Milda — Restaurant in Riga

It is very rare to walk out of a Michelin-rated restaurant feeling like they didn’t deserve the recognition, but Milda was an exception. They advertise traditional Latvian and Lithuanian dishes with a modern twist, but honestly, nothing really stood out. The food wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t good enough to make me think it was worth the hype.

We started with the creamy porcini soup served in a bread loaf. It was decent—comfort food, for sure. A creamy mushroom soup in a cranberry sourdough bread bowl. It didn’t blow me away, but it was fine for what it was.

Then came the mains. We ordered the Lithuanian classic, Cepelinai—pan-fried potato dumplings stuffed with minced meat, served with sour cream, pancetta cracklings, and greens. It sounded great, but honestly, they played with the presentation and ended up being just fried potatoes with some cream and bacon bits. Stay with the classic as this one is Pretty underwhelming.

Next up was the €23 pork chop with potato chips, cherry tomatoes, and hazelnut sauce. The price is not terrible for a pork chop (one would thing), but I expected something a bit more special. What I got was a basic grilled pork chop with three cherry tomatoes and a couple of bland fried potatoes. It felt extremely basic for a big gourmand rated restaurant.

The service didn’t help either. Our server was cold and unwelcoming, which only added to the disappointment.

Honestly, you’re better off walking a couple of blocks to the Old Town or even heading to the city center. You can easily find much better food at reasonable prices. If you’re craving dumplings, skip Milda and head to the Riga Central Market. You’ll get tastier food at half the price, and you can try a few more dishes and experience the Riga culture while...

The food is absolute perfection - but the service I received was offensive.

20-30 minute pauses between courses (we had ordered 4 courses over 7 dishes), watching the salad sit for 12 minutes beside the salad chef as the waiters passed it and washed wine glasses while we sat without food to eat, hearing how the staff talked to walk ins, and the gossiping between each other made the experience unforgettable - for all the wrong reasons. Comparing how the waiter spoke to other costumers while not introducing himself, being short and not making any conversation, suggestions, or appearance of friendliness towards us what quite frankly an obvious disrespect. Being jovial, in English, with other costumers - also food tourists - and avoiding eye contact and conversation with us was not welcoming nor enjoyable. We skipped dessert because it was clear the waiter did not want to engage.

The dining experience was concluded with the audacity of him to asking for a tip. We did not oblige. I’ve never felt so unwelcome as a customer in a restaurant.

Back to the food -

The lamb tongue was divine - the heart carpaccio was so delicious - the porcini soup should not be missed, THE BREAD BOWL was magic - the beet soup was hearty and comforting - the goat salad was bold yet delicate and delicious and full of texture - the Milda sausage was tasty and worth an order if you like sausage - the duck breast was opulently prepared and was some of the best...

Having visited multiple restaurants from Bib gourmand in Riga, this one was the biggest disappointment. Frankly, I have no idea what is all the fuss about and how did this place get on the guide.

Service was poor, even though the restaurant was empty, only one other table was seated when we came in, we waited over 10 minutes to even get the menus. Server was very distant, and when we asked for recommendations, she just listed all the main courses on the menu.

Atmosphere was disappointing as well, by the end of our meal, the place filled up with families with screaming children. Not the restaurant’s fault, however it really didn’t help the overall experience.

The biggest disappointment was the food. We tried the grey peas with smoked bacon as a starter, this dish was just a plate of warm peas with some cubes of bacon, little dollops of sour cream and an unidentified puree. Not bad, but absolutely nothing special. For main courses we tried the traditional boiled potato balls and grated potato pancakes. The boiled potato balls were bland and mushy, lacked filling and were very thick. Potato pancakes were terribly oily, meat filling was completely unseasoned and the best part of the dish was the cubed bacon. Overall, the food was absolutely not worth the hype this restaurant is getting and left us disappointed. There are many great restaurants in Riga, unfortunately I can’t say Milda is...