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Yummy raw in Riga

4 Posted on 05 / 01 / 2013

Finding Raw Garden was relatively easy. Once you walk in its like many simple but nicely furnished eateries. The service was very good considering its a pay up front place. Everyone spoke English and was more then happy to help me make a selection. They offered a variety raw and vegan dishes as well as drinks and deserts . Chocolate was displayed at the counter and cakes in a fridge near the back. Although they had a nice menu I took advantage of the great lunch deals. They offered hot Vegan and Raw Vegan 2 course lunch ( soup & main for 3.50 Lev which is a steal!) I came for the raw experience so I placed my order and took seat. The service was quick ( I guess not having to cook it saves some time) the soup was Gazpacho and lovely . Main was pizza with green cheese and side salad. It looked amazing and the pizza base and sauce were great but the green cheese did not do it for me and no dressing on the salad either.Don't let this put you off though. When it comes to raw food I like the simple smoothies and salads so my taste is not as refined for gormet raw . I would definitely recommend this place and I would return , if not for the pizza then for there great raw chocolate!
Updated from previous review on Wednesday May 01, 2013

Pros: Great price, Nice variety, Great service
Cons: ------------

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Great food

4 Posted on 02 / 20 / 2013

The menu is all vegan, half of it is raw. The 2 people working when I went in were very pleasant, spoke English quite well, and made some recommendations of their favorite dishes. I was happy with the whole experience--service, food, presentation, atmosphere.

If I wind up in Riga again, I'd definitely go back. Prices weren't bad, either.

Pros: All-vegan, Friendly, Lots of different options

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The best food for vegans in Riga

5 Posted on 01 / 05 / 2013

This is of course the best place for vegans in Riga because it is completely vegan and they serve lunch and dinner. The lunch special has a raw option and a hot option and includes soup and an entree. It is usually posted on twitter but only in Latvian but using Google translate one can get a rough idea. The a la carte menu is available in Latvian, English and Russian and for the lunch special, they are always happy to translate it.

I've eaten lunch and dinner here many times and tried almost everything and it has all been very good. The hot lentil stew and raw lasagna are my favorite dishes. The falafel and couscous are also good.

Usually I get the hot food option at lunch but the raw food is also very good and much better than the raw food I've tried at Alive and Cafe Gratitude in San Francsico. Even if you usually eat hot food, I recommend trying the raw food at least every once in a while.

I highly recommend it for both lunch and dinner. The environment is very beautiful and the staff are very helpful especially Ieva and Elvis. Another plus is that most of the food is organic when possible.

I also recommend it to people wanting a break from Latvian food as here, they don't serve any potatoes. Although most people including myself aren't vegetarian, we can all be vegetarian at least one day a week (although personally my meals are vegetarian much more than that) and this is a good place to go when you don't want to eat meat. Even if you usually cook at home, I recommend stopping by to buy some groceries. They're also conveniently open seven days a week.

Pros: mostly organic produce, friendly staff, healthy, delicious food

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Wonderful Raw Food Paradise

5 Posted on 09 / 24 / 2012

Impressed by the presentation, the cosy and relaxed atmosphere and the high quality and wonderful taste of the food.
Raw food is taken very seriously and I managed to appreciate it with the books and literature available in the shop, and the handy help of the staff: a truly evangelist restaurant.
But not integralist: vegetarian cooked food is also served to keep everyone happy.
A good reason to visit Riga once again.

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AMAZING!

5 Posted on 05 / 26 / 2012

I had never been to a "raw" restaurant. I usually go to normal vegetarian places or to restaurants with vegetarian options.
So, this was my first time eating "raw", and oh boy, it was great.

They had so many options, it was quite difficult for me to choose, so I asked the waitress to help me out. I ordered a pizza, that instead of traditional "dough", it was made of green nuts. It was quite delicious.

Afterwards, I ordered a sandwich to take home, made of pumpkin bread. Extremely tasty too.
I'm sure I'll go there again next weekend, I really wanna try some more of their dishes that I didn't get the chance to try!

I guess my only con was that the pizza took a little longer than I expected (I've never been to raw places before so I'm not sure about what the speed for a dish should be, but I felt it took a bit long). But after eating it, trust me, it was worth the wait!

Pros: Lots of options, Delicious food and drinks, Friendly, English speaking staff
Cons: I felt the food took a bit long

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Wheatgrass growing in the front window...

5 Posted on 01 / 20 / 2012

I highly recommend this sweet (and conscious) little eatery in Riga. The lime green decor, delicious snacks and food, and super friendly staff (that speak very good English) is all well worth your time and money. We walked in and asked to see a menu, that is when the lady behind the counter asked if we had been there before, we answered no. She continued to tell us all about the specials of the day and the breakfast items (since we were there at 10 a.m.) We were heading to Tallin on a bus and asked if we could get two veggie sandwiches on raw pumpkin bread for take-away and the lady said yes. We also got a delicious cashew coconut ball of heaven (highly recommended!) Raw Garden is well worth a stop. The meals are average sized and reasonably priced. We loved our veggie sandwiches and the pumpkin bread--amazing! Even though we are not into the raw movement, we now realize that raw can be very delicious. Definitely worth a visit!

Pros: healthy cuisine, fresh produce, friendly staff
Cons: hmmm, nothing!

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Amazing Food - eventually!

4 Posted on 01 / 06 / 2012

This is a beautifully decorated restaurant with a great choice of raw and hot vegan dishes, priced low to moderate. All food is freshly prepared and of very high quality, and portion sizes are good, but even the cooked dishes took one hour to arrive, making it less than ideal to "pop" for lunch. The staff were a little abrupt, but I hesitate to judge too much as this may be down to a language barrier.

Pros: choice, quality
Cons: service time

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gourmet experience

5 Posted on 08 / 16 / 2011

We visited Raw Garden a month or so after it's opening.

It's a very unique place for Latvia, and from what I can tell, it's not too popular with the locals, because the prices are high. However, if you go there from 11am-3pm, you can get lunch menu for 3,5LVL (generally 2,5LVL in any other place).

We ordered veggie rolls and "lasagna", but it still felt like we're eating a salad, moreover, the veggies on our plates were practically the same, thus, both dishes tasted the same. They do have lovely cashew cheeses and sauces though. I fell in love with them so much, I figured out the recipe and like to make it myself.

I've heard they have started offering vegan hot dishes as well, so you don't have to eat 'salads' all the time there :)

Overall, it was a lovely restaurant experience and I would love to go there again someday.

Pros: raw, delicious 'cheese', friendly staff