I spent three weeks in Riga in August 2026, visiting the city for the first time. I was mainly looking for a break from the Dubai heat and a chance to get some training done in cooler conditions while preparing for the Copenhagen Half Marathon.

I was hoping I'd enjoy Riga, but I didn't expect to like it quite as much as I did. Three weeks gave me plenty of time to explore the city, get into a bit of a routine and find a few places that quickly became my go-tos. I even managed to squeeze in a flying visit to Vilnius while I was there.

Most of my recommendations are food and drink related, but I've also included a couple of places I visited for some much-needed relaxation. This isn’t a definitive guide to Riga, simply the places I found myself returning to, or wishing I'd had time to visit more, and would recommend to a friend visiting the city.

Food and drink recommendations in Riga

KALVE Coffee

KALVE was one of my favourite discoveries in Riga, partly because I'd never come across the brand before. It is a Latvian specialty coffee roaster with several cafés around Riga, as well as locations in other European cities. They also roast and sell their own coffee beans, so if you like the coffee, you can take some home with you.

I would often finish my morning run at the KALVE in the Old Town and grab a flat white or cappuccino. My milk of choice was Sproud, a plant-based milk made from yellow split peas. They don't offer the usual almond, oat or soya options, but don't let that put you off. I actually thought the Sproud worked really well in coffee and, to me, tasted quite similar to almond milk.

I also tried their banana bread one morning, which came with chocolate chunks and some dried fruit. It had that perfect gooey, freshly baked texture and was exactly the sort of thing I wanted after a run.

If you're exploring Riga Old Town and want genuinely good coffee, I'd definitely stop by KALVE. It's also a good place to pick up some beans if you want to recreate the experience at home.

Address: Zigfrīda Annas Meierovica bulvāris 10, Riga, LV-1050.

Italissimo

If you're after a good Italian meal in Riga, I'd definitely recommend Italissimo. I went twice, both times for Sunday lunch with my partner, which probably tells you enough about how much we enjoyed the first visit. It's a popular restaurant, so I'd recommend booking rather than just turning up and hoping for a table.

The menu is big, with plenty of choice, and we found the service friendly and efficient on both occasions. The prices also felt very reasonable for the quality and portion sizes.

I'd particularly recommend the Parmigiana as a starter. It was delicious, and you also get warm bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar brought to the table complimentary. For mains, my partner loved the Carbonara, while I went for the truffle ragu pasta, which came with a creamy truffle-infused butter and Parmesan sauce and toasted hazelnuts. It was incredibly rich and flavourful.

I also loved that they offer non-alcoholic versions of classic Italian cocktails. I love an Aperol Spritz, but would generally rather have it alcohol-free, and theirs tasted remarkably close to the real thing.

Make sure you save some room for dessert because the Tiramisu is worth it. There were also a couple of lovely little touches throughout the meal that made the experience feel particularly generous. Between courses, they brought us a scoop of sorbet to refresh the palate, strawberry on our first visit and mango on the second. Then, when the bill arrived, we were given a complimentary non-alcoholic shot of their juice of the day.

Italissimo has also received a 2025 Travellers' Choice award from Tripadvisor, and having been twice, I can see why the reviews are so positive.

Address: Baznīcas iela 27/29, Riga, LV-1010.

Molberts saldējums ice cream

If you're visiting Riga during the warmer months, put Molberts saldējums on your list. We went several times during our three weeks because it was the perfect afternoon or evening treat after a day of exploring.

They have a great variety of ice cream flavours, made with natural ingredients, and one of the things I particularly liked was being able to see the freshly made waffle cones and biscuits being prepared by hand. Their Old Town location serves the ice cream in freshly baked waffle cones, so you get that lovely combination of cold, creamy ice cream and a crisp cone.

My favourite flavour was the cookie dough, which was genuinely the best cookie dough ice cream I've ever had. The vanilla was also excellent, so if you're not feeling adventurous, that's a very safe choice.

We kept saying we'd just have one more before leaving Riga, and I completely understand why this is the sort of place you end up returning to.

Address: Zigfrīda Annas Meierovica bulvāris 12, Riga, LV-1050.

Big Bad Bagels

For a quick and reasonably priced lunch, Big Bad Bagels is a great option. The café makes its bagels on site, boiling and baking them using a long-fermented dough, and says the process takes around 24 hours from preparing the dough to the finished bagel. The company has been making bagels in Riga since 2015.

I only went once, which I slightly regret because there were plenty of other options I wanted to try, including several vegetarian bagels.

I went for the Vegan in East, or Vegāns Austrumos, made with hummus, sun-dried tomatoes, grilled courgette and greens. It was fresh, filling and exactly what I wanted for a quick lunch.

You can also customise your bagel and add extra ingredients, which is useful if you're particularly hungry or want to make a few changes.

It can get busy at weekends, so don't be surprised if you have to wait a little during peak lunch hours.

Address: Baznīcas iela 8, Riga, LV-1010, or Audēju iela 10, Riga.

Oak'A Burgers

I'm going to have to take my partner's word for this one because I'm vegetarian and not particularly into burgers anyway. But he had Oak'A Burgers twice during our three weeks in Riga, both times as takeaway, and was very enthusiastic about them.

Oak'A describes itself as one of the first smash burger restaurants in Latvia, and according to my partner, their cheeseburger was the best "fast food" burger he'd ever had.

The burgers are big and generously portioned, and his only complaint was that he hadn't discovered the place earlier in our stay because he would happily have eaten there several more times.

So if you're a burger fan, I'd definitely put this one on your list. I'll leave the actual verdict to the person who ate two of them.

Oak'A currently has several Riga locations, including Avotu iela and Mazā Nometņu iela.

Address: Avotu iela 77, Riga, LV-1009.

Spa and wellness recommendations in Riga

Taka Spa

After three weeks of running a lot and exploring Riga, I decided I deserved a little bit of pampering, especially as Taka Spa was within walking distance of where I was staying.

I'm very glad I went.

I booked a two-hour ritual, with one hour in the spa facilities followed by an hour of facial massage. The spa area itself was lovely, with a pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room. After around 45 minutes, I was given aromatherapy scrub salts to use in the steam room, and my skin felt incredibly soft after rinsing everything off.

I deliberately went outside of the busier hours and, for the first 30 minutes, had the whole space to myself. Having a spa practically to myself was an absolute luxury and made the experience even more relaxing.

The facial massage was also excellent. It wasn't a traditional facial, but it incorporated cleansing, exfoliation and moisturising, as well as a scalp massage. The scalp massage in particular was incredibly relaxing.

I left feeling completely relaxed and, in the words I'd probably use when recommending it to a relative, very much on cloud nine.

I paid €100 for my visit, which felt very reasonable for what I got. Taka Spa's current rituals also combine water relaxation with different massage and facial treatments, and the spa confirms that water relaxation is included with its rituals.

Address: Kronvalda bulvāris 3a, Riga, LV-1010.

Park Spa

I didn't use the spa facilities at Park Spa, so I can only comment on the massage I had there, but I really enjoyed it.

It was quite different from some of the massages I've had elsewhere, incorporating Lomi-Lomi techniques alongside other techniques that I couldn't identify. It was a lovely, relaxing treatment and, at €69, I thought it offered good value.

One thing I particularly appreciated was having a shower in the massage room. It meant I could wash the massage oil off before getting dressed again rather than having to leave feeling covered in oil.

There was one thing I would have preferred to be handled differently, though. I would have liked more privacy during the treatment, with the towel kept securely covering the areas that weren't being massaged. For example, when I was asked to turn over, the therapist completely lifted the towels to adjust them, leaving me essentially just in my underwear on the table. It didn't ruin the massage, but it's something I'd have preferred to be handled more discreetly.

Overall, though, the massage itself was very good and I'd happily consider going back. Park Spa currently offers several different massage styles, including Lomi-Lomi, hot stone and lymphatic drainage treatments.

Address: Kalpaka bulvāris 9, Riga, LV-1010.

My Riga favourites at a glance

If you don't want to read the whole list, these are the places I'd personally recommend making time for:

KALVE Coffee: for excellent coffee and a good post-run banana bread
Italissimo: for a relaxed Italian lunch or dinner
Molberts saldējums: for ice cream, especially the cookie dough
Big Bad Bagels: for a quick, filling lunch
Oak'A Burgers: for a seriously good burger, according to my partner
Taka Spa: for a proper afternoon of relaxation
Park Spa: for a good-value massage

Final thoughts on my three weeks in Riga

Three weeks in Riga gave me much more time to get to know the city than the average city break, and I think that's probably why I ended up enjoying it so much.

I arrived mainly because I wanted somewhere cooler to spend August and somewhere I could continue training properly for my half marathon. I didn't have particularly high expectations beyond that. By the time I left, I was already thinking about how much I wanted to come back.

Part of that was the running. Part of it was the fact that Riga is a very easy city to explore on foot. But a big part of it was simply finding these little places that became part of my routine. KALVE after a morning run, an ice cream from Molberts on a warm afternoon, a Sunday lunch at Italissimo or a massage when I needed a break.

I also managed to fit in a 28-hour trip to Vilnius during my stay, which gave me another Baltic capital to explore and a completely different set of places to eat and a Parkrun to visit!

If you're heading to Riga, I hope this gives you a few places to add to your list. These are all places I actually visited and enjoyed, rather than a list of every highly rated restaurant in the city, which hopefully makes the recommendations a little more useful.