September 24, 2018 – Thefoodiefetish

The Dome Hotel’s The Dome Fish restaurant located in the old town, Riga, serves delicious fish dishes using fresh seasonal ingredients, which are prepared by chef Sergei Siporov, who was trained in Michelin-starred restaurants outside of Latvia. Most of the restaurant’s fish source comes directly from small local fisheries.

The restaurant is elegantly decorated with dark wood furniture, upholstered chairs accompanied with a seat cushion, and dark wood tables draped with a pristine white tablecloth. The warm color palette of the interior, along with soft lighting and jazz music in the background, created an atmospheric ambiance. There is a small alfresco dining area with two tables.

Aside from the A la carte menu, the restaurant offers business lunch during weekdays and dinner on the rooftop terrace from April to October. Their daily business lunch menu is available on their Facebook page.

The staff was well-mannered and attentive; they laid out the table with care and grace. When I was about to leave, the waiter who served me apologized for the poor service, which took me by surprise because I thought the service was excellent.

I decided on the 2-course business lunch for 10.50 euros. For the 3-course, it would be 13.50 euros. I had the catch of the day with pumpkin puree, bulgur nut salad, lemongrass, and lemongrass coconut sauce. For the dessert, I went for the Balsam panna cotta with berry sauce and granola.

I was served bread accompanied by a black rock creatively adorned with whipped butter. The bread was hands down one of the best I have had in a restaurant. It was fresh and tasted like sweet rye bread. The crust had a slight crunch with a firm but soft inside.

Each dish was like a piece of art, each one beautifully plated. The catch of the day was the orange trout. It looked simple but packed with sophisticated, nuanced flavors. The trout is beautifully cooked with perfectly crisp skin. The sauce was deliciously savory and sweet, but umami. The addition of chervil added a lovely minty-like taste that accentuated the flavor of the dish. The panna cotta was refreshing. The sourish berry nutty flavor (from the sauce with the granola) was an excellent accompaniment to the sweet custard.

The lunch was intensely satisfying. I got to savor an interesting and creative combination of tastes. An elegant, memorable gastronomic dining experience!

Le Dome Fish Restaurant

Website: https://www.domehotel.lv/en/restaurant

Telephone: +371 67 509 010

Opening hours：Weekdays 7:00 a.m. – 23:00 p.m. Weekends 8:00 a.m. – 23:00 p.m.

Address:

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According to the restaurant’s website, the premises were mentioned in the scripts in 1293 as the most ancient wine-vault and festival place of the Riga City Council! It is a favorite tourist spot, a lot of tourists would frequent this place to take photos. However, do not mistake this place as a tourist trap.

As I descend the candlelit stairs, a strong sense of suspense and anticipation came over me; this being my first experience in a medieval-themed restaurant, I was in awe by the décor and authenticity – vaulted ceiling, terracotta and wooden flooring, wall niches with decorative items and candles, banners, square and rectangular wooden tables, Savonarola style chairs and rustic chandeliers. It’s like being taken to another era. The whole restaurant is lit with candles only, giving you a strong sense of medieval times. The waiters wore medieval time outfits.

Each dish on the menu has a short historical story to it. The prices are slightly on the high side. I ordered the sea bass stuffed with cheese and horseradish served with a side of barley and lentils (€ 15), and a pumpkin pie (€2.70). Bread wrapped in linen was served as I waited for my food. It was quite fragrant with a hint of sweetness. The food was served on a charcoal ceramic plate. The presentation of the sea bass was simple and honestly not appealing. I would have preferred it to be a fillet instead of a whole fish. The overall flavor of the dish was bland and drab; it lacked seasoning. The pumpkin pie was decent.

My waiter was cordial, attentive, and always had a smile on his face. He would come periodically to check on me. Being in Latvia for almost two weeks, he was the friendliest and most smiley waiter I’ve encountered. He deserves a waiter-of-the-year award!

Overall, I highly recommend this place for the experience.