Smoked fish is the defining food of Jurmala and the wider Riga coast. Baltic sprat (brislings), smoked eel, and hot-smoked Baltic herring are all local staples, and you'll find them sold from small kiosks, at market stalls, and on restaurant menus throughout the town. The best versions are hot-smoked over alder wood and eaten the same day — the flesh is soft and intensely flavoured, very different from the vacuum-packed product sold in supermarkets.
The Sloka market and some of the smaller streets off Jomas iela are good places to find traditionally smoked fish sold by local vendors rather than tourist shops. A bag of smoked sprats with dark rye bread and a pot of mustard is a cheap and satisfying lunch that Latvians have been eating on this coast for generations.
For a more formal version, several restaurants on and near Jomas iela serve smoked fish as starters or in salads, often paired with pickled cucumbers, sour cream, and fresh dill. Pike-perch (zander) from Latvian lakes also appears on menus, usually pan-fried or baked rather than smoked.