MICHELIN Guide Latvia 2027: 35 restaurants, two with a star in Riga

Latvia’s selection is moving at the base, not at the top. Twelve restaurants join the guide, but Latvia still has just two starred restaurants, each with one star. The fourth edition of the guide was unveiled by Michelin on 5 November 2026, three days after the Michelin Guide Switzerland 2026.

Two starred restaurants, both in Riga

JOHN Chef’s Hall and Max Cekot Kitchen retain their star for 2027. They are the only two starred restaurants in the country, as in the 2026 edition. Max Cekot Kitchen occupies a former red-brick warehouse at 42 Jelgavas iela, on the edge of the city. The guide describes a creative surprise menu, with drinks served downstairs and dinner upstairs, where the chef designed everything from the furniture to the crockery. The restaurant sits in the guide’s highest price category.

Baltā Kaza and Café Mimosa, new Bibs

The Bib Gourmand recognises good-quality cooking at a moderate price. Two Riga addresses receive it as soon as they enter the guide. Baltā Kaza, in the Old Town, reworks Latvian classics in an uncluttered Nordic setting. The Inspectors singled out slow-cooked beef cheeks and a dessert of white chocolate and sour cream.

On the edge of the city, Café Mimosa serves a long brunch menu, followed at midday by a short, more restaurant-style selection. The guide mentions a beetroot broth served with lemon, sour cream and garlic, and a chicken schnitzel with mozzarella and truffle mayonnaise. H.E. Vanadziņš in Cēsis, along with Milda, SMØR Bistro, Shōyu and Snatch in Riga, keep their Bib: the guide now has seven, against five in 2026.

Ten new addresses, from Georgian to Japanese

The Main Selection brings together 26 restaurants, 10 of them new. Seven of the ten newcomers are in Riga: GŌNGU, Kice, Madame-Mei, Maijas Brasērija, Sakhli, Shichirin and Shiyuzu. Shiyuzu, a Japanese restaurant, overlooks the Andrejosta marina and the Daugava. At Shichirin, guests grill their own meat on an electric grill set in the centre of the table.

Outside the capital, the newcomers are DUNA Taproom & Kitchen, an independent brewery in Kuldīga, Faces in Jūrmala and Vistiņas Karbonādes Steiki in Baltezers. Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the MICHELIN Guide, points to cuisines ranging from Latvian and Georgian to Japanese and Vietnamese.

Four awards for service and kitchen

Dmytro Voloshyn receives the Young Chef Award. Head chef of Māsa, a Riga bistro, since 2026, he reinterprets Latvian recipes after more than a decade in kitchens across Europe. Maksims Cekots wins the Service Award for Kice, the younger sister of Max Cekot Kitchen, housed in the same warehouse.

Juris Semjonovs, of Pavāru māja in Līgatne, wins the Sommelier Award. His list is mostly natural and biodynamic wines; he also makes fruit spirits from the garden and offers a homemade non-alcoholic pairing. The Opening of the Year Award goes to Veko Tsukhishvili for Sakhli, a Georgian restaurant in Riga, from khinkali to kolio.

Ēriks Dreibants, the guide’s voice in Līgatne

In 2026 Michelin launched Mindful Voices, an editorial platform that gives a voice to chefs, hoteliers and winemakers. Ēriks Dreibants, chef at Pavāru māja, is invited to join in this inaugural year. His team forages in the surrounding woods, grows a garden and buys the rest from Līgatne’s farmers, cooking every animal nose to tail.

34 restaurants in 2026, 35 in 2027

The 2026 edition recommended 34 restaurants, 27 of them in Riga. With twelve newcomers but only one more restaurant overall, eleven addresses have left the selection. Nine restaurants are now outside the capital, from Cēsis to Liepāja, European Capital of Culture in 2027, where MO keeps its place. The guide relies on a public partnership: the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, LIAA, has extended its cooperation with Michelin from 2026 to 2028, for 380,000 euros a year.

In France, the Gault&Millau 2027 named Jérôme Banctel chef of the year.

Information verified on 12 November 2026. Sources: Michelin press release of 5 November 2026, MICHELIN Guide Latvia, Michelin review of the 2026 edition, Latvian agency LIAA.