The Best Bars in Riga

Updated November 2026

Riga's cocktail scene is full of personality, and most of its best rooms sit in the city center, outside the Old Town. The best bars in Riga start on Gertrudes iela at a bar the city tourism board bills as the capital's first speakeasy: look for the lantern by a black gate, press 6 on the intercom, and step into what was once Riga's first video game shop. On Baznīcas iela, a Nordic cocktail bar builds its drinks on ingredients from the Baltic Sea region, swaps lemon for quince and rhubarb, makes its own kombuchas and cordials, and keeps an ascetic, minimal room. A concept bar on the rooftop terrace of Galleria Riga takes its cocktails from the plant kingdom with a local, seasonal menu. On Strēlnieku iela, a bar that dates itself to 2014 adapts its cocktails to the seasons and current events, and an Old Town cellar mixes its house drinks with the gin and rum it distills itself. The Gertrudes iela speakeasy asks guests to book ahead. These are the bars we would start with.