Tucked away in Riga’s emerging industrial district at Jelgavas iela 42/5, Kīce is the latest venture from Michelin-starred chef Max Cekot — and it is already turning heads. A deliberate departure from the formal tasting menu experience at his celebrated Max Cekot Kitchen, Kīce is built around a different philosophy: relaxed, shareable dining where quality never takes a back seat.

A New Chapter from a Michelin-Starred Kitchen

Max Cekot’s career reads like a culinary journey across some of the world’s great kitchens — from New York to London, including time with Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants — before returning home to Riga. Together with his wife Natalia, he founded Max Cekot Kitchen, which went on to become the first restaurant in Latvia to earn a Michelin star, a distinction it has retained for two consecutive years. With Kīce, Cekot shifts the focus entirely: no tasting menus, no formality, just exceptional food served in a space that welcomes you to linger.

The Space

The 60-seat restaurant strikes a balance between warmth and minimalism that feels immediately inviting. The interior is thoughtfully understated — clean lines, considered materials, and a calm energy that works just as well for a long midweek lunch as it does for an evening out. It is the kind of place where you settle in easily and find yourself staying longer than planned. The atmosphere is calm yet lively, equally inviting during the day or in the evening.

The Menu: 21 Dishes, No Rules

The menu at Kīce is refreshingly free of convention. Rather than the usual division into starters and mains, the kitchen presents 21 individual dishes — small, seasonal, and ever-changing — designed to be combined freely according to appetite and mood. It is an approach that encourages curiosity and sharing, and it works beautifully. The focus is firmly on product quality and seasonality, with dishes that feel precise without ever feeling overwrought. You’ll find yourself ordering more than you planned, which, here, is entirely the point.

Modern Comfort Food, Done Properly

Kīce was conceived around the idea of modern comfort food — but comfort food in the truest sense: dishes that satisfy deeply, built on good ingredients and careful technique rather than novelty. Every plate carries the quiet confidence of a kitchen that knows exactly what it is doing. Nothing is overcomplicated, nothing is wasted, and the flavours are allowed to speak for themselves. It is the kind of cooking that makes you want to come back.

Worth the Visit

Kīce arrives at an interesting moment for Riga’s dining scene — a city that has quietly become one of the most exciting places to eat in the Baltics. For those who have dined at Max Cekot Kitchen and wondered what the chef might do with a more relaxed format, Kīce is a compelling answer. And for those discovering Cekot’s cooking for the first time, this is an ideal starting point: accessible, generous, and quietly brilliant.

Whether you are a Riga local or a visitor with one free evening, Kīce deserves a place on your list.