KALVE Coffee Baznīcas — Restaurant in Riga

New beans? Bad move. I come to KALVE Baznīcas nearly every day. Without question, one of the best coffees in Riga — or used to be.

Let’s start with the obvious: the service is painfully slow. Three baristas behind the counter, no one ahead of me, and still I wait 6–8 minutes just to place a simple order. Sometimes I’ve waited 15 minutes just for a basic coffee to go. That’s unacceptable — no matter how premium the place thinks it is.

But that’s not the reason I’m writing this review.

Yesterday, I picked up two coffees to go. We took a sip outside and immediately looked at each other: What is this? The taste was horrible — like how I imagine cat pee would smell. I walked back in and said, “Look, I come here daily, something’s off.” The barista politely offered to remake the coffee — but the second one tasted exactly the same.

Then came the explanation: “We have new beans.”

I get it — you want to innovate. But this wasn’t bold. It was bad. From a solid 5-star experience to a zero in one cup.

Please — fix this. Some experiments don’t...

We were really excited to spend a beautiful sunny day at this café. After 20 minutes of circling to find parking, we finally got a table outside and ordered espresso tonics. The barista asked us twice, “for here or to go?” — we clearly said “for here.”

Still, the drinks came out in plastic cups. At first, we thought maybe they had run out of glassware — but just a minute later, the same barista brought the exact same drink in beautiful glass cups to the table next to us.

What was that about?

The whole experience left a bad taste. And if you think this doesn’t matter — try eating a Michelin-star meal out of a plastic takeout container.

Details matter. And this time, they really...

This place lifts my mood. Besides the quality coffee they prepare also with solid plant milks, the atmosphere is super friendly. Dogs can also wander around inside and get a hug from random visitor. Baristas are meticulous and devoted to perfection in each cup. About snacks - sandwiches are decent and with some spiciness, while in pastry section there is some diversity. My favourite so far is Pastel de Nata. But only Chia pudding is the best of all. Kalve offers seasonal drinks - in this cool time I switched from usual Matcha to their chicory spice latte and I love the switch, it scares my winter blues away. See you soon! Ok, tomorrow,...