Max Cekot Kitchen in Riga, Latvia: An Unforgettable Dining Experience

Posted by Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 8/25/2019

Max Cekot Kitchen in Riga, Latvia: An Unforgettable Dining Experience

A meal at Max Cekot Kitchen leaves an indelible impression. From the minute you enter the main door until you stand up from the table in conclusion of your meal, everything is well thought out, focused on you as a guest and the food as the protagonist.

Opened in September 2018 by Chef Patron Maksims Cekots at a location that one would describe as the least likely place to open a restaurant, Max Cekot Kitchen continues to prevail in providing a phenomenal gastronomic journey given to excellent quality, naturalness and creativity. His kitchen is an original representation of Baltic and Scandinavian cuisines.

The restaurant is located across the river from the old center of Riga, in a historical timber yard and warehouse facility, away from the tourist hub. There, at the end of the brick building, you can spot a blue door that leads you to a restaurant full of surprises. On the side, Maksims keeps his vegetable plots where he gathers the fresh ingredients that he uses for his plates. What he harvests on that day goes straight to the dishes he prepares for the dinners for his guests.

Max Cekot Kitchen is a restaurant that serves only 9-course seasonal tasting menus with options of Dinner Menu (€85) and Vegetarian Menu (€75). Along with the dinner, Wine Pairing (€65) or non-alcoholic Juice Pairing (€50) are available to accompany the various dishes served throughout the night. This means that à la carte is not possible and there’s no menu to show until the conclusion of the dinner. The dinner menus are based on trust on the chef and his team. Information about food intolerance and allergies are requested from the guests during the booking.

A restaurant that Maksims intends to characterize as an elegant and contemporary dining room with an open kitchen where he and his crew of chefs prepare the dishes at the moment, in front of his guests. Every single course is presented by him to the tables while the dining crew pour the wine or juice selected for each specific dish.

Every dish is deliberated from the ingredients, cooking techniques, and procedures to the final result. Maksims puts great value on the best quality of the raw materials and the overall taste. With inventive presentation and straightforward flavors, every course is an exemplary journey to his philosophy of cooking. With the propensity for originality, some dishes triumph the visual impact and palate. The flavors are well-defined in the mouth and clearly epitomize a kitchen born from genuineness and superior nature.

  The Dinner Menu:

 Green Peas, Nasturtium and Goat Cheese

 Zucchini, Cucumber and Begonia 

Tomatoes, Vervain and White Currant 

Bread and Duck Fat

 Sea Lavender, Wheatgrass and Gooseberry 

Chanterelles, New Potatoes and Beans 

Mackerel, White Asparagus and Baked Salt 

Quail, Cabbage and Beet Leaves 

Gooseberry, Mint, Currant and White Chocolate 

Petit Four 

The restaurant sits on a two-level area where the ground floor welcomes the guests with interesting works of artists, large windows, small pine trees and two spiral staircases that lead to the spacious second floor dining area and kitchen. Formerly a wood factory, the place was transformed into a sensational setting by architect Nikita Suyetin and the chef himself. The atmosphere is warm with concrete surfaces softened by wooden cladding on the ceiling. The decors, lamp shades, tables and chairs have their own story as to how the chef's ideas were able to regenerate them from recycled items. The crockery are custom made by local artisans using the traditional methods.