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.
Signature: Karbonāde, Pelēkie zirņi, Karbonāde rye sandwich
Order: Karbonāde with grey peas and rye bread, a Latvian counter classic for €10 to €15.
Tip: The complex has a beer cellar, a summer fountain garden and a kids' play area; expect crowds at Sunday lunch.
The bakery pavilion at Centrāltirgus runs multiple counters baking traditional Latvian pīrāgi, bacon-onion pastry pockets that anchor a Latvian lunch.
Try: Pīrāgi (bacon-onion pastry pockets)
Order: Two bacon-onion pīrāgi, hot from the oven; pair with a kvass at the next stall.
Tip: Counter prices stay €1 to €2 per piece; the morning bake comes out around 09:00.
The fish pavilion at Centrāltirgus runs Riga's strongest counter of smoked Baltic sprats, with vendors building open-faced rye sandwiches to take away.
Try: Smoked sprats and šprotes sandwiches
Order: A smoked-sprats rye sandwich with onion and egg, the canonical Latvian street snack.
Tip: The vendors rotate fish daily; arrive by 11:00 for the day's best catch.
The gastronomy pavilion at Centrāltirgus is the market's food-hall hub, with a Labietis taproom, sandwich counters and prepared-food stalls for daytime.
Try: Multi-vendor counter food
Order: A Labietis pour with a counter snack from one of the prepared-food stalls.
Tip: Opens later than the produce pavilions; this is the late-morning to early-evening market food option.
Labietis's Central Market taproom sits in the Gastronomy Pavilion of Centrāltirgus, the daytime counter pouring Labietis pagan brews beside the market stalls.
Order: A pour with smoked sprats from the next-door fish stalls.
Tip: Open daytime hours only; pair with a Centrāltirgus shopping run for the strongest weekday-lunch combo in Riga.
Riga Central Market sits in five former WWI zeppelin hangars built 1924 to 1930 on the Daugava embankment, one of Europe's largest market complexes.
Tip: Open daily; the fish pavilion is the city's strongest seafood counter and the dairy pavilion runs the best cheese tastings.
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.
Try: Latvian buffet plates
Tip: Pay by weight at the till; a full meal with a beer lands around €12 on a weekday.
The Centrāltirgus bakery pavilion runs counter-served pīrāgi at €1 to €2 per piece, anchoring the city's cheapest Latvian breakfast or lunch.
Try: Pīrāgi (bacon-onion pastries)
Tip: Buy three pīrāgi and a kvass for under €5; eat at the market's outdoor benches.