Bars
Mojo Cafe Bar
Interior of red and yellow walls, wooden furniture and a chill out section in the back with couches, a record player and TV all circa 1970. Summer terrace.
Karakums
Fun bar with TV and dance room.
Leningrad
A bar with a retro Soviet interior of assorted communist relics and furniture. The beer might not be as cheap as it was in Gorbachev's time, but for Old Riga the local Brengulis and Czech Kozel are remarkably affordable. The beefy bartender with the shaved head and trimmed beard looks like Lenin on steroids.
Riga is a major nightlife destination for tourists and bars here are often open later than those in other European cities. On average, bars in Old Town will charge 2 LVL per beer and bars outside of Old Town will charge 1 LVL per beer. A specialty liquor is Riga Balsam, which is an acquired taste.
Pulkvedis
A trendy place popular with a younger crowd. ALL of the barmen are very good and the speed is superb. The basement offers techno-ish and/or alternative sounds. Upstairs which is the busiest area with a mix of pop/dance occasional rock music. It is a very busy place on Thurs/Fri/Sat and is closed on Sunday.
Key Bar
Owned by three Latvians: Kaspars, Gatis and Frank. The chairs, lamps, and most of the internal design of the bar is all hand made by Kaspars.
Clubs
Riga is known for a sparkling nightlife. There is a difference in style between 'Russian' clubs and 'Latvian' clubs.
Double Coffee
International chain of coffee houses/restaurants based in Riga and started in 2002. They have WiFi, but you need to buy a Lattelecom wifi card. 10% service charge is added to the bill.
Bar scams in Latvia
Latvia, and Eastern Europe in general, are home to a number of fraud/extortion scams in bars, run by the local mobs. A common scam, which targets men, begins by coaxing you into a bar, where most often a girl will strike up a conversation with you and convince you to buy her a drink. You will then be presented with a bill for several hundred Lats. Don't worry, the bar will take credit cards - or you might be forced to withdraw money from their handy ATM. If you ask, you will even be presented with a menu and the price listed. The trick to avoiding this scam is not to enter a bar recommended to you by someone on the street or, if you do, insist on seeing the price of a drink in writing. If not, leave immediately, although this may not be possible if the exit is being blocked by a large bouncer. Here is a list of bars/clubs in Riga the U.S. Embassy specifically warns against visiting and bars all embassy personnel from visiting:
âFoxy Loungeâ - Terbatas 2; located below the âFashion Caféâ in the basement of the âVegasâ casino at the corner of Terbatas and Merkela streets near the flower market.
"Babylon" formerly "Roxy Klub" - Kalku 24; located near the entrance to Old Town on Kalku street.
"Livu Krodzins Bar/Pizzeria" formerly âLordâs Pubâ/âGroks Pubâ/"Royal Pub"âKalku 22; located next door to Babylon.
"Enigma" formerly âPuzzleâ/âPink PantherââKalku 22; also located next door to Livu Krodzins Bar/Pizzeria.
"A13" formerly "Mary" - Audeju 13; located on the east side of Galleria âCentrsâ Mall.
âDD Barsâ
"Lion Pub" Formerly âSaxonâ - Laipu 7; located near âLivu Squareâ in a small street to the right of restaurant âSteiku Haossâ.
âDoll Houseâ a.k.a âZig Zagâ â Marstalu 12; located to the right of Reformed Church.
âBar Flyâ - Vagnera 8; located near âLivu Squareâ in a small street to the right of âBabylonâ, âLivu Krodzins Bar/Pizzeriaâ and âEnigmaâ.
"Kapsula Bar" formerly âZephry Barâ - located near Galleria Center in Old Town, near the youth hostel.
âMademoiselle Cigar Clubâ â Valnu street; located in Old Town across from âLounge 8â.
âNobu Sushiâ - Grecinieku 28; located in Old Town.
"Angels" - Elizabetes 22
"Blow Style" formerly "Monroe's nightclub" - Skarnu Iela 7, behind Indian Raja.
"Hostel Pub" - Teatra street 12
"Sonali Pub" - Brivibas street 46
These shady establishments periodically change their names so as to escape lists like these and continue extorting unwitting travelers. The above list was derived from the official U.S. Embassy warnings (http://riga.usembassy.gov...) on this particular scam, which should be used before you travel rather than solely relying on the list above which may well be outdated.
For your own safety, you should not patronize any of these locations. Many are strip bars or locations of prostitution rings. Consider yourself warned.