Riga Restaurants and Cafes.

Rozengrals Medieval Restaurant.
An interesting if overpriced restaurant that serves up “medieval” cuisine from various countries.

Some mid-millennium delicacies on the menu include “Rabbit meat stewed with prunes and cedar nuts” ($27), “Baked pork tongue with cowberry sauce” ($17) and “Poultry liver salad with bacon and almonds” ($8), which apparently was served at the wedding of Duke Charles of Burgundy and Mary of York in the 15th Century. An average main course costs $20 while starters cost about $7 and beers are about $2.70. There is also a vegetarian menu. The restaurant has great atmosphere with the wait staff in costume, the cellar setting perfectly decorated and nice little touches like the bill being brought in a wooden chest. The lighting is so dim that it’s hard to see what you’re eating which is a blessing in some cases but annoying when you stick a lump of pork fat in your mouth. The meals are well-cooked and are certainly different but, unsurprisingly, medieval food tasted pretty bad.
Address: Rozena St, #1. Tel: +(371) 722-0356. Website: www.rozengrals.lv. Open 12:00-0:00.

Dickens Pub and Restaurant.
The Dickens Restaurant (entrance from the back, behind the pub entrance) has a good little

English menu of meat-based dishes with meals such as Shepherd’s pie, Steak Diane and rack of lamb. Not overly cheap but not too expensive, an average main course will set you back about $15. Dickens boasts an “authentic” English pub atmosphere, decked out in dark oak with deep blue seat coverings and a homely feel. Anyone craving an English breakfast should be satisfied by the offerings in the pub that are served from 11am – 5pm. The full English breakfast costs $7 and includes tea or coffee. The pub is a good option for a drinking session with over 20 beers on tap. Local beers cost $1.80 while the imported variety cost around $3. An offshoot of the Dickens Pub opened in St Petersburg in 2005. Hopefully a Moscow establishment will come one day.
Address: Grecinieku St, #9/1. Tel: +(371) 721-3087. Website: www.dickens.lv. Open Sun-Thurs: 11:00-1:00, Fri-Sat: 11:00-2:00.

Double Coffee.
There is no shortage of coffee shops and cafes in Riga’s

old town but Double Coffee deserves a mention for its sheer omnipresence: it seems like there is an outlet on every street. Double Coffee has small but decent quality English and European breakfasts for about $3.60. The rest of the day they serve salads, sandwiches, hamburgers and pizzas for similarly reasonable prices. The coffee isn’t spectacular but it’s no worse than at most coffee shop chains. All outlets have free WiFi.
Address: Stabu St, #15 (original location). Tel: +(371) 727-3747. Website: www.doublecoffee.lv. Open Mon-Thurs: 8:00-0:00, Fri-Sat: 8:00-1:00, Sun: 11:00-0:00. Multiple locations – see website for other addresses.

Opium Cafe.
Rather dubiously called a

cafe when it only serves one type of coffee and has two pages of its menu devoted to alcohol. In actual fact, Opium Cafe functions more as a bar and has the sleek design to serve this purpose as well. The menu also boasts a range of snacks and semi-meals with basic sandwiches and other typical cafe food. With a classy atmosphere it’s quite a trendy place for a few cocktails or a light meal. Opium Cafe is also one of the few places that has bothered to partition a section for smokers since Latvia’s non-smoking laws came into effect.

Address: Valnu St, #18. Tel: +(371) 721-2738. Open Sun-Wed: 11:00-0:00, Thurs-Sat: 11:00-3:00.

Cuba Cafe.
Cuba Cafe is pretty much what you’d

expect from the name: Latin music, Caribbean decorations and so on. They make good coffee ($1.80 for a double espresso) and have Latin-themed snacks and light meals for around $5-$7. Cuba Cafe turns into a fairly lively bar/club at night from Thursday to Saturday with a fun crowd squeezing into the small venue. Happy hours are from 5pm – 8pm nightly (buy one cocktail, get one free). Tuesday night is salsa night. The cafe also has free WiFi. A good choice during the day or night.
Address: Jauniela St, #15. Tel: +(371) 722-4362.