Fat Pumpkin

So we went to Fat pumpkin as the other vegan restaurant choice was closed for a private event. The atmosphere of the place is okay, and it's in a good location. The food is waaaaaay overpriced as there is nothing on the menu under €6.50 ( only the sides).we ordered soup of the day, raw zucchini pasta and a superfood salad. When the food came the waiter then had decided to say that there were no ingredients for the salad, maybe tel is before you bring us over the food. The waiter ( bless him) had just started a day ago and knew nothing about the menu nor did he speak good English. When I requested what was in the dishes he just said I don't know and waited for me to make my order. Well what can I say, I had to insist for him to go and ask another member of staff more than once. Food was okay but heavy as they use a lot of vegan cream in their dishes. We decided to give the place a second chance the next day and we ordered two smoothies and two cappuccino's we paid €17!!!! What the heck? Anyway when we tried the cappuccino it had normal dairy milk. When I asked them they said it was vegan. Once again I requested they show me and tell me what kind of dairy free milk. It turns out they had used normal milk as we had suspected. I mean it's a vegan place. Anyway they remade the coffees which were disgusting and which we threw in the bin after we left. Smoothies were okay but not worth €5!!!! Go to Mitt instead, not only worth the food prices but the atmosphere and food are amazing.

Never coming back. Ever, ever. If it stays open. Additionally one the the staff members was showing attitude and as a customer I do not respect that as we weren't demanding or anything.

The food was quite delicious, nice place, but quite expensive

I've visited Fat Pumpkin for the first time at the end of 2015 when I just moved to Riga and I was pretty stoked seeing an amazing small place, family-owned, who spent a lot of attention for each client. Even though it was far from cheap I still used to go there at least once a week and even their previous waiters Jana and Matiss knew me and would know my favorites... :) Having visited Fat Pumpkin now again I somehow found that it's changed too much - the prices have increased crazily much (burger used to cost 8.50 now its 11.50) and the place has become more of a money-making machine rather than a small, friendly cafe offering good food. The good food aspect is still there - but for the price we paid (over 40 eur for 2 people!!!) I simply felt robbed.

Friendly and cosy place. The presententation of dishes was very good-looking and attractive.

Visited there twice during my stay in Riga.

Unfortunately good vegan food without enough (for example one slice of silken tofu in a portion is not enough for me) protein in it doesn't impress me much anymore. But fair to say the vegan scene in Riga seemed quite small so in that perspective this was very good.

Quite expensive for locals but the prices were modest for tourists.

Menu is excellent with plenty of options from burgers (8 to choose from) to hearty warmers like posh rosti stacks. The friendly manager is hands on with service and lovely with it. Would definitely recommend.

Visited in August 2016.
This is an updated review, since they have been some changes in the last year.

The menu has been expanded; and now includes more variety of dishes, from potato pancakes to pasta and burgers. We had the pancakes and the cauliflower tempura, and both were delicious!
And they have kept the large menu of smoothies. :)

While they are still not fully vegan, most of the menu is.
Service is still great, and the atmosphere has greatly improved in their new location.
Prices are a bit expensive for Riga; but it's still very worth it; as portions are generous.

So, I can only highly recommend it.




Updated from previous review on 2016-08-26

I was there in October (sorry for the late review!) and loved Fat Pumpkin very much.
The restaurant is small and has been warmly decorated, but it is uncluttered, with a feeling of openness and space. It is also in the town centre, easily reached by foot.
It offers a well thought, exquisitely presented and appealing menu that is delicious and breaks the (old) cliché of vegan food being tasteless and boring. It can appeal to both the budget traveller (not the cheapest but affordable) and those looking for fine dining.
The gentleman who served and the rest of the team are incredibly friendly, and they go out of their way to ensure your experience is the best that can possibly be.
I had a lovely time at Fat Pumpkin and surely will return again when I go back to Riga.

A cool restaurant in the old town of Riga with a sparkly orange decoration. A great selection of cocktails and smoothies that were delicious and it was possible to create your own.
The owner is really friendly and nice, very careful. He's really concerned by his customers.
The food was delicious and fresh but sometimes quite expensive for the quantity of food (ex. The salad...).

Tasty burgers and fresh soups. Many vegan choices. Staff will go the extra mile to explain all dishes.
Reasonable prices.
Good location for tourists in the old town.
Nothing to complain about.

Nice place right in the center of Riga. They have so many vegan options. I had the breakfast toast with avocado/vegan mayonnaise and so ever, delicious. And as desert this amazing blueberry pie with chocolate. Seriously, food orgasm. The waiter was very kind and interested, as a vegetarian himself. As gift he gave me a nice sweet raw bomb for in the plane, cause I left that afternoon.

The selection of food (and cocktails) is so good, staff are lovely and happy to explain everything. Would recommend

Risotto - amazing!
Burger - amazing!
Raw coffee cake - amazing!
Raw basil cake - amazing!
Super friendly and service minded staff, excellent selection, relaxed atmosphere. Went there twice during our weekend in Riga. Would have gone back again if there was more time.

Service was good and very affordable , though was expecting more from the food. Mushrooms a bit too greasy , pasta not very well cooked and the pesto could have been tastier . We had a good time , but the food could have been better .

The owner was really friendly and also speaks German. Our burgers were good and they had all kinds of deserts. I can only recommend this place as it is also located very centrally.

Had veggie borscht, spicy red bean burger, avocado cucumber salad. All excellent except greasy potato wedges/fries...who cares...they'll fix it. Nice ambiance, decent prices, good service. New location as of summer 2016...#11 of same street...nearby old location.

went there on our first of two days in Riga and really enjoyed it, bite the food, the atmosphere and the way the staff incl. the owner are running the place - which is why we just went again the next evening.And it was just as good again.
Thanks !

We came here twice in our two days in Riga and the food was superb at both occasions. I had a great portobello burger but the potato roasties with mushrooms were also delicious. Only the baked potatoes/fries were a disappointment: thin but not crispy at all.

Lots of interestingly different choices on the menu; they also have a great variety of fresh smoothies and delicious cakes/vegan sweets.

The staff was friendly and helpful and really seemed to care whether everything was perfect for us.

Came here with my avidly carnivorous family, and the only negative comment made about the food was that it could have used bacon. There were lots of positive comments. I had the potato pancakes with mushroom sauce and tofu. I'm not a big silken tofu fan but everything else was delectable. The plating of the food was beautiful and made the establishment feel like a fine dining place, at much lower prices. Tons of different smoothies as well as entrees, clearly marked vegan, raw, gf options, lots of desserts as well. Thoroughly enjoyed the meal, although it did take some time to come out so be prepared to wait a little while. I also had cake with a coffee custard thing going on (vegan, I'm not sure what the dish was called), which was likewise delicious. Totally recommend!

Great selection on this menu - something for everyone! It has smoothies, desserts, starters and mains. There are burgers, salads and other main dishes, all with a very nice presentation. We had the quinoa ball starters and a couple of the main dishes along with some fresh squeezed juice. It was healthy, vegan and delicious - not to mention, reasonably priced. Service is also friendly and helpful with recommendations and the atmosphere is cozy and comfortable in the restaurant and with a few tables outside as well. I wanted to go back to try dessert but ran out of time! It is in a central location within the old town and definitely a must (particularly for vegans and vegetarians) but also very suitable for meat-eaters!

Amazing food and very kind staff.

I read on the previous review the con "they don't serve tap water", but I guess they do now because we asked for it and they served it!



Updated from previous review on 2016-08-18

Really enjoyed the interesting dishes, the chef really knows what they are doing with the combinations, want to go back to try everything.

I was worried with the negative reviews, but thankfully they seem to be just around the time of the restaurant relocating. For me the experience here was fantastic.

* Waiter couldn't have been more helpful or welcoming - funny & smiling all the time
* A large menu to select from, with plenty of drink choices as well as food
* Nearly all menu options were suitable for vegans
* Some strange food combinations to try (mushrooms, garlic sauce & raspberries)
* Some fun dishes to get inspiration from (Creme Brulee from a nut-based vanilla sauce)
* I was able to even ask the chef how one sauce was made
* Not overly pricey
* A pretty good & easily accessible location in the Riga Old Town
* Food cooking exection was excellent
* Seating outside was possible & there seemed enough cosy seats inside too

My boyfriend and I ate at Fat Pumpkin during our visit in Riga.

The place is really lovely and cosy.
The staff is really friendly and caring.

They have a great choice of dishes: pastas, risottos, burgers and many other things.
They also offer a lot of different smoothies.

My boyfriend took the Fat Pumpkin veggie burger and I took the butternut squash risotto with the "strawberry milkshake" smoothie. Both dishes were delicious and the smoothie was amazing !

Still, the restaurant is quite expensive compared to other places in Riga. Therefore, I recommend this place only if you have a quite important food budget. But if it is the case, go for it, it is amazing !

After being sent to their old address by Google, we eventually found this place. It was worth the wait. The food is excellent and their smoothies are amazing. Well done guys.

First of all, the pumpkin soup is one of the best soups I've ever had. It was creamy, full of flavour and beautifully presented. The owner, a dutch guy was so friendly and funny and really made us feel welcome. Don't miss out on this place when in Riga!

I went to this restaurant last year in July and I returned this year in april. They moved in a bigger place on the same road, so the restaurant is now wide and spacious.
Unfortunately the supreme Pumpkin Soup wasn't the same I remembered, 'cause they've changed the chef. The smoothies menu is instead rich and tempting as usual.
I recommend it for a restoring break.

Great place, the food was top notch. Bit on the expensive side but it's wonderfully presented and absolutely divine. Couldn't get enough of the quinoa balls. Plus I thought that as a vegan the days of creme brulee were a distant memory so it was like Christmas trying the Pumpkin's berry version. Highly recommended no matter how full you are! The only slight downside was (it's Latvia, I know!) the service wasn't always as friendly as it could be. But do try for some of the best vegan food ever.

They have a 5 page smoothie menu & I highly recommend trying one. I had the green smoothie of the day & it was delicious.

Also highly recommend the vegan pumpkin soup & quinoa balls appetizer. If you like bland, creamy dishes with little flavor, try the tempura cauliflower with mashed potatoes entree. (Some people really do like bland dishes.)

My husband and I went to this lovely little cafe on a Sunday afternoon, and we were thrilled at the selection of vegan dishes to choose from. We had the butternut squash risotto and a burger, with raw chocolate desserts to finish off the meal. The food was really tasty and reasonably priced, and I would highly recommend a visit if you are hungry in Riga!

I adored Fat Pumpkin! I got a burger (there were loads of vegan burgers to choose from so there's something for everyone) and a starter which was delicious.

The staff were very friendly and I felt awful because I broke a glass but the waiter was super nice about it and offered me another.

It was a little expensive for Latvian standards (normal everywhere else) but it's located in Old Town so what can you expect?

We had burgers and cake. The fat pumpkin burger and the portobello burger.
The food was fantastic and the service so nice and friendly. We felt very welcome.
Burgers including potato wedges and vegan mayo were about 8-10 €, which is a very fair price.

The location is very small, so you don't feel like being in the crowded touristy areas and it feels very personal. We will definitely come back.

Many choices for vegetarians and vegans. Also gluten free options.

So delicious! and amazing service!

I took three friends here and we tried the burgers and soup, as well as sharing a dessert. We were all pleased with the our meals and enjoyed dining there. The staff was nice too. The menu is almost completely vegan too, which is great!

The place is pretty small however so I would recommend booking ahead if possible. The prices weren't so cheap either, but it wasn't too bad.

As there was no set menu or lunch deal, I chose three separate dishes: the breaded mushrooms as a starter were all right, with a nice sauce and some rocket and sprouts. I followed the waitress' recommendation for the main course, lentil stew with coconut sauce. It was neither an outstanding nor a large dish, and besides accompanied with rocket and sprouts... just like the starter!
The dessert kind of saved the day, as I found their créme brulée to be very enjoyable and beautifully presented. Maybe 15 euros would have been fair for what I got, but not some 22, which I believe was the case.. especially not when it´s unclear how much of the menu is actually organic: they do have some decorative items with the subliminal "100% organic" and the like, but who knows when it comes to the food... For instance, when they left the door half open I saw that the very lentils I had did not appear to be organic.. On top of that, the water seemed to be complimentary, but they would still charge me half a euro for it...
All in all, an unusually expensive lunch that must be prohibitive for most Latvians.

Very small, pretty expensive. Food is tasty though.

The Fat Pumpkin is a small restaurant, so it can be very useful to make a reservation in advance. The decoration is friendly retro-futuristic. Staff is kind and helpful. But the really outstanding quality is the food: very tasty and a feast for mouth, nose and eye.

I wanted to go to Fat Pumpkin on my last trips already but sadly never made it. Finally I managed and it was fantastic! The owners are lovely, the food is delicious and the place cozy and nice. I went there with three meat eaters and all of them were more than happy with the food, they just loved it so we right away booked a table to go back next week. The portions are huge, everything is freshly prepared and worth every cent. I would definitely recommend it to every one, for vegans in Riga by far the best option.

While on holiday in Riga, we had lunch here every day for 3 days! The restaurant is quite small and very cosy. Staff here are welcoming and friendly, and fluent in English.

The food is prepared and cooked to order, and well worth the wait. Breaded mushrooms with vegan garlic mayo were a massive highlight, the homemade potato wedges are delicious and the burger we had was great. I'd also recommend the pesto pasta dish which tasted so fresh and almost creamy. Smoothies are very refreshing!

Location is great if you're sightseeing - right in the old town and a minute's walk to the river. If we visit Riga again, we'll head straight to Fat Pumpkin!

I read so much about this place and probably had too high expectations. I had a burger (nothing special) and a large shake (outstanding berry smoothie) and I paid €13.50 which for Riga, and given the many other decent vegan choices, is very expensive. however, the staff cannot be faulted - very friendly and prompt service and spoke English well. the food quality, presentation and speed of preparation were great. the restaurant is very small and a bit dark in the back, has no outdoor seating.

We saw it by "accident" but we couldn't be more happier! The food is soooo delicious. We recommend the quinoa balls, the veggie burger, the wedges and the butternut squash risotto- absolutely deliciously! We come back!

A very nice place. Small but cosy, super friendly service. The food was delicous. One of the best burgers I have ever had. Highly recommended. If we come back to Riga we surely will go there once again.

I went here with a couple of carnists and they were pleasantly surprised. My sister who has a nut allergy loved the fact that the items that contained nuts were clearly marked. Food here is not cheap but very, very good. They also have a good beer. We thought the two young ladies who worked here were great. The cook came out and apologized in advance that the food would take a while which was a nice touch.

Visiting Riga for the first time and saw this on the happy cow app. It is small and cozy but had an incredible menu which is 95% vegan. The staff were delightful and very helpful too. I think we are going back tomorrow. Even my carnivore friend loved it.

A must visit when in Riga. Preferrably more than once! I would go here again and again if I had more time. The food is absolutely amazing (had the pumpkin soup and portobello mushroom burger) and the staff is very friendly!

Lovely food in a nicely pumpkincoloured and well decorated little hole-in-the-wall. Prices are moderate to high for Riga standaards. The only downside is the portion size: a main course is quite small and doesn't really fill you up.
Updated from previous review on Wednesday May 20, 2015

Fat pumpkin is a small restaurant in the Old Town of Riga, near the river Daugava. Everything in the restaurant looks like pumpkin, really orange, but super cozy.

First, I stopped there to buy a piece of vegan cake. They have various offers of vegan sweets. I had a kind of strawberry chocolate and cream cake. Super delicious. Around 5 Euro for one piece. I got it as take-away and ate it on the bench of river Daugava.
Later the day, I came back with a friend to have dinner at Fat Pumpkin. We ordered the Fat Pumpkin Burger, which was served with potato wedges and vegan mayonnaise. 8,50 Euro for this awesome menu. As a desert we tried the vegan tiramisu. My first vegan tiramisu I ever ate. And it tasted pretty much like tiramisu. But the texture was quite different.
And also the Smoothies are really worth to try. My Veryberry-Smoothie tasted very berry, indeed. (Could be a bit sweeter, in my opinion.)
Summarizing, a super place for a vegan. I will come back, when I am in Riga the next time. :)

Fantastic for a rainy day in Riga. I was sorry they were not open on Sundays, but it was worth the wait. I had the quinoa and sweet potato tower which tasted light and healthy and hours later I am still not hungry! Tomorrow I will be bringing my husband here for one of their smoothies. Our server was polite and prompt.

Wir haben sehr lecker Vegan gegessen. Der Detox Smoothie war leider nicht gut gemixt. Vitamix hätte es geschafft mit links. Die Basilikum Torte ist jede Sünde Wert. Wir kommen wieder.
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We ate delicious vegan food. The Detox Smoothie was not well mixed. Vitamix would have done it better. The basil cake is good value. We'll be back.

My wife suggested this place. We went back two nights in a row. I had the veggie burger with double wedges. Without a doubt, *the* most delicious burger ever to pass my lips. Complimentary olives were given, and my wife had bruschetta as s starter, and then pesto pasta. The 'detox' smoothie was a bit too 'hardcore' for me, but the rest of it was *divine*. My starter was the 'quinoa' balls on a bed of vegan sour cream. We can't praise this place highly enough. The owner/chef was very attentive, and came out several times to check that everything was to our satisfaction. If you're veggie/vegan and you go to Riga without visiting this restaurant, you deserve to go to jail. :)

Browsing the happy cow app today, I found a interesting new place in Riga. Situated in the old town close the river, this restaurant has a very central location for visitors and locals alike. The menu is several pages long. Instead of choosing my favorite vegetable pumpkin, I opted out for the veggie burger because that was something I never had in this town before although I come here a lot. And I was in for a nice surprise. Now Riga has joined the brotherhood of cities that can offer delicious vegan burger. With candles, a big window and comfy sofa to sit on, all around very pleasant experience.

A classy, cosy restaurant where excellent quality Vegan / Vegetarian dishes are being served. The art of making this particular cuisine sexy and of high quality is in good hands with the Chef of FAT PUMPKIN. There is also the possibility for a daily lunch menu of 2 courses - soup and a main course for Euro 7,50 from 12:00 - 16:00. As from 17:00 the restaurant is ready for a romantic setting for dinner.