“Piens” that means “milk” in Latvian, is a locomotive venue of the hipster culture in Riga. Opened in mid 2000, it got quickly popular among twenty-something year old artists, designers, journalists, media people, musicians and other hipsters. They are all gathering together for evenings full of drinking, talking, meeting self-kinds, listening to music and dancing.
The venue that looks some loft apartment from seventies is really funky with retro interior full of hip and interesting design elements, like an old furniture, retro stereo or a map of 1930s Latvian Republic.
Cafe and a meeting place for a tea/coffee/juice during the day, it becomes a club in the evening. Make sure to come here on Wednesday, as this is when Piens is at its best – open till early morning, half price wine, and with free meals after 10pm. However, make sure to arrive here before 9pm, as it gets very busy and packed after. Plus their bouncers who begin shift around 10pm are not big fans of letting foreigners especially men in (with an excuse of “foreign stag-do boys harass and while fuelled up with alcohol start chasing Latvian girls are causing troubles”). This kind of making sense, as in the last 10 years with a help of low-cost air carriers, Riga became one of the capitals of stags, who are famous for having messy parties, so this could be one of the ways to keep Piens under control.
They are also very good at organizing concerts, exhibits, film screenings, markets or annual summer festivals (PIENSFEST) when they invite some popular and underground bands to do live performances in their courtyard.
They also have a kitchen, which is not bad at all and affordable, serving light snacks, as well as soups and main courses. All in the price range of 2-6Ls.
Piens has two large terraces in the front and in the back, where you can chill out of the noise, meet new people while having a cigarette or play also Novus in summer time. Fort sure there is a free WiFi, so feel free to drop by for a little web surfing.
Recently Piens got its own mini-velodrome, not large in size, but enough to do a bit of a training and bike testing. They also have a little shop next to it, where you can fix your two-wheeled horse or buy some spare parts. Ping them on velo@piens.nu for that.
Essentially, Piens is an absolute must to attend for all young and alternative people, especially for those who feel modern and hipsterish!
Food: 3 – 8 EUR
Drinks: 2 – 4 EUR
A. Briana 9,
Town Centre, Riga
Website: www.piens.nu
Email: info@klubspiens.lv
Twitter: www.twitter.com/klubspiens
Mon – Wed 12.00 – 24.00,
Thu – Sat 12.00 – late,
Sun: 12.00 – 24.00,