Bolderaja 29
Less a bar and more a living archive presided over by a opinionated owner who treats his books with the reverence most establishments reserve for top-shelf spirits. By day it functions as a quiet reading room where literature lines every surface; by evening it morphs into a cultural salon where cheap drinks, chess sets, and […]
Möku
This cramped local haunt runs on craft beer, board games, and a serious music obsession. Tuesday jam nights pack the place with instruments and enthusiastic amateurs, while the rest of the week delivers carefully curated playlists that somehow always hit right. The mismatched furniture and DIY aesthetic attract a young, alternative crowd who come for […]
Gauja
Step through the door and you’ve time-travelled into a Soviet-era apartment circa 1975 – vinyl players, faded wall paintings, period magazines stacked on shelves, and furniture that looks lifted from your babushka’s living room. But this isn’t maudlin nostalgia; Gauja’s young team reimagined the old Soviet buffet tradition with a decidedly contemporary twist, swapping Lenin […]
Krokodils
At a time when Riga’s craft cocktail scene increasingly mirrors Western European pricing, Krokodils brings things back to basics with a menu of classic cocktails – all under €5 during the legendary all-day happy hour that runs until 10pm (making it more of an unhappy hour afterward). The interiors lean into neon-lit nostalgia: retro furniture, […]
Aleponija
You’ll walk past this weathered wooden shack on a quiet backstreet at least twice before realising it’s actually open. Run by Juris Simanovičs of Latvian indie-rock outfit Bērnības Milicija, Aleponija feels less like a bar and more like stumbling into a musician’s living room – if that musician had exceptional taste in craft beer and […]
