Join me for a meal at LIDO, Latvia’s largest and best-known restaurant chain
Друзья, today we are in LIDO, the place I call second home in this country because it is, and especially in winter, a place of calm refuge, warmth, familiarity and yes, of course, good food. It is Sunday, 3 p.m., and I’ve come here with a local friend for a quick lunch. On my plate: chicken shashlik, mashed potatoes, pickled onion, and honey cake. On my friend’s: chicken shashlik, mashed potatoes, pickled cucumber. We are sharing a large bottle of kvass. Latvian Christmas music is still playing this far into January and across from us a Russian-speaking family has pulled five tables together for something of a Sunday lunch. There are perhaps four generations sitting together, and the grandfather is holding them all in a long and, at least my friend tells me, mostly uninteresting story about his days working at a factory in St. Petersburg. Otherwise couples, singles, students, and grandparents are quietly at their meals, or dressing and undressing themselves for the falling snow which I can see through the window. In short, everything is as it should be.
I want to tell you about LIDO because if you are considering studying Russian in Riga with Liden & Denz, then more likely than not it is where you will find yourself after class or on those evenings when you haven’t had time to cook dinner. It is a restaurant announced by a blue light. It’s always busy, open early, late, and even on some holidays. LIDO is Latvia’s largest and best-known restaurant chain. It is a self-described ‘restaurant for the people.’
Ordering, and other tricks of the trade…
Alright, so you’ve walked through the entrance and you’re a little overwhelmed. Pause. Allow yourself a moment. Observe. Perhaps you’re in one of the larger restaurants in the centre or at the train station and perhaps you’ve made the mistake of arriving at 1 p.m. on the dot on a grey but not raining day (it’s bound to be packed). No matter; you’re here now, there’s ample food and ample space, you just need to observe the proper ettiequte. Take a tray and enter the cue. The first thing you must notice is the situation of the different ‘stations’, since every restaurant has a different layout. I’ve been to them all (in Riga there’s over eight). If you’re in LIDO Vērmanītis, for example (contrary to popular opinion, this LIDO, at 280m by foot, is not the closest LIDO to Liden & Denz; that goes to LIDO Dzirnavas, at 130m by foot) then you will notice that the soup station (most days serving Borscht and Solyanka, with a side of lemon and sour cream) is first, on your left. The unspoken rule seems to be this; if it is busy, you must line up at the beginning, by the salads, and progress slowly towards the meat and potatoes station. However, if it outside of peak hours (an increasingly narrow window) you can progress past the salads towards that central altar. If, on the other hand, you are at a LIDO with more dispersed serving stations, then you may move toward that which you want to order. Best practice is to peloton behind a babushka who looks like she’s been here before.
Some dishes- the salads (including Oliver Salad), deserts (including Napoleon cake) and side dishes (incl. blini)- are self service, but the meat and potatoes and vegetables are served by an employee. If in doubt, just point, but as always in Latvia you must use discretion in your choice of language. Russian is usually okay, but if the employee is young and has a Latvian name tag, English is also advisable. All of the food in LIDO is wonderful; it’s a matter of experimentation and preference. Just don’t limit yourself, as I have, to three or four dishes because they are so good that you have come to fear change. But you’re a first timer, so I’m going to suggest you order the chicken fillet, some mashed potatoes, a serving of vegetables, and of course, a desert (in most post-soviet countries that desert after lunch is a given).
Once you’ve collected your food, choose yourself a drink (if you are hesitating between beer and a soft drink, I recommend kvass), and head to the pay counter. The issue of cost remains something of a mystery to me; I am convinced that the dishes at LIDO fluctuate throughout the day and by season, and I have been witness to many debates between cashier and dedushka as to these variations. The typical range is 6-12 euro (more for shashlik, and beer). Pay with card or cash, take your cutlery, and find yourself a table. If there are none, ask a stranger if you can share, and speak with them. Yes… you can make friends in LIDO, too.
Now, welcome home…
Students past and considering, and all other interested readers, if you haven’t already, treat yourself to a meal at LIDO. Go slowly, savour it, enjoy it alone or with friends. When you’re studying abroad places like this are important, they give you routine, familiarity, and assist that inevitable transition from tourist to temporary resident.
Друзья, приятного аппетита!
Laef, currently studying Russian at Liden & Denz Riga
Disclaimer; the author received no monetary or gastronomical reward or incentive for this review.
