A Steak And A Straitjacket, Please
I once had a meal in a restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia that resembled an ornate medieval monastery. Robed monks waited on the tables and a harpist played in the old choir loft.
Now I hear of something even more bizarre – a restaurant in the Latvian capital, Riga, that’s themed as a hospital.
The inside of Hospitalis, which is the brainchild of three local doctors, is white, clinical and full of medical equipment. The bar is an old pharmacy.
The meals are served in flasks and operating room dishes and brought to the table by nurses in skimpy starched uniforms, red wigs and stethoscopes around their necks. Your table could be a trolley or a gynaecological consultation bed.
For a special treat, I’m reliably informed that you can be tied up in a straitjacket and fed by a nurse/waitress.
The varied menu is a world away from the usual hospital fare, but eating at Hospitalis doesn’t come cheap by Latvian standards - an entree with appetizer and drink will set you back around 15 Lats (£19/$27). However, as someone remarked, that’s considerably less than it costs to be a ‘customer’ at a real hospital in the United States.
by Andy Moreton
Finding a luxury hotel in Riga is a painless operation – Luxique’s consultant has done all the work.
