Max Cekot Kitchen — Restaurant in Riga

It's warm in Riga. The tulips are blooming. 🌷 You can feel the approaching summer with your whole body. The Old Town is overcrowded with people. Bars, strip clubs, street musicians. And those bachelor (bachelorette) party bars on wheels. It seems they have disappeared in Lithuania – or am I mistaken? I never understood why there's so much shouting while pedaling that strange object. I get it, beer is intoxicating. But is it necessary to scream your lungs out because of it?

Starting off so snobbishly, I am actually heading to a quieter part of the city, away from the hustle and bustle and bachelorette parties. The number of people decreases proportionally, and you only hear Latvian (rarely Russian). We pass a trolleybus depot. I get off after it. It's my first time in this part of Riga. I probably wouldn't even think of coming here. And yet I'm drawn by a star. Not just any star. A Michelin star. Yes, yes, the one from the tire manufacturer. And the world's most famous food guide!

Here I am, standing in front of an old industrial building. Those charming, renovated brick walls. I enter. The first restaurant staff member greets me. In perfect English, they tell me about the building, answering my question that it used to be a wood and oil factory. They show how the Max Cekot Kitchen restaurant creatively adapted these spaces, and the over 100-year-old building continues its glorious life, just in a different concept. We go up a spiral staircase to the main restaurant hall. A table for two, set for just me.

I look around the space, a light industrial style. But cozy, with a Baltic, Latvian spirit. An open kitchen. Among the many waiters and kitchen staff is Max himself, the star holder. He comes to the table, greets me, and introduces the restaurant's sommelier. This time, the food will be paired with non-alcoholic drinks. Their selection is also stunning and original.

The restaurant operates like a clock. There are about 10 tables, all different sizes. The waiters and staff see everything and as soon as your water glass is about 25% full, it is promptly refilled. Instead of wine, I choose a local berry drink, and the tasting dinner begins. 11 items on the tasting menu. From starters to main courses and desserts. It's a bit pointless to describe each, as every dish is a separate flavor journey. Through Latvia, the Baltic coast, or the chef's favorite bread. Yes, bread, although it was maybe the fourth dish, when I praised it to the chef, he mentioned that it is the only dish in the restaurant that has remained unchanged to this day. And they bake it at home with the same pesto from herbs grown in their greenhouse. And for good reason, because every good chef and customer knows – a lot can be told about a restaurant by its bread. About Max Cekot Kitchen, it only confirmed that it was rightly showered with stars.

The components of the dishes range from king crab, beans, asparagus (just the start of the season!), to seaweed, mushrooms, fish, and lamb. Herbs, cucumber, and Latvian maple syrup! Modernity intertwined with local traditions, taking the best from them and presenting it with love for the kitchen and good food.

And the chef personally presents every third dish or so. When saying goodbye, he uniquely introduces handmade sweets (one is already missing because, in a moment of forgetfulness, it was eaten before pressing the photo button), and wishes me luck in the marathon. That's how it is – top class, knowing everything about your client, even if they haven't told you anything about themselves. 😊 An espresso and a short tour behind the scenes of the restaurant, from the wine cellar (a temperature-controlled room next to the restaurant hall) to the greenhouse, confectioner's space, fish and meat smokehouse (dryer), with a pinch more of the building's and restaurant's history.

That was my first real star experience. I can't wait to describe the second one...

If you love or at least are interested in a culture of high-end restaurants, you’ll definitely enjoy Max Cekot Kitchen! The experience here starts even before you enter the door, as you can see how they grow some greens just outside of the restaurant, and it already gives a hint to how thoughtful they are about the ingredients. Each dish was a reflection of some local story behind it: a story of how the menu set was inspired by some seasonal local product, or a story of local farmer who takes a challenge to grow product specially for this restaurant, or a story of local business that creates a product unusual to the market (did you know that in Latvia there is production of local maple syrup?!), or a story of a dish that is the only one which always remains in the menu. I loved the link to local they have, not only in ingredients, but also to heritage of the building, at ceramics and wood furniture too. The service is obviously well trained, but it doesn’t feel emotionless because of good sense of humor here and there. Short guided tour around the restaurant and kitchen makes experience even more welcoming, warm and cozy. Overall, in the end of the dinner I had a feeling that I just went to good spa treatment – I was taken care of so well and the experience was so relaxing and pleasant! And I would give it 5 stars, however there is one thing that I found confusing. I believe information on prices could be more transparent. The drink menu had no prices in it, as well nowhere was provided information on amount of service fee. Considering that even 3 Michelin stars restaurants have prices in their drink menu, I guess to hide these is not a common standard. And it isn’t clear why to do so – it just creates one unnecessary step for guests to ask...

Visited in Sep 2025

Max Cekot Kitchen is the first restaurant in Latvia to earn a Michelin star. Once you’ve dined here, it will be very evident why that is the case. The dining experience here from start to finish is one to cherish. From the time you enter the restaurant till the time you have your petit fours, the level of service offered by the restaurant staff is exemplary. This might have been the best dining experience of mine from a service perspective in 2025.

As far as the food is concerned, you start with the amuse bouche courses on the lower floors of the restaurant. There were 4 starter courses served here, post which I was led into the main dining hall which is on a higher floor. The main dining hall is an open kitchen concept where depending on where you’re seated, you can have a full or restricted view of the chefs in action. The courses served here take complex form in terms of preparation, ingredients and presentation. Every course was a joy to consume. Some of the courses are served by the head chef himself, which adds positively to the overall experience. There was a beetroot course which was my favorite dish of the lot due to its uniqueness. After the desserts are served, you are then led again to the bottom floor for the petit fours.

For drinks, there is a wine pairing and a non-alcoholic pairing. I went with the latter and absolutely loved my decision. The range of the non-alcoholic drinks served surprised me in a positive way.

Overall, this was a fantastic dining experience and I would strongly recommend fine dining lovers to visit this restaurant if...