Riga Melneis Balzams “Black magic” - is the very first place opened in Riga with their famous and well known all over the world balzamsProbably that’s why it’s usually crowded with tourists who came here in small and big groups and that’s why place is quite pricey (be aware)On the other hand that’s a very beautiful old atmosphere spot worth to see! Will help you feel touch of history, so beautifulAlso you can purchase or order balzam based cocktails and specials sweets for your taste#RigaBlackMagic#BlackMagivBalzsms#RigaBalzams

Well it certainly was an experience full of surprises- a fun tutored tasting of local drinks. Thankyou

Very good little cafe for a short rest. Love the black magic theme. Servers dress up as mid-age style people. Good coffee and specialty alcoholic beverages. Tasty chocolate and cake.

The place looks very authentic and definitely has a feeling of magic. I had a hot chocolate that was €4 and it was pretty much worth it. They feel authentic latvian alcohol so definitely dont miss out

The best place to try Black Balsam!This is a really special place where staff are in medieval dress and the history of the shop as a supposed apothecary comes to life!As we were trying balsam for the first time we got the original as well as the cream balsam. The cream was my favourite (like Baileys) but I think trying the original is a must when visiting Riga! The waiter was funny, friendly and helpful, recommending things on the menu and sharing a few stories about the shop. Really great spot to get the full experience.

Great chocolate cakes and cocktails! Not too sickly which was great, they were light and moreish. The decor was really atmospheric too.

Another incredible place in Riga. You must go there. In Black Magic there is also an old basement where there used to be a laboratory. And yes! Here Abraham Kunz invented a cure for all ailments. Here you can buy great gifts for friends and family. Candy boxes with secrets and surprises. Drink hot chocolate with delicious cakes. Wonderful!

It looks as if I have become enchanted with Black Magic.The chocolates delectable, the proprietors were both kind and helpful. The seating downstairs in the authentic 14th century lower level apothecary through a false library door with genuine books clever and fun. Visiting #BlackMagicRiga is an experience, a delightful one for sureHighly recommend.

My husband and I frequent Black Magic fairly often. After a less than satisfactory meal on Valentines Day at an Italian restaurant in old Rīga we decided to grab dessert at Black Magic. I order Black Magic cake, my husband ordered a cake with a luscious mousse filling and hot chocolate. As always, the service is excellent. The somewhat cheesy alchemist theme is quite romantic as the basement ceiling is original to the 1500s. But the chocolate is the star of the show! All of the chocolates and desserts feature a hint of Rīgas black balsam liqueur, made famous by Tzarina Catherine the Great in the 1700s. The perfectly sweet but not syrupy hot chocolate is served as a glass mug of warm milk accompanied by a wooden spoon coated in a large chunk of solid chocolate which is to be melted into the warm milk. Delicious! We even treated my mother-in-law to dessert on Womens Day March 8th.

Enjoyed our visit to black magic very much. Sampled the local liqueur in a hot blackcurrant beverage. Also sampled a few chocolate truffles which were divine! Staff were friendly enough, highly recommend a visit.

Great themed cafe/ Bar. No beer when we visited but that didnt matter. Really great staff. A few surprises to boot. Excellent experience.

Lovely staff. Very tasty cakes and drinks. Authentic interior!!! Previously pharmacy. Really....magic!

Must visit . I suggest you to wear something light in colour if you wanna take nice photos in the cafe. Its really dark inside. Good coffee and make sure you go downstairs .They sometimes close the secret entrance,so just have to ask them to get it.

I loved it. Was in dire need for cake and this place blew me away. The drinks were good but the cake and cookies were delicious. The atmosphere and staff were perfect. Staff were very friendly and helpful to a lone traveller and the decor is out of this World

Super cosy old styled cafee

Very cosy café, although a bit pricey. I love the uniforms of the personnel and the fact that they play baroque music in the loudspeakers. It all fits together to give a wonderful ambiance of a lost era.

A must for couples visiting Riga due to the cosy atmosphere and excellent hot chocolate. Friendly staff who are welcoming, take a seat at the candle lit tables and enjoy your time here. Nice chocolates also (great for taking away).

Great atmospheric little coffee shop/ chocolate shop/ bar with a hidden downstairs cellar area behind a book case. The staff are also dressed in 18th century outfits to compliment the look of the place. Great for a hot chocolate or a black Balsam?!

A good place to visit, quirky chocolates, coffee and cocktails. Ask about the magic boxes.

Very quaint and comfy bar, wide selection of truffles and various other chocolates available as well as a number of Black Balsam themed drinks which were very nice.

Very good hot chocolate. You get a glass of hot milk and a wooden spoon with a piece of chocolate at the end. You then have to stir the spoon with the chocolate in the milk to get a hot chocolate.It is a very cozy place. The style seems to be slightly old school. The staff also wears a uniform which i suppose is traditional in Latvia.

Most chocolaty place in Riga, pralines are simply amazing (try the fizzy one and be speechless) and cocktaiks/drinks are very good and for sure one of a kind experience. Very often cakes are finished but if you ask you may find some help by the servers. Spooky atmosphere, be ready for some special effects :P

Found the place by accident, a 5 star for the ambience, 3 for the service, 3 value for money however 4 for the overall experience.You will enjoy the atmosphere, also the servers are dressed in the authentic clothes, they have a good variety of cakes to choose from. An experience to remember from Latvia 🇱🇻The cake with the balsam shot (go for the current flavour thats my favourite, original if you want cough syrup).

What an experience! A beautifully warm and ornately decorated and themed bar, with tasty cocktails and chocolate truffles. Contrary to other reviews the staff was friendly and treated us foreigners well.

Special palce for those who woukd like to try Riga Black Balsam. Tastly coffee and pralines, friendy staff.

Drinks were good. Ambience is great. Service was engaging and humorous. The costumes added a nice touch without being gimmicky. Overall a very good experience. Make sure you go downstairs to see the old section.

Charming place and delicious treats. Definitely worth knowing the story behind this place.

Cute place, very touristy (great to buy little souvenirs).

Very nice place with tasty coffe and cakes where you can try traditional lativian alkohol, black balsam.

Blavk magic has a cool, slightly dark vibe. Staff were friendly and service was quick. Would recommend trying the local speciality - Riga black balsam. The truffles are great as well.

Love it! Such a beautiful and interesting café/bar, a must to visit while in Riga!

Great middle ages atmosphere caused by relevant furnishings and outfit of the service staff. Good sweet food and drinks.

Very nice place with some small magic

Friendly place where you can find large-scale of desserts and drinks. Ideal for trying the variants of Riga Black Balzam.

Icon bar in old town. Lovely atmosphere. Very great place to enjoy a cup of tea.

Great place for deserts and chocolate/balsam cocktails

Crazy expensive! 1.5€ per little bite-sized ball of joy! 2 of my 3 choices were good, not exceptional though. I wont come back at these prices.

Highly recommend to visit Black Magic 👍

Must see chocolate shop and cafe/bar. Good service. Awesome decor. Not a fan of the do it yourself hot chocolate drink (hot milk with chocolate block on a wooden spoon). The chocolates are pricey but tasty (1.5€ each).

Former apothecary/pharmacy turned into a cafe. The atmosphere is very cool, reminiscent of old times. This seems to be the place where many people try Black Balsam, though it is served all over town so dont think it is unique to this place. The chocolates they have here and delicious. For two shots of Black Balsam and two truffle chocolates we paid €8 so prices are a little high but not unreasonable. Its worth a visit, even if it feels touristy.

Nice atmosphere but missing one star because two of the cakes wasnt ready to order.

Very good chocolate and drinks

Interesting place and very good chocolate!

I was so pleased to find decent chocolate here! The same tasty level as top Belgium ones. Moreover there are many cocktails based on legendary Riga Balsam. I am very recommend to try it! The interior is impressive too. And you can find tasty souvenirs.

A bit cheesy, and overpriced. The chocolate is way better than the drinks.

It was a tremendously amazing closing of our Riga trip; tasty desserts with a traditional drink. Strong smell of chocolate in the shop and the taste was really good.We took many pictures there as its like a mysterious herbal pharmacy. Great decorations too.We bought some chocolate and bringing that home for sharing.

Lovely and mysterious!

A nice café with a big seletion of truffles and other kinds of chocolate. They have a based their menu on the Riga Black Balsam, and you can find that in most of the things they serve up. They have cocktails as well. I liked how cozy and alternative this place was. It has a real vintage feeling and the waiters are also dressed that way. Its a perfect stop for a coffee in the afternoon.

Awsome atmosphere, with very fancy i doors. They serve very good drinks with the Best color - black :)

Really nice cafe. The homemade desserts and truffles are delicious. Specialty of the house is a liquor you get in shot glasses called Riga Balsam which is made of herbs and rather strong with 45%.Prices are reasonable (especially the cakes).

Best coffee in Riga. If you like coffee and chocolate or coffee and cake then this place is for you. The decor is wonderfully done. They even have a baby high chair in the same theme! Clearly theyve put a lot of thought into this place and kept the theme consistent throughout!We sat at the back and when we were served, the waitress lit a candle at our table. Amazing.

Best place in Riga to try Balsam. A bit pricey though. But service and atmosphere makes it well worth a visit.

Nice spot for dessert, very much Disney-fied with the decor and dress. We came at 9:20 and they were already closing up (40 minutes early), so the service was poor but the chocolate was still good. The hot chocolate was unique and makes for a great gift to bring home as well.

Definitely a go. Excellent coffee, chocolate and alcohol drinks. The best theme restaurant I have ever seen.

Quirky place. Cocktails very nice.

Really magic place! All what you can imagine that contain Riga Balsam!

Lovely, cosy and chilled atmosphere, really really liked it. BUT thats about it. Hot chocolate was nice but average, my latte tasted fine but was served in a high glass cup which I was a bit disappointed about.This place apparently gets good ratings for its settings, not its drink & food (Id definitely get a better cup of coffee in a regular pub I dare to say).

Lovely place for balsam and chocolate

Lovely place. An unusual desert bar with nice and relaxing atmosphere. Rigas balsam of different kinds, a variety of cocktails and delicious truffles, ice cream, cookies and so on. One of the best places of this kind that I found in Riga.

Wonderful!

Nice Magic atmosphere

Cocktail with Riga balsam and prosecco is mind-blowing delicious!

Very cozy and beautiful place with special atmosphere! Great veriaty of sweets and local alcohol.

Love this place! Amazing atmosphere and always great attentive staff. Every time we visit Riga we come in for a coffee and sometimes cake. Basement looks even greater when you come in the evening and enjoy your food and drink surrounded by candles.

Its a very nice and cosy place!! I recommend! The staff is great and so are the food and beverage!

Definitely the place to try Black Balsam.. can recommend the Cherry flavour. Its a must with the chocs.

Great ambiance and decor. Delicious chocolates. And you can get a taste of the local « magic potion » : the Balzam.

Mystical Caffe

Chocolate overdose ♥️

Beautiful surroundings, great staff and unique drinks! Loved it

Feel the magic inside. Let yourself to dive into the atmosphere of the old times followed by a chocolate smell and balsam taste

A must try place while in Riga. An amazing selection of chocolates and desserts. We came here for a truffle making workshop and absolutely loved it. Our teacher talked us through how to make chocolate truffles and we were able to make our own. The interior is very cosy and inviting with dimmed lights.

The staff were the most rude out of all the people we encountered in Riga. The black balsam sweet treats are mediocre and the drinks are good. Lovely setting in a medieval cellar. The staff ruined the experience.

We showed up right before closing (as we just wandered in when it caught our eye), but they still served us and were not rude at all. Unfortunately, however, that meant we only had time to try the chocolates, but they were good. They also had a large selection of Balsams. The atmosphere was great, like a private library in a cellar.

Real traditional balsam. Very tasty and pleasant

Awsome place to get the taset for riga balsam and also amazing cakes !

A must place in the city. It looks like more an alchemy lab than a bar 😁You have to try the black balsam, the original recipe or cocktails and pastry made with the same.The ambience is charming... magic!

Amazing interiors, very atmospheric place. Thanks to people here for warm welcoming and service

Great place for cocktails and coffee. All containing Riga Black Balsam. Waiters are also in period dress. Very cozy place on a cold evening.

Temporarily closed, I didnt get to visit. Really disappointed.

Unfortunately while the pastry was nice, I cannot leave a positive review due to the highly incompetent and rather rude staff. I had lost an expensive camera accessory and had returned the next day, upon which the staff told me theyd found it. I was delighted. But then the staff couldnt find it any more! Can you believe it? They lost it themselves, one day after theyd found it. We returned on the next day but they still hadnt found it. One of the staff told me in a completely heartless voice that these things just happen. Well, I hope it doesnt happen to anyone else!! Learn to take care of your customers property please! You are professionals. Act like it! Very disappointing!!

Wonderful personal, great atmosphere, amazing drinks!

Must-visit when in Riga! One of a kind place which you will find only in this city.

The most terrible service and staff I have ever seen. I went there around 12:00, so when it is almost empty other than people buying chocolate to go. I sat down, waiting to get served and have a menu, while at least 3 waitresses walked pass me not saying or doing anything, just walking around and going to the back and coming back. After waiting a long time I went to the cash stand and got myself a menu, and the cashier said “I should just sit and they will come to me”.After I ordered it also took quite some time for them to cut a piece of cake and put it on a plate and serve. The cake was not fresh at all.When I went to pay I gave paper money and then wanted to give coins so that I get back mostly paper money and not hundred of little coins. The waitress just stared at the coin not saying or doing anything and just kept doing what she wanted and shrugged her shoulders.So this place doesn’t worth spending money at all, I think it gets so high rated because of the setting, but for that you can also just walk by inside.

Awesome atmosphere and style, probably a bit overpriced though. And staff is very abrupt. Otherwise, it is a great place to chill if youve got a visitor in the town.

Weird chocolate shop/cafe bar but really nice. Good cocktails made with black balzam and nice staff in a lovely old building

The best Artisanal chocolate shop in Riga, you can sit in and soak up the medieval vibe, the hot chocolate is amazing, if you visit be sure to go through the hidden passage behind the book case which leads you down stairs in to a comfortable celar where there are more seating and a special counter selling their best chocolates.All of the equipment is styled after medieval alchemyVery unique and very fun

Great place..very interesting..very good prices..excellent staff!!

Very nice and old style. Good sweets and cakes. It worth a visit

Lovely vintage chocolate and black balsam shop. Fully recommend the hot chocolate and the cakes look amazing. Pricey but worth it for the decor alone.

Cozy place with interesting history. A must see in Riga. Fantastic sweets.

Friendly staff, nice interior and same good Cocktails with the Black Balsam. Café and sweets, also really tasty!

A not to miss Riga experience. RBM offers very good coffee and chocolate, but the attraction is the style and décor. A secret passage leads you to a basement where there is additional seating. Very quirky and very fun. Some say the place is haunted, and it definitely has the supernatural vibe!

Terrible service, went to change a bottle into two smaller ones the day after I bought it. I showed a receipt and the server remembered me, we bought quite lot there the day before. I was going to pay the difference if there was any, but no dice, not helpful at all.

The detail on the interior was amazing. The atmosphere is great. Coffee was good and chocolate great as well.

Service was awful, not friendly at all. Servants just keep telling you what you need to do, or you should to do. Can not orded from the counter, didnt know that. But other peoples was ordering from the counter. (If you speak Latvian or russian you get much better service) but if you are Asian, things is not like that at all. Great products anyways here. I will recommended this place anyways, cause athmosphere.

Everyone should try the black balsam - and here is truly magical! Coffee and desserts are delicious!

Touristy but pleasant inside. Service also. Two chocolate desserts were just ok. The black balsam current tastes like cough syrup and the black balsam cream a bit like Baileys (but not as good). Not a good value.

What a gem! Nice menu and friendly staff, great menu

Nice place with wonderful decorations. Very good chocolate with good number of varieties. We liked hot chocolate.