restaurant review: 3 pavaru restorans in riga, latvia

3 Pavaru.

Prior to embarking on my solo trip to the Baltics, I made a few searches on the interwebs for places to eat. That research resulted in me checking out 3 Pavaru Restorans in Riga. Apparently, the restaurant was the brain child of three highly acclaimed local chefs. That could be good.... or bad. So, this is what happened.


The Scene 

I tried to walk in for dinner at 3 Pavaru on Valentine's day but was turned away for not having a reservation. So, I promptly reserved a table for the following evening, which they more than happily took.

When I arrived on my designated date and time, the room was half empty. Based on that, I assumed that many folks viewed 3 Pavaru as a romantic place. I didn't particularly think so but, hey, to each his/her own.

The Food 

The restaurant's schtick was to have a chef prepare the meals in the middle of the room. But, as I was seated at the bar overlooking the "kitchen" in the middle of the room, I learned that most of the dishes were mostly prepared in the back kitchen then brought to the middle of the room kitchen to finish the dish.

A view of the back kitchen of 3 Pavaru from the street.

The designated "visible" chef based in the kitchen in the middle of the room.

Anyway, on to the food.

• Bread - they were beautifully chewy, spongy and just slightly sweet. The chef told me they were made daily in house every morning. The chef presented the sauces by pouring them on my place mat, a-la Jackson Pollock. The sauces included strawberry, hemp seed in olive oil (so tasty and not greasy), and others I can't remember now, as well as seeds like hemp seed. The chef mentioned that her bosses were really into hemp seed at the moment.

The bread and dips.

• Spicy Fish Soup - this was really a seafood soup because it also had shrimp, mussels, salmon and tuna... and spicy chorizo. It looked like the base of the soup was cooked hours before then brought in the middle of the room to be heated up. The seafood items were cooked separately a-la minute in the middle of the room. Then, the chef poured the soup over the seafood. It was unremarkable.

Spicy fish soup.

• Grilled Monkfish - the quality of the monkfish was high but it was a tad bit overcooked and ended up being chewy. It was served with a beetroot puree, a slightly undercooked quinoa and asparagus.

Grilled monkfish.

The Service 

The host, the server and the chef were all very nice and friendly. They easily chatted with me and made dining solo a lot more conversation-filled.

The Price

At about €45, my meal was not terribly cheap or expensive. The menu also, apparently, changed daily so the price may change.

The menu changes daily.

The Verdict 

I thought the best parts of my meal were the bread and the hemp seed in olive oil. I don't know if I'm willing to pay €45 for that though.

Have do you think of 3 Pavaru's schtick of having a chef "on display"?