An enjoyable beer garden and place for Latvian cuisine (Lido (Latvia))

Member Name: dangaroo

Product:	Lido (Latvia)
Date:	10/03/09 (118 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice local meals with tasty beer

Disadvantages: Not quite as busy as it once was

The chain of Latvian traditional restaurants Lido are spread throughout Riga and are noticeable as you walk around, particularly in shopping malls. The one which is the most well known to me however is Lido Alus Darzs (Lido Beer Garden), nicely located in the centre of Riga, it's an all season affair but one which is best suited to the summer when the beer garden is bustling and well.. warmer.

The traditional warm wooden decor of the restaurant is ideal for keeping you cosy and warm in the winter too. The food on offer, whether it be the tasty bar snacks like fried rye bread or full on stodgy yet delightful meat and potato orientated cuisine is always of a relatively good standard. Beer is served in various sizes - the more you buy, the cheaper it becomes!

Waiteresses quite often of an older age swoon around the restaurant in lavish traditional clothes. Lido is not just a novelty act for foreigners but a well respected beer garden amongst Latvians too. A lot of Latvia is now a non-smoking zone but the back room of this restaurant welcomes smokers whilst the front part does not. If you head to the backroom as most Latvians do, you will see the wide variety of food on offer and this will almost definitely get your taste buds going.

I have to say that the economic crisis has clearly affected Latvia, Latvians have been keen to spend wildly over the last few years on things such as new clothes, nice cars, holidays, studies and of course going out - nothing too extravagant but some simple luxuries. The first time I went here a few years ago, the place was crowded - people were having a great time following an Ice hockey victory over brutish neighbours Russia and the beer was constantly flowing, my last visit to this great pub.. as so many pubs in Latvia at the moment was a lot more quieter. Inflation has set in big style over the last couple of years and locals have slowly been priced out of enjoying themselves so much.

Saying that, it's still very much a decent place to go and enjoy some beer and traditional food, particularly in the summer. It's hard to say what the beer will cost by the time you go there but generally you could get a decent meal and a beer for about 5-7 lats.

Summary: Suffering from the financial blues!