Dinner at Planeta Restaurant in Old Riga

Dusk had already fallen; the weather was moderately cool - pleasant for a Friday evening stroll through Old Riga. We arrived at Planeta restaurant at the agreed time. At the door we were greeted by a welcoming hostess who noted our names and checked them against the guest list. We had the choice of staying on the ground floor or taking the spiral staircase up to the second floor. We chose the latter. On the second floor too we were greeted, shown to our table graciously, and helped with our coats.

I settled onto a semi-circular sofa built into the window alcove - which both made clever use of the space and satisfied a quite childlike desire to sit on a window ledge and watch, through the glass, the cobblestones of Dome Square glowing a faint amber in the lamplight. At the round table there were also three chairs, and on the table were glasses and two large bottles of sparkling and still water. A nice touch if you are in the habit of drinking a fair amount of water throughout the day to support your metabolism and keep your body's cells hydrated.

We were then presented with the new menus, bound onto a thick wooden board and rendered in greyish, greenish-blue tones - like young bamboo leaves, like a planet's atmosphere. On offer were several tapas, various snacks, seven main courses, a wide variety of sushi, and five types of dessert. As a starter, the waiter recommended trying Edamame (boiled green soya beans with sea salt, €2.00).

Nibbling on the snacks and waiting for the main course, we took stock of the interior and the crowd. The second floor's décor invited a calm mood; the clean, pure forms and the subdued lighting encouraged unhurried enjoyment of the food. We liked the arrangement of the tables - round and rectangular - which, within what was seemingly an open, shared space, nonetheless ensured each couple or group a sense of intimacy and separation from the other guests.

Along the walls were large Japanese papyrus-style prints featuring geisha motifs, though they were sufficiently understated and blended into the overall colour palette. An interesting touch were the tube-shaped lamps resembling bamboo stems reaching down from the ceiling. A see-through partition made of coarse rope served both as an effective room divider and as decoration, without blocking the view of the space as a whole. The room was perfectly visible throughout.

The crowd here was predominantly Russian-speaking, with one foreign couple, two Latvian couples, and one Latvian-speaking person - possibly a food critic or journalist - who was constantly photographing, taking notes, and questioning the waitstaff.

From the main courses we tasted two seafood dishes. Halibut and Ebi Vogue (halibut, red prawn, edamame purée, sake, ginger sauce, €19.50) - the dish was very elegantly presented, the prawns were large and juicy, but the fish left one wishing for a more pronounced texture, and it seemed to lack seasoning.

Sake Teriyaki (salmon, teriyaki sauce, rice, spring onions, sansho pepper, €12.50) - the dish pleasantly surprised with its rich, dark sweetness, as salmon classically goes with a splash of lemon, black pepper, and Riesling acidity. Here the combination was quite interesting; the accompanying spring onions and sansho pepper added just the right understated flavour nuance.

It should be noted that main courses here are intended to be eaten solely with wooden chopsticks - the fork and knife familiar to Europeans are not offered. The dessert ordered later did, however, arrive with the customary long-handled dessert spoon and small dessert fork.

For dessert I ordered Asian Planet Sphere (chocolate sphere, hot chocolate, ginger ice cream, cashew nuts, blueberries, cocoa, €7.50) - and had hit the jackpot. The presentation was astonishing, a delight for the eyes, maintaining suspense right to the end, while the taste buds were thrilled. The waiter brought a dark-brown sphere surrounded by nuts and blueberries, then poured hot chocolate over it, and the pleasure could begin. Inside the sphere: a spiced ice cream with pieces of ginger, contrasting with the sweetness of the chocolate and the gentle softness of the nuts and berries.

Ēriks ordered Orient Macedonia (ginger ice cream, mango, strawberries, lychees, €8.50) and had expected a rich ice cream ball surrounded by fruit, but received a fruit assortment. When, on a hunch, we asked the waiter to confirm whether this was indeed what had been ordered and received an affirmative answer, we realised that the description as given can be misleading.

To dine for two in this restaurant, budget from €65 upwards. During the summer season, owing to its excellent location, a table reservation in advance should be expected - otherwise there may be no seats available on a Friday evening.

Planeta restaurant has given thought to three important criteria - attentive service (the guest feels expected and is not left unattended for a single moment), the interior and lighting to create the right atmosphere, and food presentation that resembles a miniature work of art. Flavour nuances are a very subjective matter, but those who appreciate European-Japanese cuisine will love it.