Latvia's national dish: large grey peas slow-cooked with cubes of fatty bacon, sour cream and onion, traditionally eaten with kefir and rye bread alongside.
Where to eat it: 5 restaurants across 1 city.
Grey peas (Pisum sativum var. arvense) have been grown across Latvia since the medieval Hanseatic era and were codified as the national dish during the first independence period 1918 to 1940. The grey-pea variety thrives in Latvia's short, cool summers and sandy soils. The dish anchored peasant winter eating with its high protein content, the bacon adding fat for the long Baltic winters. Today's restaurants serve it both as a Christmas-table staple and a year-round national-identity dish.
Common allergens: Pork
Tip from the editors. Grey peas have a coarser texture than green peas. If they're unavailable, substitute dried marrowfat or yellow split peas, but the dish loses its national character.
Milda on Grēcinieku in Old Town holds a Bib Gourmand for great-value traditional Latvian and Lithuanian cooking, named for the figure atop the Freedom.
OrderGrey peas with bacon and sour cream, the national dish, served generously.
TipBooked solid for Sunday lunch; weekday lunches are an easier sit. The wine list is short but well-chosen for Baltic food.
Pētergailis has worked the Old Town corner between St. John's and St. Peter's churches since 1978, cooking traditional Latvian dishes with mostly Latvian.
OrderThe grey peas with bacon, the kitchen's anchor dish since opening.
TipNamed for the golden rooster atop St. Peter's; the dining room is filled with a long-collected display of ceramic roosters and hens.
LIDO Atpūtas Centrs anchors Riga's budget Latvian eating, with hot-counter plates of karbonāde, grey peas and pīrāgi for under €15 in a wooden-castle complex.
TryLatvian buffet plates
TipPay by weight at the till; a full meal with a beer lands around €12 on a weekday.
Folkklubs ALA Pagrabs is Old Town's most reliable late-night cellar, 32 Latvian beer taps with folk music until 02:00 weekdays and 04:00 on weekends.
OrderA late-night Latvian craft beer flight with a plate of pelēkie zirņi.
TipOpen until 04:00 on Saturday is unusual for Riga; the cellar absorbs the post-club crowd around the Old Town.
LIDO Vērmanītis is the central Riga branch of the buffet chain, an easier sit than the Atpūtas Centrs flagship for a quick Latvian counter lunch.
TryLatvian counter plates
TipWeekday lunch service is fastest; build a plate of karbonāde, grey peas and rye for around €10.
More cities are in research. Want pelēki zirņi ar speķi (grey peas with bacon) covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.
