For anyone who remembers the iconic diner Ai Karamba, this casual café/bar will come as a pleasant surprise. The simple menu consists of whatever’s written that day on the big blackboard hanging behind the bar. Generous servings of Latvian staples, Užavas beer and a wide selection of spirits are all available on the cheap and alternative music compliments the quirky interior that includes Latvian landscape paintings, orange bar stools and wooden tables topped with bottles of Heinz ketchup.
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This trendy cafeteria on the top floor of the Stockmann department store offers white walls, sleek stainless steel and light Scandinavian wood furnishings not to mention gourmet sandwiches, tasty soups and salads as well as stir fries, pastas and pancakes cooked to order. It's also good place to st [...]

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Not to be confused with the upmarket restaurant of the same name next door, this pleasant bistro, located in the alleyway behind the beige and olive box on Līvu Square, offers an inexpensive buffet of salads and Latvian home cooking not to mention unique art on the walls, all of which is made of dried pasta. So order your meatballs and gravy and take a seat under a fusilli and chilli pepper wreath.
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The Maple Leaf sounds like the perfect name for a Canadian sports bar. We’re sorry to disappoint, but it’s actually a cosy cafeteria serving fresh, hot and cold Latvian fare and bottles of Aldaris instead of Labatt Blue or Molson Golden. It’s not the cheapest place to eat in the s [...]

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Look for the sign with a cannibal pig in a chef’s hat cooking a pork chop in a pan to find this small cafeteria on Doma laukums. The food is simple and about what you would expect to get from your long lost Latvian grandmother (if you had one). Meatballs, sausages, sour kraut, creamy vegetable and meat salads and salmon on buttered bread are all available as well as Zelta on draught and plenty of Riga Black Balsam in dainty shot glasses which you can order until 04:00 at the weekend.
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As the name suggests, it offers 'extra large' portions of chicken, vegetarian, pork, lamb or cheese pelmeņi (Russian ravioli) for 'extra small' prices. Also available are two kinds of soups and potato-based salads. Do as the locals do and wash it down with a beer or, if you haven't had enough booze at 03:00, an XL shot of Moskovskaya vodka. [...]

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To call this glorified kiosk with limited seating a restaurant would be a bit of a stretch but if you’re in the mood for really cheap beef and broccoli, spring rolls or wonton soup then this cleverly named Chinese fast food joint is a good option. The staff tend to fill the takeaway box with [...]

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