Food festivals in Riga worth planning a trip around, by month.
Food festivals in Riga worth planning a trip around, by month.
The Riga Old Town Christmas Market runs on Doma Square from late November to early January, with 80 traders selling piparkūkas, mulled wine and smoked meats.
Focus: Latvian Christmas food, piparkūkas, mulled wine
Tip: Open daily through the run; weekends are busiest. The piparkūkas gingerbread and gluhwine stalls are the food anchors.
Spring Riga Restaurant Week runs as the expanded Riga Taste Festival, with three-course menus at €30 to €45 across participating restaurants and a bakery.
Focus: Three-course menus citywide
Tip: Book early in the run; popular Bib Gourmand rooms like Milda and Snatch fill up first. Bakery pavilion features the Vecrīga pastry.
Autumn Riga Restaurant Week runs late October to early November, the city's longest-standing food festival with three-course menus across 80+ participating.
Focus: Three-course menus citywide
Tip: Restaurants apply each year by early September; the Michelin Selected rooms book first.
Riga Food is the Baltics' largest food industry exhibition at the Kipsala International Exhibition Centre, with tastings, cooking demonstrations and a marketplace of Latvian and international producers.
Focus: Latvian and international food and beverage trade exhibition
Tip: Tickets bookable in advance on bt1.lv; the Latvian craft beer pavilion and patisserie demos are the strongest visitor draws.
The Riga Street Food Festival runs late August with international and Latvian street food vendors, craft beer, live music and family programming across two days.
Focus: International and Latvian street food
Tip: Free entry; pay-as-you-go food stalls. Best in late afternoon when the live music programme starts.
The Doma laukums piparkūkas stalls run as a focused subset of the Old Town Christmas Market, 80+ traders selling Latvian gingerbread, mulled wine and meats.
Focus: Piparkūkas, gluhwine, smoked meats
Tip: The piparkūkas stalls cluster on the Dome Square's western edge; arrive before sunset on weekends to beat the queue.