Riga has enough to offer to keep you busy for at least a week. There are the main attractions such as the old market halls, the churches and other common tourist spots. But these are things you’ll be able to find yourself quite easily when you go there. So instead I’ll talk about the places you might not think of! Today I’ll focus on one restaurant and one café that are definitely worth visiting.
Folkklubs Ala
If you walk a few streets towards the river from the St. Peter church you might end up in Peldu Iela, a street with quite a few bars and restaurants. And most importantly: Folkklubs Ala, a traditional Latvian tavern. Don’t let the dodgy entrance fool you, after descending down the stairs, walking through a hallway that seems to be used for storage, you will suddenly find yourself in medieval Riga. This underground bar looks, feels and sounds like the old times (but it thankfully doesn’t smell like it!) Dark and scarcely lit, there are a two halls were you can sit down. There’s an area with comfortable couches and low tables, or bars where you can sample one of the local beers. You can also choose to sit down at one of the wooden tables for a real Latvian meal. But what would a folk club be without folk music? Not a folk club obviously. The place has live traditional folk music for about 4 out of the 7 nights, often accompanied by dancing as well. However, for the dancing you might want to shape up before joining, the locals dancing there seem to know their steps pretty well and easily synchronise together to the songs (a sight to see, but intimidating if you were thinking about joining!)
Tims mints
Located on a small square behind the St. Peterschurch is Tims mints; A hidden pearl, recommended to us by blue cow. A small pre-party café owned by three siblings. The place has a nice, cosy atmosphere and you just can’t help but feel at home. We only went there for cocktails, but they have meals during the day as well. As for the cocktails, they don’t have a fixed menu so just tell them what kind of flavours you would like and you will be pleasantly surprised! I myself managed to get an apple cinnamon cocktail served in one of their many iconic jam-jars.
That’s it for today, comments are appreciated!
Next up: in my opinion the best bookshop of Riga, a mysterious case and free tours!
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