Best bars in Riga

Prices and opening hours checked on 19 October 2026 against each venue's own website, menu or social account, where it publishes one.

Most of Riga's bars are in the Old Town (Vecrīga), and nine of the ten below are within about 600 m of each other, around Dome Square, Jauniela, Grēcinieku iela and Vecpilsētas iela. None of the ten publishes an entry charge. On Friday and Saturday, Spot Kafe stays open until 05:00, and Paddy Whelan's and The Thirsty Bulldog until 02:00. Drinking in the street is illegal in Latvia, and gov.uk says the police could arrest and fine you, so finish a drink before moving on. For a group, the simplest way in is a guided bar crawl, where a local guide chooses the bars. gov.uk's travel advice for Latvia warns that some tourists have been charged high prices for drinks; it names no bars, and tells visitors to take bar recommendations from trustworthy sources.

• Sources differ: these five bars publish no hours of their own, and their Facebook pages and In Your Pocket (both seen 19 October 2026) disagree.

Prices come from the venues' own menus, seen on 19 October 2026; B Bārs's cocktail list is dated 8 April 2026 and Skyline Bar's drinks menu 10 August 2026.

Labietis is a craft brewery and taproom at Aristīda Briāna iela 9a-2, about 2 km north-east of the Old Town in a straight line. It opened on 27 August 2013 on the site of the old von Stricka brewery and pours 16 taps of its own beer, many brewed with Latvian herbs and honey. Hours: Monday to Thursday 15:00–00:00, Friday and Saturday 13:00–02:00, Sunday 13:00–00:00 (labietis.lv). Latvia's tourist board describes Briāna iela as the oldest entertainment quarter in Riga.

Closing times decide the order. This route works on a Friday or Saturday, and keeps every stop in the Old Town.

Skyline Bar, about 1 km from Dome Square at Elizabetes iela 55, also works as a first stop, with a view over the city from the 26th floor; from 21:00 on Friday and Saturday only over-18s get in.

Or hand the night to a local. On our guided bar crawl, a Riga guide picks the bars that will take a hen group that night and gets you past the door staff.

No bar on this page publishes a ban on stag or hen groups. Cuba Cafe, Rock Cafe, Kiwi Bar and Shot Cafe publish nothing about groups on a site of their own. This is what the others publish:

Drinks on this page run from €4 for a shot at Spot Kafe to €16.50 for a signature cocktail at Skyline Bar. Half a litre of draught costs €6.00 at B Bārs and €6.50 for Cilpa lager at Spot Kafe. Spot Kafe's shots cost €4 to €6 each, or €25 to €40 for a metre of them, and B Bārs's sharing pitchers cost €26 or €33.

Two extras catch groups out: Spot Kafe adds a 10% service charge for groups of five or more, and a booked table at Skyline Bar costs €50 a head up front, which is lost if the group spends less. Shot Cafe's Facebook page advertises a happy hour every day from 17:00 to 19:00.

gov.uk says: "Drinking alcohol in public, including in parks and in the streets, is illegal. The police could arrest and fine you." The legal drinking age is 18, and Spot Kafe and Skyline Bar both say they ask younger-looking guests for ID. gov.uk also says to carry a copy of your passport's photo page at all times.

gov.uk's travel advice for Latvia (updated 11 August 2026, still current on 19 October 2026) says: "Some tourists have been charged high prices for drinks or have found fraudulent transactions on their credit and debit cards." It tells visitors to make sure a card payment is completed in front of them, to be wary of being asked to re-enter a PIN, and to get recommendations for bars and clubs from trustworthy sources. It names no bars.

gov.uk also reports drink spiking in Riga and elsewhere in Latvia, and says: "Do not leave drinks unattended and be wary of accepting food and drink from strangers in bars, nightclubs and restaurants." It lists the Old Town, the Central Market and the main train and bus stations as places where bag snatching and pickpocketing are more common.

In Your Pocket's Riga nightlife page (undated) says that some strip clubs and late-night bars "are still out to scam tourists".

Nine of the ten bars are in the Old Town, no more than about 600 m apart, so a night between them is on foot. Skyline Bar is about 1 km north-east of Dome Square. For a taxi, gov.uk suggests booking a major company such as Baltic Taxi or Red Cab, or taking a registered car with yellow licence plates from a rank, and agreeing the rough fare before setting off, because some visitors have reported meters set to run fast. The only night route Rīgas satiksme lists is the N22 bus, from the city centre to the airport. On buses and trams, validate your ticket as soon as you board: gov.uk warns of on-the-spot fines.

Plan the rest of the trip with our Riga hen party ideas, or book the guided bar crawl.

Venue websites, menus and social accounts, seen 19 October 2026: spotkafe.lv (menu), skylinebar.lv (drinks menu of 10 August 2026), bbars.lv (drinks list of 31 March 2026, cocktail list of 8 April 2026, banquets page), thethirstybulldogriga.com, blackmagic.lv (2026 menu), folkklubs.lv, kiwibar.lv, labietis.lv, klubsdepo.lv, paddywhelans.choiceqr.com (online menu and weekly hours), and the Facebook pages of Rock Cafe (Latvijas 1. Rokkafejnīca), Cuba Cafe, Shot Cafe, Kiwi Bar and Folkklubs ALA Pagrabs.

Also used: gov.uk foreign travel advice for Latvia (updated 11 August 2026, seen 19 October 2026); In Your Pocket Riga (venue pages and nightlife page, undated, seen 19 October 2026); latvia.travel, "Nightlife: clubs and bars in Riga" (seen 19 October 2026); rigassatiksme.lv (seen 19 October 2026); OpenStreetMap for distances.