A sweet dessert soup made from stale Latvian dark rye bread, water, dried fruit and cinnamon, topped with whipped cream; a unique Latvian use of rye scraps.
Maizes zupa evolved as a Latvian peasant way to use stale rupjmaize that would otherwise go to waste. The bread is soaked, sweetened with honey or sugar, and cooked with dried apples, raisins and cinnamon into a thick, dark pudding-soup served as dessert. The dish is unusual internationally because it transforms a savoury staple into something sweet. Pētergailis and other traditional Latvian rooms serve it as a dessert course; LIDO stocks it on the buffet line.
4 editor picks for Maizes zupa (sweet rye bread soup) in Riga, ranked by editorial score. All Riga signature dishes · Maizes zupa (sweet rye bread soup) across every city.
Milda ★ 4.5
vecriga · Grēcinieku iela 26, Rīga, LV-1050
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.
Pētergailis ★ 4.2
vecriga · Skārņu iela 25, Rīga, LV-1050
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.
LIDO Atpūtas Centrs ★ 4.0
centraltirgus-maskavas · Krasta iela 76, Rīga, LV-1019
LIDO Atpūtas Centrs on Krasta is the flagship of the Latvian buffet chain, a wooden-castle complex serving freshly cooked Latvian classics from open counters.
LIDO Vērmanītis ★ 3.9
centrs · Elizabetes iela 65, Rīga, LV-1050
LIDO Vērmanītis on Elizabetes is the central Riga branch of the Latvian buffet chain, plating classics from a hot counter beside the Vērmanes park.