoyed the food and the service. The design of the restaurant is very cozy (read small with 3 tables downstairs and 3 upstairs). It was also really loud because the space didn't have any fabric or cushions to absorb the sound and people's voice, which made it really hard to speak to each other.  I would like to go try it during the day too. 

New Places I visited in London in April

King's Cross Canopy Food Market

I knew about the regular market outside of the station that sells my most favourite donuts of all times: Cross Town Doughnuts, but I didn't realise there is another food market further down into the restaurant area near UAL Central Saint Martins campus. I didn't eat there, but it looked like a cool place to hang out in the summer. 

Market Times: Weekly from the 30th March. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. More Info. 

House of Illustration
Website

I thought I have been to all the Museums that are worth visiting, but NO! There's a whole list of good museums in London that I am yet to visit. I managed to squeeze one of them this month and it's the House of Illustration. There was an exhibition called Made in North Korea and I thought it was brilliant. It was simple in terms of it represented items from a very curious place in the world such as packaging, postcards, books and some food items, but it was insightful to see the simple things from a country. As a travel content creator, I really appreciated this insight because they are things I notice on my travels. Like going to the grocery store on a trip is always interesting just to see how the locals live. 

Escape Games - OmEscape London

My good friend, Sarah, has been wanting to go all last year, so we finally found some time to go! I haven't tried anything similar before and it was interesting to do. Basically you are placed in a room and you solve puzzles to get out and go to the other rooms to finally escape. It was lots of fun to do with a big group of friends. We had lots of laughs and kept asking for clues the whole time, but we made it!! 

Charlton Park
Website

This is a little further than Central London, but if you find yourself near South East London, this little park is worth a visit. I happened to be in the area and the weather was amazing, so I went to this park and it was such a nice relaxed park with kids playing, some teenagers skating and grownups either reading or playing ping pong. 

Disclaimer: Most posts on this website include affiliate links. 

Booking.com

Read More About London:

Travel Inspiration for your gram

7 Ways to Travel Sustainably

Happy (almost) Earth Day lovelies! On this awesome occasion, I just wanted to do a little post about how to give back to this beautiful Earth of ours to lessen our negative impact especially while traveling. This Earth belongs to all of us and it's a group effort to keep it better than how we came into it! It's our daily responsibility to be seriously cautious of our own action. As much as it is amazing to travel and explore the world, it is not always sustainable and sometimes we contribute to really negative problems without even thinking about it fully. 

"Whoever brings dead land to life, that is, cultivates wasteland, for him is a reward therein." Prophet Mohammad

Before I start telling you about the ways to be sustainable, let's define the word:  

Sustainability is "the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance"

In this post I will be sharing seven ways that help me travel more sustainably. In all honesty, I do not always follow all of these ways, but I do try my best to do so and to contribute positively to this planet. Additionally, sustainable travel is really good for budgets too! 

#1 Travel on land

I am guilty of taking a few planes a year when travelling and the fuel of those planes is the worst thing ever and I wish I could travel more by trains and buses. To relieve my conscious, I do two things: I pay a tiny amount to offset my journey's carbon footprints even Ryanair offers this option now and take public transports when I arrive to my destination. I know sometimes public transports takes a little longer, but it has its benefits; it's better for the environment, it's much cheaper than private transportation and it also helps you get to know the destination you are travelling to differently.   

“You can't understand a city without using its public transportation system.” Erol Ozan

The train in Sri Lanka 

#2 Group your destinations

If you can, plan your travels in groups. If you know that you will be in Europe in a specific time, maybe you can go to more than one destination at once. For example, on my last trip to Algarve in Portugal, I decided to prolong my trip to explore the whole area fully before returning back home instead of going to the same place more than once. I know this is a subject to flexible times, but it is worth the consideration. 

#3 Live your life like plastic does not exit

Have you seen all the very sad photo from the plastic filled Indonesian beaches? Or have you seen the story abut the whale that died from eating 30 plastic bags? As you can see plastic is a gigantic problem and it makes me so mad. My life still includes plastic, but I am slowly trying to rid my life or minimise the usage of plastic. It is VERY difficult. Grocery shopping alone causes like a half bin of plastic wastage. There are a few little things to consider while travelling to use less plastic: 

• Take a glass water bottle with you and refill it if the water tap is safe to drink instead of buying bottled water. You can add a slice of lemon, mint leave or cucumber pieces for the taste. 
• Take your travel mug/flask with you for your tea/coffee. I only recently thought of this when I saw another traveller do it and I LOVE the idea especially if you want a tea on the go. 
• Make sure to tell your waiter that you don't want a straw for your drink. It is the most useless piece of plastic and it's not even reusable. If you must, pack a straw with you to reuse. 
• Pack an extra cloth bag for all your gift shopping so you don't get any plastic bags with your goodies. 
• If you plan to making your own lunch sandwiches, you can buy some of the Bee Wax food wrappings, which I LOVE and actually use them to cover all my food at home too! 

By the way if you do see plastic thrown on the beach or the road, try to take it to a recycling bin!

“Removing harmful things from the road is an act of charity (sadaqah).” (Prophet Mohammad - Authenticated by Al-Albani) 

Bonus: Be aware of regular wastage

Adding to waste lands is something we all should consider and as women we have one monthly wastage, which is period products. Using pads and tampons is not only semi harmful to you, but it adds to the mountain of wastage in this world. I switched to using menstrual cups and yes it was very weird when I started and it took about three periods for my body to fully get used to it and I feel like it's the best thing I have done! Plus it makes my travels easier during my period times because I don't have to pack so many products and only my cup and reusable bottle of water to wash up!  

#4 Choose Eco-friendly accommodation

This is still difficult to find in some countries, but it is a great option when applicable. It takes a little bit longer to search for the right eco friendly lodge or hotel, but they do exist. Having the word eco in the title is not enough, you have to look at how they are environmentally friendly and the efforts they are making for that claim to be true. Some options can be found on booking.com but with some more vigorous search. 

Booking.com

#5 Give back to the locals

I don't mean money or goods. I mean valuable business. Research your accommodation and your tour operators and make sure you are supporting small local businesses and local charities that work with communities. G adventures work with local businesses and organise home stays so that is a good option to start with if you had no idea where to start. 

You can also purchase gifts from local artists and crafters to support their traditional craft or their artistic vision. This might be a little pricey, but it will make a difference to them and you. I was very pleased when I got a handmade brooch from Vilnius! 

#6 Be aware of your food

When you are travelling to a new destination, eat the locally grown seasonal produce because that encourages the country to grow its own produce and it supports local farmers. Additionally, it is usually cheaper and fresher and has much more nutritional values to eat based on seasons. 

Eat The Seasons is a good website that tells you what grows when

Another cool way is to make use of lunch offers in different countries such as the Czech Republic. Most restaurants have a lunch offer, where they cook one special and serve it for a very affordable price. It's usually a good choice to go for since it has already been cooked and it will save you some money too! 

Tropical Fruit of Madeira

#7 Leave the animals be

Sustainability is not only about using less plastic, it is a wholesome way of living and caring for the planet. One thing some people forget is the beautiful animals we have on this Earth. I know some countries are known for some amazing animals. When I went to Sri Lanka, I really wanted to see the elephants for example, but you have to be extremely careful when it comes to seeing animals. Going to a nature reserve in the wild is your best bet. Zoos and other places where they hold animals in captivity are usually horrible for the poor animals. Even whale and dolphin watching can be dangerous for them so research a lot before you go ahead with this. 

Another thing to consider when it comes to animals is buying them as trophies or being products that come from wild life. No one in this life needs an alligator bag, a fox fur scarf or ivory. If you want more infromation about wild animal products or news, the national geographic wild watch is a good source for it. 

“Whoever kills a sparrow or anything bigger than that without a just cause, Allah will hold him accountable on the Day of Judgment.” Prophet Mohammad. Ps. "Just cause" in reference to food.

Photo from Unawatuna to Ude Wale National Park - Sri Lanka

I hope you find ways useful and I hope we all can implement them. If you have any more ideas please share them in the comments below! 

More Travel Tips:

Travel inspiration for your instagram: 

Food Recommendations in Vilnius

I didn't know what to expect from Vilnius in terms of food. I was just hoping for edible food with a few vegetarian options and I was very pleasantly surprised when I tried their food! There were great vegetarian and sea food options and it was delicious. It was a similar food experience to Prague, which I also loved! Granted most of my money went on food (twice a day!). This list is only of the restaurants I tried when I visited for a couple of days. I added two halal option at the end. 

Drama Burger

Address: Gedimino pr. 31, Vilnius 01104, Lithuania
Food Type: Vegetarian + Seafood + Meat
Price: €12.5 for a burger, a side and a lemonade. 

It seems like Lithuanians have a love for burgers. I saw a few burgers joints around and I mean who doesn't love a good burger! I just walked to the nearest burger place I found hoping they will have good options for me and they did! There were three vegetarian and two sea food burgers. I had their salmon burger and shared a fries and cheesy cauliflower. It was VERY good. A little oily, but it was good winter food.    

Casa La Familia

Address: Rūdninkų g. 18, Vilnius 01135, Lithuania
Food Type: Vegetarian
Price: €12.5 for a medium pizza and a lemonad

This place serves fresh vegetarian pizzas (that can be vegan too!). The pizzas were so good that I went to this place twice. It's super family friendly and they have a kids playroom in there too. It gets super busy when it's a weekend or a lunch, but a little more quiet at night. Their menu is full of cool inventive pizzas with nice mixes. It was hard to choose and all the choices I tried were SO GOOD! I enjoyed their salad and Oreo cheesecake too! They are also known for their Kampuchea if you are into that. I am not, so I had their lemonade and it was nice.  

Bistro 18

Address: Stiklių g. 18, Vilnius 01131, Lithuania
Food Type: Vegetarian + Seafood + Meat
Price: €12.5 for a pasta main and a lemonade

This place is known for their pasta and wine. I only tried their prawn pasta and it was really good. I had a juice there, which was nice and fresh. They have vegetarian options there too that looked good. 

Kitchen

Address: Didžioji g. 11, Vilnius 01128, Lithuania
Food Type: Vegetarian + Seafood + Meat
Price: €12.5 for one person for three course meal and a juice. 

If you go there during lunch time you can find a cheaper deal of two things that is between 5-8 euros usually a soup and another type of starter. They are very filling and enough for one person, but if you want to order a main too they have a few vegetarian and sea food options. the food was cooked well and the service was great. I really liked the sophisticated vibe of the place. 

Gaspar's

Address: Pylimo g. 23, Vilnius 01141, Lithuania
Food Type: Vegetarian + Seafood + Meat
Price: €35 for one person for three course meal and a drink. 

Splurge night! The older I get, the more I really appreciate food and the last night of the trip is usually my splurge night of good fancy food. This restaurant is Indian inspired with a European twist. Don't go expecting true Indian food because it's not that, but if you want flavoursome European choices with a hint of the East then this is for you. I really enjoyed my meal there and I liked how trendy it all felt. The place is cozy (read small), so either go early 6pm or book a table. 

Halal Food in Vilnius: 

On the official Muslim of Lithuania website, I found two food recommendations. I even passed by one of them. 

• La Turca Vilnius: Turkish Restaurant in Vilnius
  Address: Juozapavičiaus g. 4. Vilnius, Lithuania
   
•  Desi Lietuva: Pakistani Restaurant in Vilnius  
  Address: Trakų g. 5 (1,713.71 km) 01132 Vilnius, Lithuania

I saw another halal option on google maps, but I am not sure about it since it's not mentioned on the official page. More information on halal food in Lithuania. 

---

More posts from Lithuania: 

Over to you: what would you try from these restaurants and do you have other food recommendations? 

Travel Inspiration for your Instagram: