In Latvian the kitchen you will find gastronomic delights, it is simple to outrageous, but all the dishes are hearty and delicious. To get involved in such a kitchen is also unlikely to succeed, but to try must. Riga chefs often prepare dishes from purely local ingredients such as Baltic sea fish, pearl barley, chanterelles and seasonal vegetables and fruits.
Of the most common dishes of Latvian cuisine, which in our view should try in Latvia are the following:
- grey peas with smoked bacon, served with yogurt. True Latvian dish. It for centuries, gave to the peasants for Breakfast. Because the dish is very filling and gives energy, after such a meal, people can work productively all day. Just say the dish is not tasty and rather dry, but it was one of the first national dishes. Yogurt served separately, mixing is not recommended, otherwise it will be AI-I-Yai with the stomach;
- salted herring with potatoes, cream cheese and crackers. Served as their own dish to snack on;
- soup of sauerkraut with pork. Classic Latvian dish, served in a bread loaf. Very tasty soup, nothing special, but cooked awesome meal;
- lovers of something unusual can treat yourself to milk soup with potatoes and herring. A rather unusual taste. And on a hot summer day you can cool off Latvian cold soup, it is called cold soup. The taste of this soup reminds our beetroot, and maybe it is, who knows, because Latvian cuisine was influenced by Lithuanian, Estonian, German and Belarusian cuisine;
from the second dishes are common fish, especially Baltic herring, flounder, trout, mackerel, cod and herring. As well as meat dishes as individual pieces of meat, and sausages. They are often served with a side dish of stewed sauerkraut and(or) fried potatoes;
- popular in Latvia, and casseroles of fish that can be tasted in any restaurant of national cuisine. And also blood sausage, fermented milk products (putelis, yogurt, etc.) and homemade cheeses. About cheese I must say, the local Latvian cheese is quite bland in taste, so buy each cheese is not advised, it is better to order the cheese plate from local varieties and try them all over time;
the fruit is very popular dessert of rye bread with cream and cranberry sauce. You could also try the cakes with wild berries, mostly cranberries and raspberries, and brownies with toppings of curd cream;
- national drinks include: kvass, jelly and a drink with a very original taste, made on the basis of honey, birch and maple juice. From the national liquor, is, of course: Riga balsams, more delicious Allatu, Mocha and Cranberry. About alcoholic beverages Latvia read here.
Also in Latvia, you can try a variety of pastries and cakes, all pretty tasty. And, of course, no gastronomic tour of Latvia can not do without the famous Riga sprats. In cafes and restaurants sprat you won't find in the supermarkets and markets there are plenty of them, with different names, manufacturers and weight. Read more about sprats in Riga (Latvia) read here.
As you can see all Latvian dishes are high in calories and hearty. They can be found in such meals in Latvia reason, quite cold and raw Baltic climate, and so necessary in such a climate energy for work played a major role in the formation of the national Latvian cuisine.
Almost all of these and many other local dishes can be sampled at the center of old Riga. It is in the centre of Riga, the old town, is home to an enormous number of cafes and restaurants offering its visitors Latvian national dishes. Some of them went and we.
The biggest selection of restaurants, with a wide range of dishes of national cuisine and tasting menus, located near the town hall square and the blackheads House on the street Kungu. Speaking of tasting menus in Riga will cover in this article just below.
We tasted the national cuisine near the House of blackheads in the restaurant Salve. The restaurant is quite cozy, with nice decoration and we liked with very polite waiters. Our waiter not only took our order, but also told about every local dish which meat and where it happened. And when you order a tasting of local spirits, spoke in detail about each drink.
The Salve restaurant is located in a historic building at the House of blackheads at the address: 5 Ratslaukums, Riga, LV-1050, Latvia.
We ordered dinner from local foods, green vegetable salad with soft curd cheese, sunflower seeds and honey mustard dressing; classic Latvian sour cabbage soup with pork served in a bread bowl; grey peas with smoked bacon, fried onions and a glass of kefir; homemade sausage of beef and pork with stewed sauerkraut and fried potatoes. All the portions were a decent size and enough for two.
The total bill was a little more than 40 Euros.
All the dishes were delicious, especially the salad and soup. Like, what could be unusual about the soup of sour cabbage with pork. But it is insanely delicious. Pork chopped in small pieces without fat. Grey peas with smoked meat, as already mentioned above, dry, but with kefir, went fine and even the taste became more pleasant. Homemade sausage with a side dish, what can be said about it? Nothing is so-so sausage, as in the Czech Republic or Germany.
But the tasting of local spirits was worth it, over time I tried all the basic national alcohol and even received counseling. Most of all we liked the liquor Azula, although 40 degrees, but a nice moderately sweet taste and is drunk quite easily, can not eat. I wanted to have a dessert and coffee order, but after all eaten and drunk the place in the stomachs left, I left that pleasure for later. Tasting of local spirits costs 8 Euros.
The tasting menu in Riga
If you don't want to order all local dishes individually, in these restaurants you can taste national dishes in a small amount as the tasting menu. Each dish will be two scoops per serving. The cost of the tasting menu from 25 Euro, depending on the restaurant.
The tasting menu usually includes the following meals, but may vary depending on the specific of the restaurant:
- salted herring with potatoes, cream cheese and rye croutons;
- grey peas with smoked bacon;
- classic Latvian sour cabbage soup with pork;
homemade sausage of beef and pork with stewed sauerkraut and fried potatoes. Or fish, or homemade fish cakes, also with stewed sauerkraut and fried potatoes;
- a dessert made of rye bread with plums and cranberry sauce.
On the streets of Riga, restaurants and cafes or on the Windows of those most often you can see the menu with prices, come take a look and choose any restaurant without being in such.
Other food in Riga
Tried the local cuisine and enough where to go next?
Fans of another food, in the centre of Riga at every step can meet all kinds of restaurants with various cuisines of the world. Here, Italian restaurants, American, Mexican, Turkish, Japanese, Cuban, etc., and various cafes, pubs and bars. There is even a dumpling.
The prices are average for the Baltic countries, for example, steaks from 20 Euros, kebabs from 3,20 €, the complex - kebab, French fries and a glass of coke 4,50 € pasta and pizzas from € 7, meals 4 €, salads from 5,50 € , desserts from 5 € and so on.
Coffee and pastries in Riga
For people like us, lovers of natural coffee and fresh pastries in the old town of Riga has a large number of pastry shops and coffee houses, as a global networking and local. To experience the flavor and the taste is better of course to go to local bakeries and coffee shops.
We loved one bakery, in which we frequented often. This is The restaurant located in the heart of old Riga, near the dome square and dome Cathedral, at the following address: Tirgoņu iela 8, Riga, Latvia. Although they position themselves as a restaurant, but in fact far from it, this is just a simple coffee shop, pastry shop or bakery.
Walking down the street Tirgoņu, past the coffee shop, you will not. The house is beautifully decorated glass showcase, which pleases the eye with a variety of pastries. It's tempting to go there.
Inside intererchik too is quite pleasant, decorated in old style with a predominance of pastel and brown tones.
The restaurant sell pastries, both sweet and bread, coffee and tea, and pies, pastry and cakes. The average bill for two was somewhere between 6-10 Euros.
Beer in Latvia/Riga
But the beer in Latvia we did not like, where you would not drink, though in the tourist center, though on the outskirts of the city. Will you come, will give 20 Euros for two drinks and snacks, and the pleasures of zero, nor from the taste and the process of drinking or from consequences.
Here we tasted the beer in the center of old Riga, not tasty, I think maybe what is outside the old town restaurants for local... wanna UNH no.
So we searched the Internet and found very positive reviews, even one glorifying beer store and restaurant (bar on the basis of the store, two in one), in the center of the city - Valmiermuizas (full name Valmiermuizas Alus tirgotava in Riga), located at the address: Aristida Briana iela 9, Riga, LV-1001, Latvia. Flooded him, and he is 3 kilometers from the old town of Riga, and in the end...
The restaurant tried different Beers, it was bitter and watery. Unfiltered, also not tasty. After two glasses of the night my head was splitting.
Beer costs 3.20 Euros per 0.5 liter. Snacks around as well.
The Internet along with the beer praised cheeses, crackers and other snacks of the institution. Tried! Cheese much, but the pretzels were disappointed too much oil.
And as advertised the cookies from the malt, 1 Euro for a tiny bag, we barely ate at home already.
In order to avoid attacks, just specify that it is only our personal opinion about beer in Latvia and the restaurant Valmiermuizas, maybe someone like it.
P.S. the Main tourist life in Riga are concentrated in the old city and its surroundings. Here the large number of cafes and restaurants for any taste and budget. So to stay in Riga suggest in the old city, or close to it. Hotels, guest houses, hostels etc. better to book in advance. The fact that Riga tourism popular city and there are a lot of tourists at any time of the year.
