Black garlic — Restaurant in Riga

!!Strongly recommend to AVOID!! 10% of the order price for being served at the table imposed on us after having a terrible experience and you you cannot see this anywhere being written and it is not the custom in Latvia. We had a waitress who didn't speak English very well. We told her the order 6 times. First we told her in English, she seemed to not understand much. Then we showed each order directly from the menu. After that we double checked all the order with her. So that is 3 times already. Everything seemed fine. After a wait time of about 15-20 minutes she comes back to tell that one of the foods is not available. She also confused the number of portions of veal cheeks (1) with the number of portions of lamb chops (3). After explaining about 5 times what is veal cheeks, what is lamb chops, showing from the menu, checking what she wrote on her paper. Also, after that choosing something else for the food not available, she confused catfish & salmon together and couldn't understand what was which, even though we showed her from the menu, again 2-3 times. She went away. After that It took over well over an hour. She said at one point that the lamb chops will be ready after 12 minutes, she brought them in at least 40 minutes later. The onion soup was pretty good, although salt & pepper were not enough, the veal cheeks had an amazing texture and were cooked very well, but they were lacking taste unfortunately, something was missing, so the end result was mediocre. Lamb chops were very mediocre, one was a bit too undercooked even, the texture was alright, but the taste was pretty bad because there weren't enough spices and salt & pepper were missing as well. The catfish was good, the sauce for it as well. Unfortunately our waitress got 1 of our orders wrong and instead of Salmon she brought Catfish. The waitress was lucky because the wrong food came to the most calm person in our group and we didn't make a show in the restaurant for her mistake. The dessert was good, Chocolate Fondant, Creme Brule but honestly it was too little too late to repair the night. There were also a lot of old people and they were loud talking and I think they were popping bags or something to celebrate, they were making very annoying and extremly loud noise, it was like small firecrackers blowing up. It happened like 6-7 times and it was extremely loud and noone told them to stop. And the best part is: WE WERE MADE TO PAY 10% OFF THE ORDER for being served at the table. LIKE WHAT. The waitress didnt do her job absolutely at all, couldnt wouldnt help with the wines at all "because she doesn't know", got our order wrong for about 8-9 times in total, brought the wrong main dish for 1 person, and brought everything late. I would strongly recommend avoiding if you only...

For the quality and quantity of food served at this place, the price is really good. But I must forewarn you that the serving size is quite generous.

We had the onion soup, potato pancakes, halibut, duck, garlic ice-cream and wine and just about rolled out the door cause we were so stuffed and couldn't sop ourselves from ordering the dessert thought we were full cause we were just so intrigued by the selection available. If I were to do it again, I would drop the onion soup. Not because it is no good, just that we were too full and could probably do without one dish.

This place nails simplicity, texture, doneness and flavours well. The potato pancakes were crispy on the outside and surprisingly light on the inside, paired really well with the accompaniments. The halibut was melt in the mouth and absolutely delicious with it's contrasting crunchy crust. Duck was again, done well, good bite, not so much of the heavy duck flavour and paired well with the berry sauce.

The garlic ice-cream was not as garlicky as we feared it would be - it came with dried and preserved fruits, reminding us of the flavours of a fruitcake or Christmas pudding served with a dollop of bread soup ice-cream with a hint and heat of ice-cream instead of brandied cream. The rye in it gave the dish a nice textural component.

All -in we paid under €90 for the two of us. Service was efficient. We were given excellent recommendations. The setting was pleasant. We rolled out the door happy. 😊

Btw - pet...

It's a total rip-off! My experience here was one of the worst I've ever had, and I'm warning you to avoid it at all costs. The so-called "WAGYU" steak they served me was not even close to the real deal, and I could barely even cut and chew it. The quality was so low, I suspect it was just a cheap cut of supermarket meat. The vegetables were burnt and had no flavor, making the entire dish unpalatable. Don't waste your money here! And speaking of money, the price they charged me was outrageous for the low quality of the food and service. I expect much better when I pay such a high price.

The onion soup was not even cooked properly, and it was basically just raw onions floating in the broth.

And if you think the food was bad, wait until you hear about the service. The staff was so rude and dismissive that it felt like they were doing me a favor by letting me dine there. They didn't even bother to hide their contempt for me, and I felt like an unwelcome guest at my own table. The whole experience was so terrible that I wish I could go back in time and warn myself not to go there.

In conclusion, do yourself a favor and avoid this place at all costs. Your taste buds, stomach, and wallet...