A total of 34 Latvian restaurants have been included in the 2026 edition of the international gastronomic guide Michelin Guide, including three new entries, while the restaurants John Chef’s Hall and Max Cekot Kitchen have retained their one Michelin star, representatives of Michelin Guide announced.
Of the restaurants featured in the latest guide, 27 are located in Riga and seven in other parts of Latvia.
The Bib Gourmand awards — given to restaurants offering excellent food at a reasonable price — were retained by last year’s recipients Snatch, Shōyu, and Milda, and were joined by a new entry, SMØR Bistro, as well as H.E. Vanadziņš, which had already been listed in the guide previously.
Thus, three new restaurants have been added to the Michelin Selected Restaurants list in the latest guide — SMØR Bistro, and for the first time in the main selection, Riga restaurants The Catch and Māsa.
The following restaurants remain included in the Michelin Selected Restaurants guide: Entresol, Chef’s Corner, COD, 3 pavāri, B7, Akustika, Mo, Pavāru māja, Tauro, Kest, Lowine, Stage 22, Ferma, Barents Coctails & Seafood, Neiburgs, Tails, Zoltners, Barents, Seasons, John, Babo, Whitehouse, Riviera, Le Dome, and 36. līnija.
Meanwhile, special awards were also presented: the Opening of the Year Award went to Kaspars Barsukovs from SMØR Bistro; the Young Chef Award to Timofej Monahov from Seasons; the Service Award to Sergejs Šiporovs and the team at The Catch; and the Sommelier Award to Ivars Kalniņš from Riviera.
As reported, in October last year 31 Latvian restaurants were included in the Michelin Guide.
At that time, John Chef’s Hall received a Michelin star, while Max Cekot Kitchen retained its star.
The Michelin Green Star, an award for sustainability, was retained by the restaurant Pavāru māja.
Last year’s Michelin Selected Restaurants guide featured five new entries — B7, Babo, Lowine, Seasons, and Stage 22.
The prestigious Michelin stars are awarded to restaurants offering high-quality cuisine based on five universal criteria: the quality of ingredients, the harmony of flavours, mastery of cooking techniques, the personality of the chef as expressed in their cuisine, and, equally important, consistency — both throughout the menu and over time.
Stars are awarded for one year — the jury revisits the restaurant afterwards. Sometimes restaurants also lose their stars, notes the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA).
One Michelin star is awarded for “high-quality cooking that is worth a stop,”
two stars for “excellent cooking worth a detour,” and three stars for “exceptional cuisine worth a special journey.”
According to information from Firmas.lv, the operator of A22 Hotel and John Chef’s Hall, SIA “A22hotel”, was registered in 2018 with a share capital of 2,800 euros. The company is fully owned by Maksims Kušnarenko. In 2024, the company recorded a turnover of €1.331 million and a loss of 75,680 euros.
The operator of Max Cekot Kitchen is SIA “Max Cekot Group”, owned by Maksims Cekots (55%) and Nataļja Golubova (45%). According to Firmas.lv data, the company posted a turnover of 1.219 million euros and a profit of 104,780 euros last year. Max Cekot Group was registered in 2018 with a share capital of 2,760 euros.
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