Modern Italian restaurant "Justa Pasta" invites guests to get acquainted with classic recipes

Pasta, lasagna, pizza and other Italian dishes are an integral part of this cuisine, when ladies like Daniela, Martina, Rosa or Antonia prepare dishes that have been passed down from generation to generation, perfected by mothers and grandmothers. Although pizza or lasagna in this in a restaurant we will not find, however, this restaurant aims to transfer the best traditions of Italian flavors and to give this kitchen a modern aesthetic, to find flavors that would pleasantly surprise the taste buds of every guest. We are talking about the modern Italian cuisine restaurant "Justa Pasta", which has been welcoming guests for some time.

The founder of "Justa pasta" worked in a restaurant with three Michelin stars

Apparently, what can surprise a resident of Vilnius? It seems that restaurant the experience of founder Siarhiej Chamačnouski speaks for itself. He has more than 13 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Siarhiej had to work in Norway, at the three-Michelin star restaurant Maaemo. The latter restaurant In 2016, it became the first Scandinavian restaurant to receive not only three Michelin stars, but a little later it also entered the list of the 50 best restaurants in the world.

It is not for nothing that his experience in a restaurant of this level encouraged and encourages him to follow modern gastronomic trends, develop his taste, and even then he wanted to create an interesting and unique project.

From the idea to the opening of the restaurant

It is not for nothing that they say that first an idea is born, then its difficult and difficult implementation awaits. According to Siarhiej, he always had the idea of opening a modern restaurant, and only later it became clear that he would aim to create an Italian restaurant with a modern take on classic cuisine.

To find out what is behind the Justa Pasta name, we asked Siarhiej Chamačnouski a few questions.

How did it happen that you decided to open a restaurant in Vilnius?

Lithuania is growing and actively developing in various fields, including gastronomy. Every year more and more interesting projects appear, but we still see that we can offer a unique product that will help Lithuanian gastronomy to the next level.

How did the idea of starting a restaurant become flesh? How did you choose which dishes would be most suitable for the menu?

It took just over seven months from idea to opening. The main difficulty in creating a project is to find an interesting space and a good location. We were lucky. Our kitchen is small, so choosing what should be on the menu was not very difficult. First of all, the team and I did several tastings, perfecting the flavors of the dishes to ones we fell in love with and thus finalizing our menu. The ideas for our menu came from two Siarhiejas (owner and professional chef). The former has experience working with the best Scandinavian chefs, the latter studied at one of the best culinary academies in the world - Le Cordon Bleu. However, the main characters in the kitchen are two amazing chefs from Venezuela, Rommel and Jorge. They have been working in Lithuania for more than five years, and one of their main projects in Lithuania was the La Capital restaurant, where they worked as chefs. They rule the Justa Pasta kitchen and cook for our guests with the utmost love.

Why exactly the name of the restaurant "Justa Pasta"?

Justa Pasta is just a play on words. Let's say pasta is the main product of our menu, so we wanted to emphasize this in the name and logo. Justa is also the name of the mythological Roman goddess of mercy. We value honesty and decency as important qualities of professionals in our field and would like to see this in our employees.

How is the vision of contemporary Italian cuisine interpreted in your restaurant?

We took classic recipes and reinterpreted them: somewhere we changed the main ingredient (for example, we replaced veal with turkey and cooked it with tuna sauce. This meat is just as tender, but we prepared a richer sauce that we think goes best with turkey), elsewhere – we experimented with unconventional ingredients. In general, you need to understand that Italian food will be tastiest only in Italy - and here it's not about products, but about emotions! You can either love or hate Italy, there is no other way. Using our experience and professionalism, we have made our menu very vivid and emotional. You will not be able to remain indifferent and we hope you will enjoy our bright flavors - this is the main goal of our restaurant.

Why is there only one pasta dish on the menu?

True, at the moment there is only one type of pasta on our menu - Pici (or pici). Pici is one of the oldest types of pasta from the Tuscan region. Like many other types of ancient pasta, picci was an important food for the people of Italy. We make pasta from flour, water and salt. We roll out the pasta dough with our hands. Tuscan restaurants these noodles are often referred to as "hand-rolled" rather than handmade. Pizza is almost like spaghetti, only five times thicker, irregularly shaped pasta.

And what about the wines, do you represent a specific region of Italy and do you take flavors from every part of Italy?

As for the wines in our restaurant, then I can say that we are not attached to Italian wines. In general, our wine list is no less interesting than our menu. We strive for natural and biodynamic wines from small farms. We aim to have great flavors from around the world. Of course, we have a lot of Italian wines, but in the restaurant you will find great options from France, Austria, Portugal and even Ukraine.

What would you say are the special features of your restaurant? Did you have to adapt the menu to Lithuanian taste?

I would say it would have to be our focaccia, turkey with tuna sauce, beef tartare, pasta with stracciatella and bacon and of course ravioli with truffle and stracciatella. We can be happy that the vast majority of our guests were extremely satisfied with our food. Of course, it's important to understand the taste preferences of the locals, and we can already see that we've succeeded in being not only an interesting place, but also an extremely tasty food option.

Will your menu change regularly?

Our menu will change slightly depending on the season. It is very important to use those products that are in season at that time. Also, starting in September, we will add a special weekend dish to our menu, which will surprise every guest with its flavors.

Does the restaurant already have its own traditions? What are your future plans?

Of course, we already have some traditions in our young restaurant. First of all, before the opening, all the employees of the restaurant have lunch together, even after the kitchen is closed, we have our own song on the playlist. Next year we are planning a trip to Italy to a small family vineyard to bring a unique wine to our guests. Our chefs do not participate in competitions yet, but in the future we plan to integrate into the Lithuanian Chefs Guild.

Brunchs are organized in the restaurant on weekends.

Brunchs have become extremely popular in the restaurant, which guests are invited to visit on weekends from 11:00 a.m. to 15:00 p.m.

We plan to organize tasting events as well. The first such is already expected at the end of September.

FELT PASTE. Address: Vokiečių st. 20

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