Where the Central Market meets the rye and the smoked sprats.
Riga eats with the Baltic on one side and the forest on the other. The five WWI zeppelin hangars of Centrāltirgus, one of Europe's largest markets, anchor the city's daily food life with smoked sprats, rye bread, grey peas with bacon, sklandrausis pies and seasonal mushrooms. Above that everyday rhythm sits a serious modern kitchen scene: JOHN Chef's Hall and Max Cekot Kitchen hold one Michelin star each in the 2026 Guide, Snatch, Shōyu, Milda and SMØR Bistro carry Bib Gourmands, and Pavāru māja outside the city holds Latvia's only Michelin Green Star. Centrs and the Art Nouveau quarter house most of the new bistros and natural-wine rooms, while Pārdaugava, Kalnciema and the once-industrial corners of the Quiet Bay keep the weekend crowd in farm markets, cellar bars and Black Balsam cocktails.
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Riga, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
The plates that define eating in Riga.
Latvia's national dish: large grey peas slow-cooked with cubes of fatty bacon, sour cream and onion, traditionally eaten with kefir and rye bread alongside.
Where: Milda, Pētergailis, LIDO Atpūtas Centrs, Folkklubs ALA Pagrabs, LIDO Vērmanītis
Where to eat Pelēki zirņi ar speķi (grey peas with bacon) in Riga →
The dense, slow-fermented dark rye loaf that anchors every Latvian table, baked from a sourdough starter and sometimes flavoured with caraway, malt and honey.
Where: Liepkalni, Big Bad Bagels, Centrāltirgus Pīrāgi Counters, LIDO Atpūtas Centrs
Small Baltic sprats, alder-smoked, often canned in oil; eaten on rye bread with onion and egg as Latvia's defining food export and street snack.
Where: Centrāltirgus Smoked Fish Pavilion, LIDO Atpūtas Centrs, Pētergailis, Folkklubs ALA Pagrabs
A small open-faced pie with a rye-dough crust filled with mashed carrot and potato, sweetened with honey and topped with caraway; a Suiti minority specialty.
Where: Centrāltirgus Pīrāgi Counters, Kalnciema Quarter Market, Liepkalni
Small crescent-shaped pastry pockets filled with diced bacon and onion, baked golden; Latvia's defining hand-held snack served at every celebration and market.
Where: Centrāltirgus Pīrāgi Counters, Liepkalni, LIDO Atpūtas Centrs, LIDO Vērmanītis
A thin pork cutlet breaded and pan-fried golden, the defining everyday Latvian counter plate served with grey peas, mashed potato or rye bread.
Where: LIDO Atpūtas Centrs, LIDO Vērmanītis, Pētergailis, Folkklubs ALA Pagrabs
A bright pink summer soup of grated beetroot, kefir, cucumber and dill, served cold with halved hard-boiled eggs and a side of boiled potatoes.
Where: LIDO Atpūtas Centrs, LIDO Vērmanītis, Pētergailis, Milda
Thin, crisp gingerbread cookies spiced with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and black pepper, baked through Advent and at the Doma laukums Christmas market.
Where: Liepkalni, Centrāltirgus Pīrāgi Counters
A dark herbal liqueur made from 24 botanicals including wormwood, valerian and gentian, sold by Latvijas Balzams since 1752 as the city's defining drink.
Where: Black Magic Bar, B Bārs, Folkklubs ALA Pagrabs, Centrāltirgus Pīrāgi Counters
Where to eat Rīgas Melnais Balzams (Riga Black Balsam) in Riga →
A sweet dessert soup made from stale Latvian dark rye bread, water, dried fruit and cinnamon, topped with whipped cream; a unique Latvian use of rye scraps.
Where: Pētergailis, LIDO Atpūtas Centrs, LIDO Vērmanītis, Milda
A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Riga.
Milda on Grēcinieku in Old Town holds a Bib Gourmand for great-value traditional Latvian and Lithuanian cooking, named for the figure atop the Freedom.
Signature: Pelēkie zirņi ar speķi (grey peas with bacon), Pelmeni (Latvian meat dumplings), Cepelinai (Lithuanian potato dumplings)
Snatch on Elizabetes in Centrs holds a Bib Gourmand three years running (2024-2026) for modern Italian pasta and small plates in a concrete-and-glass room.
Signature: Homemade pasta, Regional Italian small plates
SMØR Bistro on Krišjāņa Valdemāra in Centrs won a Bib Gourmand in the 2026 Guide for modern Nordic-French cooking under chef Kaspars Barsukovs.
Signature: Seasonal Nordic-French plates, Champagne by the glass
Pētergailis has worked the Old Town corner between St. John's and St. Peter's churches since 1978, cooking traditional Latvian dishes with mostly Latvian.
Signature: Pelēkie zirņi (grey peas), Roasted Latvian pork, Karbonāde
Riviera on Dzirnavu in Centrs cooks refined Mediterranean fine dining and earned the Michelin Sommelier Award through sommelier Ivars Kalniņš.
Signature: Mediterranean seafood, Pasta by the chef, Sommelier wine pairings
Domini Canes in Old Town between St. Peter's and St. John's churches cooks contemporary Latvian dishes with farm vegetables and wild mushrooms.
Signature: Seasonal Latvian dishes, Forest mushrooms and berries
The UNESCO-listed cobbled core between the Daugava and the canal, home to most of Riga's historic restaurants, tourist cafes and Black Balsam bars.
Best for: Old Town classics, Black Balsam, Wine bars
The Art Nouveau downtown north of the Old Town with the Vērmanes park, the design corridor on Elizabetes and the city's densest cluster of modern bistros.
Best for: Bistros, Fine dining, Cafes
The Central Market zeppelin hangars and the Russian-leaning Maskavas suburb behind it, packed with food halls, pīrāgi stalls and craft-beer taprooms.
Best for: Market food, Craft beer, Pīrāgi
The leafy quiet centre around the embassies, Vansu bridge and Kronvalda park, with seafood rooms, garden terraces and the Stockmann grand cafe.
Best for: Seafood, Garden terraces, Wine
The wooden-house left bank across the Daugava, anchored by Kalnciema Saturday market, Āgenskalna tirgus food hall and a slow weekend brunch crowd.
Best for: Saturday markets, Brunch, Cafes
A 19th-century brick courtyard mall on the edge of Centrs, home to Garage wine bar, design shops and a clutch of small-plates rooms popular for lunch.
Best for: Wine, Lunch, Small plates
Peak food season: May to September for terraces and Centrāltirgus produce, plus late November to December for the Doma laukums Christmas market with gluhwine and piparkūkas.
Local dining hours: Lunch 12:00-15:00 with widespread set menus, dinner 18:00-22:00. Many fine-dining rooms open Thursday to Saturday only.
Tipping: Service is not included by law. Round up the bill or add 5 to 10 percent for good table service, less for counters and bars.
Riga's signature dishes include Pelēki zirņi ar speķi (grey peas with bacon), Rupjmaize (Latvian dark rye bread), Šprotes (smoked Baltic sprats), Sklandrausis (rye-crust carrot pie), Pīrāgi (bacon-onion pastry pockets). See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.
TableJourney editors map Riga by district. Vecrīga (Old Town), Centrs, Centrāltirgus and Maskavas, Quiet Bay (Klusais centrs) are among the strongest for food, each with its own guide.
Editor picks in Riga include JOHN Chef's Hall, Max Cekot Kitchen, 3 Pavāru Restorāns, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.
TableJourney covers 5 editor-picked food tours in Riga, with what each shows you and how much to budget.
TableJourney's Riga dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.