Rudolfa II

Gedimino Pr. 46 , Vilnius, Lithuania

 

Overall: NR    Food: NR    Drink: NR    Atmosphere: NR   

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The RatePubs Experience

Lithuanians tend to be proud of their own beers so the idea of setting up a bar which only sells Czech brands would seem to be a non-starter. But this is exactly what Rudolfa II is doing.

I called into Rudolfa II on a mid-week night not even knowing I was doing so. My last visit to Vilnius was a year earlier and back then Prie Parliamento was at this site. Prie Parliamento had been around for years and had always been popular so it was surprising to find it had changed hands. To be honest it took me a few minutes before I realised it had. Like its predecessor, Rudolfa II covers two (smallish) floors. When you enter the front door you have the option of going up the stairs to the left or turning right into the downstairs bar. I turned right into a small room with a number of tables and an equally small bar. Through the heavy cloud of smoke I saw a room that was decorated by a few helmets and shields on the walls. Wooden tables and chairs filled it and the crowd seemed to be having a good time, their conversations joining together to create a buzz, and drowning out any background music that may have been playing.

There were no tables free so I went upstairs. There are two rooms up here. The front one is roughly the same size as that downstairs, and through an archway there is a small restaurant of about the same size again. Once again the decor is basic, with the same medieval armour decorating the walls, and staff dressed in traditional Bohemian costumes. I sat at a free table (there are no stools at the bar) and took a look at the beer menu. As I noted earlier the concept of selling only Czech beers seems an odd one in Vilnius where Svyturys and other Lithuanian beers are the best sellers. Of course Czech beers are renowned the world over, and Kelt, Staropramen and Krusovice are good beers and worth tasting. At 4.5 Litas for 0.4 litres the price is slightly above that charged for a beer in the rest of town, but then these are imported.

As I drank the beer I looked around and noticed that it was much quieter here than downstairs. The tables weren’t as crowded and the atmosphere was much more subdued. There was no buzz of conversation as people spoke in more hushed tones, and I could hear the Enya-ish background music quite easily. I could even see a lot better.

That’s an odd comment I know but it was very noticeable because upstairs in Rudolfa II is non-smoking. I don’t know if there is a link between this and the quieter atmosphere or not, but think there possibly might be. Smoking rates are very high in Lithuania which means that most groups will have at least one smoker in their midst and so they go downstairs. Personally I much prefer non-smoking bars but it will be interesting to see if Rudolfa II can keep this policy since there is no-one else doing the same thing. I stayed for a few more drinks, interested to see if the crowd grew any further but the crowd stayed at the same levels, the few who left being replaced by others who also stayed for just one or two drinks. While I was there I took the time to check the upstairs and downstairs toilets. They were clean and well stocked with soap, paper, and hot water.

I stayed for a few more drinks, interested to see if the crowd grew any further but the crowd stayed at the same levels, the few who left being replaced by others who also stayed for just one or two drinks. While I was there I took the time to check the upstairs and downstairs toilets. They were clean and well stocked with soap, paper, and hot water.

Rudolfa II is a mixed bag. It’s slightly more expensive than other bars in the city and doesn’t serve the same beers. It tries to have a Czech theme but does so only half-heartedly. It doesn’t have any televisions (which is either a good or bad thing depending on personal preferences), and the music selection is low key. Downstairs had a good atmosphere the night I called, while upstairs had none. If it can get the balance right Rudolfa II will be a decent addition to Vilnius bars. Right now it’s worth checking out for the atmosphere if you don’t mind smoke, or as one of the few smoke-free places in Vilnius if you do.


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