Local Estonian cuisine and other Tallinn County, Estonia Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant Name: Eesti Maja, Kuldne Notsu, Talu kõrts, Maiasmokk

Eesti Maja (The Estonian House): The emphasis is completely on Estonian cuisine and it's hard to imagine it being done any better. It's among the most authentic Estonian food in town. The bean soup to the verivorst to the sült hit the mark. Good lunch buffets on weekdays for 75 kroons.
Location: Lauteri 1. www.eestimaja.ee
Kuldse Notsu Kõrts (The Little Piggy Inn): Whether this is or isn’t exactly what old Estonian inns looked like may be open to question, but the food is great and atmosphare nice. A roaring fire place in the center of the main room sets the mood for the entire restaurant. There’s a grandfather clock in one corner, wagon wheels for lamps and beer mugs hanging from the ceiling. The menu includes such delicacies as boiled crayfish, the delightfully odd sounding beer soup with ice cream and sauna-smoked lamb leg. The bread is made in-house, and includes a succulent black bread laced with chunks of bacon.
Location: Dunkri 8
Talu kõrts: The interior here includes what seems to be 100-year-old cottage furniture charred in an inferno of some sort. The stress is on things Estonian, from folk-accordion music to the menu: herring, mutton in peppermint garlic sauce and roast roe deer in herb-wine.
Location: Viru street 18
Maiasmokk: The food's great and so's almost everything else, from the interior to the background music to the service. The second floor dining room, with bright-white walls and artistically covered lamp shades, has windows facing picture-book cobblestoned streets and the 13th century Holy Ghost church next door.
Location: Pikk street 16. www.maiasmokk.ee

Favorite Dish: When eating Estonian food, you will find some really odd things, such as different varieties of foods made with or from blood for example. On the other hand, there are totally 'normal' things to eat - meat, potatoes, fish, your choice depends etirely on your sense of adventure and risk :)

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Theme: Local
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Directions: All of the restaurants are situated in the Old Town, besides the Eesti Maja, which is also in the city centre, although not in the Old Town.

Restaurant Name: Golden Dragon, Jasmine, Kathmandu, Little China

Golden Dragon: A Chinese restaurant with many dishes that are down-right spectacular. Inspiring menu; from prawns in chili-bean sauce to shark fin soup; the eggrolls will make you howl with delight. The atmosphere is nothing to write home about: no windows and it can get cramped. But it’s quite suitable for a formal night out.
Location: Pikk 37, Old Town. www.goldendragon.ee
Jasmine: Nestled in an alley near the Rotermanni Hotel. This restaurant is vast and elegant; its second floor is a dark-wood balcony that overlooks the first. Chinese music plays softly and there’s a mural of a phoenix on a back wall. The cuisine here misses a certain authenticity and the lack of fresh vegetables grates slightly given the high prices. You’ll pay some 10 dollars per entree, more than justified. Takeout, too.
Location: Mere pst. 6
Kathmandu: Definately some of the best Chinese in the city, which is also reflected in the prices... The menu offers a great variety, and specialists say the food is even rather authenic-tasting. Th interior is nice and somewhat romantic.
Location: Rataskaevu 3/5
Little China: Some say the Chinese food at this restaurant, built into an old city wall, is the best Chinese in town. Prices are on the higher end.
Location: Vene street 30.


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Theme: Chinese/Dim Sum
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Directions: All of the abovementioned restaurants are conveniently situated in the Old Town area.

Restaurant Name: Cathedral, Egoist, Gloria, L'Artiste, La Bonaparte

Cathedral: The interior, which plays off a court-jester motif, is tasteful and fun-loving. The menu is thin—mostly French, and some Russian items. Most dishes are exquisite, though portions are small. Count on shelling out at least 50 dollars for a meal for two.
Location: Toomkooli 1, www.cathedral.ee
Egoist: Egoist has quickly climbed onto the list of Tallinn's top ten restaurants. It is also among the most expensive ones. There are three or four different dining areas here-including several discrete private rooms. The cuisine is rich and for true gurmans with a menu of lovely lamb and duck dishes. A meal for two, however, can easily set you back 100 dollars or more. But if you want to be treated like royalty, if you're firmly convinced you deserve it, Egoist is your place.
Location: Vene 33
Gloria: This top-class restaurant feels like a step back in time to high-society Europe of the 1930s. The beautiful and distinctive atmosphere sets just the right stage for the international cuisine—which is served by extraordinarily attentive waiters and waitresses. In line with the old Europe nostalgia here, Gloria offers before and after-dinner Cuban cigars, the famous Cohiba-brand, at 40 dollars a cigar! Thanks to the outstanding Gloria Wine Cellar, linked to the restaurant, they also have the best wine list in Tallinn. Gloria is expensive—but a major treat.
Location: Müürivahe 2. www.gloria.ee
L'Artiste: A very classy, very formal, very good restaurant in one of the city’s finest hotels! Soft jazzy music in cream-colored surroundings. Lovely meals—everything from varieties of salmon to Chateaubriand. L’Artiste probably belongs on any list of the top five restaurants in Tallinn.
Location: Liivalaia 33. . www.revalhotels.com
La Bonaparte: The menu is, naturally, exclusively French; everything they do, they do well. The bad news is the price you have to pay for the extreme pleasure of eating here. The bill will bring tears to your eyes if you’re not prepared.
Location: Pikk 45


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Theme: French
Comparison: most expensive
Prices: US$41 and up  » Currency Converter

Restaurant Name: Baieri kelder - The Bavarian Cellar

Ideal if you’re big on German cuisine. Located in a cavernous, red-bricked cellar, this restaurant has elements of a fine hofbrauhaus: heavy tables, bratwurst, soft German music and German beer on draft. Baieri Kelder will probably not be sufficient if you are looking for a place to cut loose and maybe swing from the chandeliers at midnight. This is a more relaxed, gentlemanly venue. Good sausages, sauerkraut, dumplings, and more. The main courses are so filling you can feel like you’ve just eaten a horse. (Hot tip: order half portions.) Waiters and waitresses are clad in Bavarian-style uniforms.


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Theme: German/Austrian
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: +372 6 313 994
Address: Roosikrantsi 2a
Directions: Downstairs from the Scandic Hotel St. Barbara

Restaurant Name: Vasilio

The white and light-blue interior with Greek-syle knick-knacks is comfortable, and Greek pop hits as background music adds a pleasant touch. The menu includes an array traditional Greek appetizers and somewhat less traditional main courses.


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Theme: Other
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: +372 6 443 537
Address: Vene 6

Restaurant Name: Egeri Kelder, Kapten Tenkeš

There are two main Hungarian restaurants in Tallinn:
Egeri Kelder is a nice, reasonably priced restaurant, offering a variety of foods besides Hungarian. It is located on Roosikrantsi street no 6, and is a good place for a quick meal in the Old Town.
The more popular place is Kapten (Captain) Tenkeš - an eye-catching Hungarian restaurant - rings of garlic draped with ribbons the color of Hungary’s flag hang from the ceiling, Hungarian folk and pop music in the background, assorted Hungarian decor. Hungarian wines and some imported beers. The food, while generally good, seems somewhat modified to suit delicate local palates. But the atmosphere is right if you’re looking for a Magyarish evening. The restaurant is located in the centre of the town on Pärnu road no. 30

Favorite Dish: I personally am just a big fan of Hungarian wine. And pay attention to how they serve the wine in Kapten Tenkeš if you buy the whole bottle... this is quite a little attribute they use :)

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Theme: Other
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter

Restaurant Name: Elevant, Maharaja, Tanduur

Elevant: The thing that really distinguishes Elevant from all the other Indian restaurants in Tallinn is its casualness. Here, nobody’s going to pull out a gun and shoot you if you walk in wearing jeans. The dining chairs made out of wicker are so sprawling and comfortable, they invite you to kick out your feet and slouch. The background music of choice isn’t traditional Indian, but rather ambient Indo-techno that is surprisingly soothing. While food quality is good, it’s not as good as at the neighboring Tanduur Indian restaurant (below). But the price-quality ratio is a main attraction: the bill isn’t as likely to make your hair stand on end as at Tanduur. Around 30 dollars for a full meal for two. One of the best restaurants in Tallinn in my opinion.
Location: Vene street 5.
Maharaja: It’s slid a bit since its glory days in the beginning of the 1990's, but remains a sentimental favorite of many. Personally there is something i don't quite like about the place, even though the service is good and the food OK.
Location: Raekoja plats (Town Hall Square) 13
Tanduur: Everything at this Indian-owned and operated establishment has the mark of good taste. The interior is elegant but not too stiff - the miniature lights embedded in the bamboo-lined ceiling create a sense you’re sitting under stars somewhere in the hinterlands of India. The soft Indian music and faint smell of incense add just the right touch of the exotic without giving the place the feel of a theme park. Tanduur offers everything you’d expect from a fine Indian restaurant, from mouth-watering naan to specialties like prawns in coconut sauce. The lamb is especially good; it melts in your mouth like fine chocolate. The Kashmiri pulau rice will knock your socks off.
Location: Vene 7/Apteegi 6.


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Theme: Indian
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$31-40  » Currency Converter
Directions: All of the abovementioned restaurants are in the Old Town.

Restaurant Name: Bocca, BuonGiorno, Casanova, Controvento

Bocca: The interior design, for starters, deserves the highest possible marks. Bocca is located in a 500-year-old warehouse, with high ceilings and arching pillars. This medieval shell is tastefully filled with fashionable minimalist decor: there’s a strong sense of cutting-edge New York and Nordic fashion to the place. On a recent evening, the background music ranged from ambient space music to Frank Sinatra. The food is as spectacular as Bocca’s physical surroundings. The menu recently included an excellent lamb, a tow-tapping veal carpaccio and a whole range of artistically presented house-made pastas, other dishes here include baked swordfish in chanterelle sauce and ravioli with smoked salmon in a caviar sauce. Prices aren’t cheap at Bocca—a meal for two probably costs about 40-50 dollars on average.
Location: Olevimägi 9. www.bocca.ee
BuonGiorno: A small, basement Italian restaurant—a popular hangout of local Italians. Good coffee, homey dishes. Italian dailies and magazines, even Italian TV. This homey and cozy spagettheria is a good place to watch Italian league football.
Müürivahe 17.
Casanova: Situated comfortably in the old town, this was a while ago, one of the most populat eating places in the city. Some years ago the restaurants declined considerably but has regained its higher status and now offers some really good food in a nice atmosphare. Your usual pizzas and pastas and lasagnes and stuff.
Location: Rataskaevu 3/5
Controvento: Without a doubt, this is Tallinn's best Italian restaurant. Excellent food, excellent service, excellent atmosphere. It's located off one of the quaintest alleyways in the Baltics and in one of the most tastefully renovated Medieval houses. Great stuff all the way around. Italian owner, Italian chef, imported Italian ingredients. Result: top-notch food
Location: Vene 12.


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Theme: Italian
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$41 and up  » Currency Converter
Directions: All of the abovementioned restaurants are in the Old Town, so they are close by and convenient, but also not very cheap...

Restaurant Name: Ami-Ja, Sushi Bar

Ami-Ja: The only place in Tallinn to satisfy cravings for Japanese food; Japanese-owned. Bonsai trees and private rooms. Meat cooked on open stoves on your table. Bowing, smiling Estonian waiters and waitresses are a sight to behold. They also offer takeouts and the prices are very reasonable.
Location: Narva road 36. www.amija.ee

Sushi Bar: While it is located in an office building, the interior here is still tasteful: it has the Japanese clean lines, indirect lighting and Japanese music hums in the background. The sushi is okay, but lacks authenticity; it is more Estonian sushi than Japanese. Service is on and off.
Location: Narva road 7

Favorite Dish: i personally am not a very big fan of sushi, but i have been rather pleasantly surprised in Ami-Ja.
The good thing about Tallinn Japanese restaurants is that they are quite reasonably priced, even if they lack total authenticity.

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Theme: Japanese/Sushi
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Directions: Both of the restaurants are located on the Narva road (the road passing in front of the Viru hotel).

Restaurant Name: Maikrahv, La Chataeu, Olde Hansa, Pappersack

Maikrahv: It is comfortable and medieval-styled and although the food is not all that medieval, it is still really good. They offer some great hauteish northern European food and also some traditional Estonian dishes, and something for vegetarians. This classy, professional operation is more reasonably priced than other restaurants along the Town Hall Square. There’s often live classical music on the weekends.
Location: Raekoja plats (Town Hall Square) 8. www.maikrahv.ee
La Chateau: It is located off a cobblestoned street that couldn’t be more medieval, and it’s in a dark, lovely cavernous cellar—lit almost exclusively by candlelight. But the food is expressedly not out of the Middle Ages; there are mostly non-spectacular French dishes with an Estonian touch, but still offering a spectacular experience.
Location: Lai 19.
Olde Hansa: A medieval-themed restaurant in a quintessentially medieval Hanseatic city—one of the most unique restaurants in Tallinn, or anywhere in the world! There is a feel of real authenticity here: the background music (from the 15th century or earlier), the candlelight, the heavy wooden benches draped with boar skins. Overall, the quality of the food and service is excellent. The dining experience is almost certainly unlike anything you may have experienced before. Olde Hansa is extremely popular, so reservations are recommended.
Location: Vana turg 1. www.oldehansa.com
Peppersack: my own personal favourite. Especially if the food in Olde Hansa is a bit too peculiar for your taste. The gorgeous medieval dining room is an attraction unto itself; you can sit on balconies above the main room with more privacy. There’s a fine café in an adjoining room and a grill in the cellar area. Above average food in an environment that can’t really be beat.
Location: Viru 2

Favorite Dish: The menu in Olde Hansa is the most 'medieval: it recently included Nobleman’s smoked fillet mignon, wild boar with nuts and sauerkraut, herb-juniper cheese, bear (believe it or not), and much more; there are historical explanations provided with each dish. Beverages are also true to the medieval theme and include berry schnapps and the much-heralded dark honey beer, which is served piping hot.

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Theme: Local
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Directions: Again: all of the restaurants are conveniently (and expesively) situated in the Old Town.