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Eating Latvian

Grey peas, pelmeņi, rye and smoked fish. Half of these are canteens and that is the point.

6 places

  1. 01

    Milda

    Twenty seats in the old town doing grey peas with bacon, pelmeņi and cepelinai like someone means it. Small enough that you must book. The single best introduction to what Latvian food actually is.

    Kungu iela 8

  2. 02

    Rīgas Centrāltirgus

    Five zeppelin hangars full of food. Saturday before eleven, fish hall, far left aisle: smoked sprats, and the brown bread from the stall by the door. Bring cash and an empty bag.

    Nēģu iela 7

  3. 03

    Lido Atpūtas centrs

    An enormous wooden hall of a self-service canteen with a windmill outside, and every Latvian dish on one tray. Unfashionable, unembarrassed, genuinely good. Take the tray, point at things.

    Krasta iela 76

  4. 04

    Province

    Old-town prices without the old-town nonsense. Cold beetroot soup in summer, grey peas the rest of the year, and it comes fast.

    Kaļķu iela 2

  5. 05

    Pelmeņi XL

    Dumplings sold by weight, sour cream by the ladle, open absurdly late. An institution for the specific hour where nothing else will do.

    Kaļķu iela 7

  6. 06

    Kaļķu vārti

    The polished version of Latvian cooking — same ingredients, white tablecloth, sensible prices. Where I take parents.

    Jauniela 20