Dinner with a view is getting a new meaning in Vilnius, Lithuania, where the city’s iconic TV Tower has reopened its panoramic Milky Way restaurant 165 meters above the ground.
Located inside one of Europe’s tallest television towers, the restaurant combines contemporary Lithuanian cuisine with 360-degree views stretching up to 50 kilometers on clear days. The tower itself stands 326.4 meters tall, making it the tallest structure in Lithuania and the eighth-tallest TV tower in Europe. It is also just three meters shorter than the Eiffel Tower.
The restaurant is designed to make the view part of the dining experience. Milky Way completes a full rotation every 55 minutes, meaning diners can watch Vilnius slowly change from one table-side perspective to another throughout a meal.
But the unusual concept doesn’t stop with the scenery. The restaurant’s wine list takes its inspiration from the height of the dining room, featuring wines from vineyards located at elevations comparable to the restaurant’s own altitude above sea level.
The elevation theme gives the wine program a distinctive geographic focus, connecting what is being poured in the restaurant to the physical landscape outside.
Lithuanian wines are included under a related concept of “northern elevation.” Rather than focusing on altitude, the selection reflects the country’s cool climate, long summer daylight hours and relatively short growing season, conditions that influence the acidity and structure of locally produced wines.
The menu takes a similarly modern approach to Lithuanian cuisine, focusing on local ingredients while reinterpreting familiar dishes and flavors.
Chef Aleksandras Buiko highlights ingredients including cucumbers, mushrooms, herbs and berries sourced from local farms. Among the dishes are trout paired with sea buckthorn, black bread crumble and dill, as well as fish served with traditional švilpikai potato dumplings.
Food and wine pairings were developed together, with ingredients and flavors designed to complement one another rather than treating the wine program as an afterthought.
The restaurant has long been a popular destination, attracting more than 130,000 visitors annually. Its reopening adds another reason to visit the tower, which has evolved from a telecommunications structure into a major tourism attraction.
The tower also carries deep historical significance for Lithuania. Completed in 1980, it became internationally known following the events of January 13, 1991, when unarmed civilians defended the tower during a Soviet military attack as Lithuania fought to preserve its independence. A “Fight for Freedom” exhibition inside the tower commemorates that history.
Today, visitors can also stay in panoramic apartments at 175 meters or take on the Edge Walk experience at 170 meters.
With its rotating views, Lithuanian-inspired menu and altitude-themed wine list, Milky Way offers visitors a dining experience that is quite literally above the city.