Latvia — Food and Dining
Cuisine
Heavily influenced by the weather and locally available crops, Latvian food tends to be hearty. Red meat is a mainstay on menus and it comes served with creamy sauces and as warming stews. Along the coast fish forms a bigger part of the diet. International restaurants abound in Riga. Filling meals are often washed down with Latvian beer and lethally strong spirits.
Things to Know:
Drinking (or possessing an open bottle/can of alcohol) in streets, parks and other public places is forbidden in Riga and carries a fine of up to Ls100.
National specialties:
• Kotletes (meat patties).
• Skabu kapostu zupa (cabbage soup).
• Alexander Torte (raspberry- or cranberry-filled pastry strips).
• Sweetbread soup with dried fruit.
• Piragi (pastry filled with bacon and onions).
National drinks:
• Riga’s Black Balsam is a thick, black alcoholic liquid which has been produced since 1700. The exact recipe is a closely guarded secret, but some of the ingredients include ginger, oak bark, bitter orange peel and cognac. It is drunk either with coffee or mixed with vodka.
• There are several good local beers, including Cesu, Aldaris, Bauskas Tumsais and Gaisais.
• Kvass (made from grains in the early stages of fermentation) is a refreshing summer drink.
• Sparkling wine is popular.
Legal drinking age: 18.
Tipping: Restaurant bills usually include a tip. It is customary to give a little extra for good service.
Nightlife
Riga's nightlife is legendary with little to distinguish cafes from bars. In the summer months, both spill out onto pavement terraces. Nightclubs offer a varied scene, from dancing all night to blues concerts. The capital also has a number of strip and lap-dancing clubs. At the height of summer the bars and clubs in Latvia's vacation resorts, like Jurmala, are also lively. Big cities like Daugavpils, Ventspils and Liepaja also have a large number of drinking venues, though these are not geared towards tourists.
