Where to Eat in Riga, Latvia City Guide & Map of the Best Restaurants

Riga, the capital of Latvia and the largest city in the Baltics, is a cultural hub known for its striking medieval old town and art nouveau architecture. In recent years the culinary landscape of the city has shifted, with many young chefs stepping up and opening exciting new concepts. Chefs are dreaming big and aiming high, searching for high-quality ingredients, putting an emphasis on sustainability, and working together to promote Riga’s exciting and diverse culinary scene. Food is what drew us to visit Latvia, and we were impressed with what we discovered.

In this foodie map, we have gathered all our Riga favorites. You’ll find everything from fine dining restaurants to bakeries to natural wine bars to specialty coffee shops. Navigate the map easily either by scrolling through the list on the right or by clicking the points on the map. Places are listed in a geographical order.

Max Cekot and his wife, Natalia, sold everything they owned in order to create their dream restaurant, Max Cekot Kitchen. They converted an old factory on the outskirts of Riga into a breathtaking restaurant space, where they designed every detail by hand – from the tables, to the chef's counter, to the light fixtures, to the ceramics. The concept is garden-to-table, as 80% of their ingredients are grown themselves in the garden right outside the restaurant. Max takes the use of edible flowers to the next level, not just using them as decoration or flavor enhancers, but often as replacements of other ingredients like salt, pepper, sugar, or lemon. This is a fine dining restaurant worth traveling for – it’s in a league of its own in Latvia.

Who would have guessed that we’d have one of the best pizzas of our life in Latvia? Peppo’s opened in the old town in 2022, and they’ve already made quite the name for themselves in Riga’s food scene. An Italian chef taught them the style of “contemporanea” (contemporary) pizza, where the crust is bigger than the traditional Neapolitan style, really thick and fluffy. The dough is absolutely amazing here – on another level! We loved the carbonara pizza, with fior di latte, egg yolk, pecorino, guanciale, and crushed black pepper, and the truffle pizza, with fior di latte, speck, black truffle, and white truffle olive oil.

Our top recommendation for a casual dinner in Riga is to visit 3 Pavāru, the “Three Chef Restaurant.” You guessed it, there are three chefs in the kitchen here, and modern Latvian food is what’s on the menu. The dishes highlight the region’s top local ingredients, so we went à la carte to try as much as possible. Highlights included the fjord trout with zucchini and elderberry sauce, the whipped goat cheese and beetroots, the ostrich tartare, and the Latvian sirloin steak with truffle potatoes. Even the bread course is a work of art!

Barents has only been open for four years, but it has already made quite a splash in Riga’s food scene, earning itself the title of one of the city’s best restaurants. Located in the heart of the old town, Barents has a cocktail bar, an outdoor patio for sunny days, and a stunning dining room. In the main restaurant, you can order à la carte dishes or a creative tasting menu. We opted for the latter, and enjoyed a seasonal meal that emphasized the importance of sustainability and reducing waste.

We’re always on the hunt for the best ice cream, and in Riga we found it at Molberts. The name means “easel” in Latvian, because, in their words, “it's not just ice cream, it's like a work of art.” Their ice cream creations are made from the best local and all-natural ingredients, resulting in fun flavors like banana peanut butter, lemon poppyseed, pecan cinnamon, rhubarb and oat, and vanilla honey cake with passion fruit.

A stop at Kūkotava is a must for any pastry lovers in Riga. The charming café is split into two sections, one for French-inspired viennoiserie (croissants and baked goods) and another which focuses more on patisserie (cakes and sweets). We spent our time primarily on the bakery side, where we indulged in a cinnamon croissant, a classic canelé, a Pain Suisse, and, our favorite, a laminated pastry sandwich filled with ham and Gruyère, served warm. Wow! We’ve never had a pastry like that before – it was almost like a croque monsieur, but with pastry instead of bread!

A perfect day in Riga for us would always start at Kalve, a roaster with a few cafés in Riga. Kalve serves the best coffee in town, as well as delicious Nordic-inspired pastries, which they bake themselves. Our favorites were the Comte cheese twist, the lemon cardamom bun, and the coconut coffee swirl, which reminded us of a Danish “drømmekage” (dream cake). Choose from their large selection of beans if you’d like an Origami Dripper or AeroPress coffee – we sampled coffees from Peru, Brazil, and Guatemala on our visits. And be sure to try their vanilla nitro latte – it’s addicting!

Mikla, a cute bakery in Riga, now has two locations, including one in the Grand Hotel Kempinski. The cinnamon pastry is our favorite here – it’s so moist and buttery! In addition to seasonal pastries and sourdough bread, they also serve coffee from local roaster Kalve.

Lowine is an all-day restaurant, bar, and natural wine shop – and it just might be the only purely natural wine-focused bar in Riga. Their list features some of our favorite producers, including Milan Nestarec, Testalonga, and Christian Tschida. Sit in the charming back courtyard which is illuminated by string lights, and enjoy smaller snacks or maybe a “burger dog,” where a hot dog bun is filled with minced meat and caramelized onions.

Rocket Bean is a coffee shop and roastery with two locations in Riga. Choose from any of their filter coffee for a v60 or Chemex. We tried the washed Ethiopia Sidama with notes of lime, gingerbread, milk oolong tea, jasmine, and the natural Ethiopia Guji with notes of Earl Grey, apricot, lychee, cream, and toffee. They also serve espresso-based drinks, sandwiches, and pastries, and they have both indoor and outdoor seating as well as WiFi.

Snatch is a modern Italian restaurant from The Catch Family restaurant group with a trendy interior design. Pasta is a must here (it’s all made in house!) – our favorites were the pasta caramelle with fresh black truffle, and the spaghetti with red Sicilian prawns and stracciatella. They also serve Italian-inspired classics like vitello tonnato, as well as rotating seasonal specials highlighting local ingredients.

Like the name implies, Tails is a seafood-focused restaurant that specializes in dry-aged fish. Some are aged for just a few days, while others are hung for weeks in their dry-aging chamber to maximize intensity of flavor. We tried the dry-aged tuna ceviche, which had deep, rich notes. If we tasted it blind we could have guessed it was beef tartare instead of tuna! We also loved the sea scallop and prawn tartare, as well as the fish kebab, where skewers made of catfish and salmon are served alongside pita and other condiments so you can assemble your own sandwich. If you don’t want a full meal, you can also sit at the raw bar for oysters and other fresh seafood dishes. Save room for the honey cake!

Truff Le Pig is a newer addition to Riga, a super hip wine bar with a focus on natural wine and Champagne. (Gasp! Was it designed just for us?!) Sitting on the street sipping wine in the sun, it felt like we were back in Copenhagen… or perhaps in Paris. Their by-the-glass wines are presented in a charming wire basket, and their menu is full of tasty, decadent bar snacks like the beef tartare sando and the truffle dog.

If you’re in the mood for mezze, blast off to Space Falafel, where the natural wine and cocktails are flowing, and there are many small plates for sharing. You’re gonna need lots of the fluffy pita on your table, and many a dip for dunking! Both the falafel and the chicken shawarma come served on top of hummus, with a variety of sides, from green salad to eggplant to cabbage. Add on the baba ghanoush for a little smokiness, and the amba sauce for a sweet and spicy kick.

For the best sushi in Riga, visit The Catch, where the chefs source high-quality, fresh fish to craft their dishes. Start with some sashimi and nigiri (the fatty tuna is the must-order here!), continue with a crudo and a sushi roll or two, and finish with tempura. (There are also bigger bowls and dishes from the robata grill if you’re looking for something a bit heartier.) Don’t miss the bluefin tuna crudo with truffle ponzu and shiso or the hamachi crudo with yuzu ponzu – these were our favorites!

When the burger cravings hit, head to Boo the Burger for a quick fix. But this is not your typical fast food restaurant – here, you can have a glass of Champagne alongside your smash burger! All the burgers are made from freshly ground, wet-aged Latvian beef. We tried the Double Smash with cheese, onions, pickles, and secret sauce, and the Mac Daddy, with cheese, caramelized onions, bacon, and mustard. Both burgers were delicious! Don’t skip the truffle fries – they’re covered in a pile of parmesan and served with a creamy truffle mayo.

Wine bar Paisums boasts a cool atmosphere and clientele, in an industrial setting with benches in the parking lot. But don’t be fooled by the unique location, this is not just a natty wine bar for hipsters. This buzzy Riga hotspot has a wine list with something to please everyone, from clean Champagnes to funky orange wine to more serious reds. There’s a lot to choose from by the glass, and even more by the bottle. Paisums also serves simple bar snacks if you’re looking to nibble, like oysters, canned seafood, truffle almonds, and chips.

A22 is Riga’s newest design hotel, a boutique property with a sleek design and a stunning location by the Viesturdārzs park. The spacious rooms are outfitted with big closets, bath tubs and rain showers, and, most importantly, very comfortable beds. The hotel also has a gym, sauna, as well as a cocktail bar that served us some of our favorite drinks in Riga. Even if you’re not a hotel guest, swing by Jackie Bar to try one of their signature cocktails. We love the Tropical Passion (with pineapple-infused rum, apricot liqueur, lime, and passion fruit) and the Jasmine Bergamot Sour.

Riga’s top ramen shop is Shōyu, which serves authentic Japanese ramen. Their menu includes a variety of different ramens, from shio to shoyu to miso to tonkotsu. (If you’re looking to splurge, Shōyu even serves a ramen with A5 wagyu for €40!) We enjoyed the Premium Shōyu, a rich ramen with a truffle-infused chicken and dashi broth, a marinated egg, pumpkin, bamboo, scallions, and duck breast. We also liked the Karai Miso, with a chicken and dashi broth, sous vide chicken, pork belly, and spicy chili oil with crisps. They also have small dishes such as yakitori and karaage.

Another high-quality pizza spot in Riga is Street Pizza, which makes artisan Neapolitan-style pies. They import high-quality Italian ingredients and use a wood-fired oven to bake their pizza, which results in a crust with lots of leoparding (black spots). They have almost twenty varieties of pizza on their menu – we tried the pesto pizza topped with mortadella, burrata, and pistachios.