Herbārijs, kafejnīca — Restaurant in Riga

When going to Herbārijs I was really excited imagining to have a cocktail above the beautiful city of Riga. The interior design looks very nice and you can tell that much effort was put in it but the overall experience was sadly disappointing. Our plan was to have a drink and then go to a restaurant for dinner so we did not mean spending too much time at the rooftop bar. Arriving there we couldn’t decide whether we should wait to be seated or we can just occupy a table. After a few minutes of standing in the door and seeing there were just a few people inside we went to the counter and asked the bartender. He told us we could just sit down where there’s no reservation. We did so and waited there 20 minutes trying to figure out if we had to order at the counter or at the table because other people arriving after us got the menu but no one looked at us even though the staff was literally running up and down next to our table. Not wanting to be rude or too impatient we asked at the counter again whether we needed to order there or at the table but they told us it depended on how long we planned on staying because ordering at the table probably takes longer. At this point however we still had nothing to order from, we tried to find the menu on the internet and trying to make eye contact with the waiter took another 10 minutes. But when it finally happened I asked for the menu and chose on two cocktails which we decided to order at the counter since they said it was faster. One of our choices was not available so I quickly picked another. A few minutes later someone asked if we already ordered. And then another 10 minutes later the drinks arrived but one of them was not much bigger than a shot and the other had some strange textured decoration on it. They also tasted weird but honestly it could just be that we made bad decisions. We drank them quite quickly and asked for the bill which arrived surprisignly fast. For the whole experience we paid a bit more than 20€ that considering everything was really not worth it. Everyone was polite when we talked to them but we basically had to beg for any attention even though we were really patient. It took one hour to have those not too tasty and not too reasonably priced drinks regarding the size and it only resulted in us not being able to be on time for dinner and ending up all disappointed. It’s such a sad thing for this place since it has so much potential and with a little care and proper organizing, it could be a...

The place itself is nice decorated. If it is sunny, the only place to stand the heat is outside on the terasse. We were lucky that a table just got available, otherwise I would have left because it is so warm inside. They try to cool it down with a ventilator, but it just circulates the hot air around. It is a glasshouse, so probably good to grow vegetables ;) probably much nicer in winter.

We wanted give the place a shot despite the mixed reviews, so came here to order cocktails and lunch. It takes quite a while before they come and take your order. It is not clear if you should order at the bar or if someone takes your order. Food took a while to arrive too.

Menu is okay, interesting choices. Cocktails were nice, quite above average prize. My starter turned out to be a small cracker with some stuff on top (see picture). My boyfriend's starter where switched to a cheese plate without any questions asked. We commented on it and the owner was just taking our comment as a joke and said it is cheaper. Main dish was good but the chicken is a tiny portion since half of the meat is bones. Not worth the money. They are also facing a problem with wasps, so if they do not act on it, their guests will be bothered by wasps swarms while eating.

Is this the place to be here in Riga? Probably not. The clientele is a bunch of (pretentious) rich people and bachelorette parties that just come for one quick Instagram shot from the roof top. Even watched people that requested the waiter to take a picture of them to show that they can afford to come here.

Will this place survive? Probably not if they do not change a few things . If they do not work on their service and ordering times, people will not come back besides for that one Instagram shot. For me one...

Worst dinner in years. Unfriendly waitress. Horrible food. They tried to make a fancy menu but don’t know how to cook. One side dish was literally half of a cooked beetroot with four slices of dried meat, no seasoning. We waited for over 40 min for our menu, which was inedible. From us six four had plates which we couldn’t finish (and we are not picky eaters) due to bad taste. Food ranged from tasteless to simply bad, one got sick from the smell. No vegetarian mains. Drinks ok. Waitress doesn’t know how to pour wine, do not offer to taste whether wine is good, starts pouring full glass after ordering bottle instead of pouring softly. When asked to leave the bottle at the table, turned around with a scold to bring the bottle. Very rude. Ordered fish, which was ok but basically without a lot of taste. Sauce or the fish came 10 minutes later after we basically finished half of it.. This place urgently needs either a change of menu of the cooks- or both. Could be nice if you fancy a drink but I would under no circumstances recommend eating here. No questions from waiters whether we liked the food or if anything can be done. Halffull plates were collected without a word. When asking for our jackets we were pointed wordlessly towards the direction of the wardrobe, after initially they offered to guard our jackets. The rudeness, the bad food, the expensive prices left us with a bad experience and very disappointed, after paying a sum for nothing and losing an evening...