Go backIn the interwar years, and later during the Soviet era, Kaunas was famous for its abundance of cafés and restaurants. Each of them had an original interior, a distinctive menu and a musical repertoire. A restaurant culture developed in the city and it was a kind of sign of well-being. There were 20 cafés and 16 restaurants, most of which no longer exist today.
One of the first high-class restaurants was Metropolis. The building currently houses two pizzerias, with different owners and approaches to heritage. During the interwar period, university professors and key state figures dined here. The restaurant was famous for its press balls, lotteries and carnivals. The most famous Lithuanian stage stars Danielius Dolskis, Antanas Šabaniauskas, the orchestras of Moišė Hofmekleris and Balys Dvarionas performed here. The restaurant was famous not only for its great music but also for its locally produced krupnik, ashberry and spearmint brandy.
The symbol of Laisvės Avenue is the café Tulpė (Eng. Tulip) (or Konrado kavinė, Eng. Konrad’s Café ). It was a gathering place for Kaunas bohemians: Balys Sruoga, Juozas Herbačiauskas, Robertas Antinis Sr., painter Liudas Truikys and his wife Marijona. Interestingly, the menu of Tulpė later on “went” to the restaurant Neringa in Vilnius. Bronius Pundzius, one of the most prominent Lithuanian sculptors, made sculptures for the interior of Tulpė, and they were unexpectedly discovered during filming at the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum.
