Where to Eat in Liepāja?

Restaurant "Upe"

An unpretentious and tastefully furnished restaurant in the Līva hotel. In Scandinavian grey-and-white tones. It is a pleasure to be able to sit by a large window and, while enjoying food or a drink in a calm atmosphere, watch the bustle of the city, the trams passing by, and the hurrying residents of Liepāja.

Among the beers available was Lielvārde draught beer as well as other bottled beers. The menu is not extensive, but the food is tasty and elegantly served. A good spot for breakfast, lunch, or dinner alike.

At restaurant "Upe" we sampled:

Mango-glazed cod fillet with green pea purée, roasted sweet potato gratin, and quinoa - €8.50

Grilled trout fillet with savoy cabbage, lentils, and cauliflower and avocado creams - €8.90

Restaurant "Piano"

We discovered a fantastically lovely spot for dinner, with live music to boot. The pianist played a repertoire ranging from classics (Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Sinatra, and others) to contemporary pieces (Pauls, Reiniks, and others). Pleasant service. The rolls were accompanied by black salt (salt with ash) and butter with various herbs and spices. One of the rare places in Liepāja where Užava draught beer was available.

At restaurant "Piano" we sampled:

Pasta with black mussels, catfish, salmon, and tiger prawns - €11.90

Pan-fried fillet of Liepāja-farmed catfish with parsnip purée and passion fruit sauce - €15.50

Restaurant "Bel Cibo Ristorante"

During the day we stopped in at the Italian restaurant, where we were met by a rather talkative and flamboyant waiter-cum-barman all in one. After the glowing online reviews, we were somewhat disappointed by the interior, which was reminiscent of the last decade of the previous century - synthetic tablecloths, a garish orange wall colour, artificial flowers, and a loud Russian banquet at the next table.

Despite the extensive Italian wine menu, the house wine served by the glass was a Riesling - not at all associated with Italy. Moreover, Italian wines could only be ordered by the bottle; if you chose a glass, it was Riesling only (€4 a glass).

The dessert brought was quite tasty in flavour terms, but visually not particularly appealing. The coffee was aromatic with a white milk foam crown. Total bill - €18.

Café "Boulangerie"

A spot for pleasure-seekers. We arrived just as brunch-goers were briskly bustling about on the ground floor of Boulangerie café. We, meanwhile, with successfully spotted and generously sized pieces of cake (sea buckthorn and chocolate-banana) in hand, took the spiral staircase up to the third floor, where a door opened onto a little roof terrace. Slightly worn, compact, level with the neighbouring rooftops. The kind of place that involuntarily conjures the narrow but atmospheric Parisian cafés.

Nearby, church towers rose into the sky, bells rang out, and churchgoers streamed out through the doors in clusters, carrying pussy willow branches - large and small, neat and slightly straggly - in the crowd. Palm Sunday. Somewhere deep inside, a small pang of guilt crept in. Lent, after all - and here we were with our culinary indulgences.

But the mood was immediately lifted by the cheerful chirping of sparrows and their little black button eyes, keeping a watchful gaze on whether a cake crumb might fall - or when we might finally get up and leave, abandoning a sweet crumb feast on the plates.

Mmm, the café latte here is also divine. One could linger here for a long time in sweet idleness. Highly recommended. Hmm, I can't even remember how much the sweet pleasure cost - it wasn't cheap, but it is worth it.