Latvian cuisine has been influenced by the gastronomic schools of Russia, Belarus, Estonia, Germany and Lithuania. Latvian dishes are hearty and easy to prepare, with a special taste.
National cuisine of Latvia
Fish and potato-based dishes are popular in Latvia: for example, here you can taste smoked flounder; fish stuffed with eggs; pike caviar; baked potatoes with cheese; potato salads. Various other vegetables and legumes enjoy no less love: pumpkin and beet salads, sorrel and spinach soup, vegetable puree soup are cooked in Latvia. Meat eaters should eat pork ribs fried in a grill, lamb in caraway sauce, all kinds of pates and sausages.
Are you a sweet tooth? You will be offered to enjoy sweet rice pudding, Riga bagels sprinkled with powdered sugar, “bubert” (a dessert made from sour fruit puree, whipped proteins, semolina, cream and nuts), sweet soup with dumplings and cherries.
Popular dishes of Latvian cuisine:
- “Beer soup” (this soup is made from beer, cottage cheese, sour cream, eggs, bread, caraway seeds, sugar and butter);
- “Putra” (this dish includes meat, fish, vegetables, pearl barley or barley, bacon, legumes, and yogurt or milk is used as a dressing);
- "Klops" (a dish in the form of a steak with onion sauce);
- "Camaro" (is a chicken stew);
- “Siltyu pudinsh” (casserole with herring and boiled potatoes).
Where to taste Latvian cuisine?
In summer you will find low-calorie food in Latvian restaurants, and in winter you will find warming and hearty food. It should be noted that Latvian chefs tend to cook modernized old dishes in authentic restaurants. For this reason, in many catering establishments, visitors will find on the menu various variations of dishes made from gray peas or rye bread.
Are you used to leaving tips? Check the invoice: often a certain service charge is added to the total amount.
In order to satisfy your hunger in Jurmala, you can drop in “Laivas” (this restaurant specializes in modernized Latvian dishes, among which you should treat yourself to pike cutlets, crayfish tails with red caviar and Baltic herring with quail eggs), in Riga - in “Lido Alus Seta” (This self-service restaurant offers a wide selection of Latvian dishes - you need to place your favorite dishes on a tray, then go to the checkout to check out; besides, beer lovers will like it here - you can order any foamy drink from 120 types).
Cooking courses in Latvia
All interested are invited to a culinary lesson at Viesistaba in the Jekaba Barracks (Riga), where they will be able to prepare 2 main dishes of Latvian cuisine, 3 appetizers and a dessert (if you wish, you can order an individual lesson, including only for the company of your friends). And the tasting of what has been cooked will take place at a large dining table.
A trip to Latvia should be planned for the Gastronomy Festival (August-September, Riga), within the framework of which the international food exhibition “Riga Food” is held.
