Tallinn, the Foodie City
Tallinn is Estonia’s capital city and is packed with some very impressive restaurants. While on a five day trip through the Baltic city, I discovered some seriously fancy, fine-dining establishments, speakeasy bars hidden inside restaurants, gourmet desserts in former Soviet trains and plenty of casual dining options in places like old factories and villas. Have a look at this map of Tallinn restaurants – every star you see is a place mentioned in this food guide.
Tallinn has an ‘Old Town’ but the coolest Tallinn restaurants are not all centralised. You’ll need public transport, an Uber or your own car to get to some of these – and trust me, the ride will be worth it. Follow me through Tallinn as I show you 15 of the best restaurants. The list is divided into two parts: fine dining and casual dining. Let’s get straight to business and start with my favourite kind of dining.
Fine Dining – 9 Tallinn Restaurants
1) NOA Restaurant
For an open-plan design with high-end meals.
CONTACT / Telephone: (+372) 5080589
E-mail: noa@noaresto.ee
Address / Ranna tee 3, Tallinn
(This is said to be THE best restaurant in Estonia.)
According to The White Guide Baltic, NOA is the best restaurant in Estonia, rating them at the Global Masters Level.
2) NOA Chef’s Hall
For an insatiable food degustation at Estonia’s best restaurant.
CONTACT / Telephone: (+372) 5080589
E-mail: noa@noaresto.ee
Address / Ranna tee 3, Tallinn
NOA Chef’s Hall, which seats 45 people, has been selected as the best Estonian restaurant several times. In 2017, it was also chosen as the best Baltic restaurant. NOA Chef’s Hall is like a restaurant in a restaurant: it is the more private and elegant part of NOA, where head chefs Tõnis Siigur and Orm Oja prepare the OMNIVORE 9 or 11-course tasting menu in an open kitchen.
3) Pegasus
For a cool Tallinn restaurant, see this retro interior with modern dining and delicious cocktails.
CONTACT / Telephone: (+372) 662 3013
E-mail: info@restoranpegasus.ee
Address / Harju tn 1, Tallinn 10146
Pegasus – Photo by Maailmanaarella 
4) Parrot Minibar
A visual sensation – modern food constructions with a hidden speakeasy bar inside this Tallinn restaurant.
CONTACT / Telephone: (+372) 433 1818
E-mail: tere@parrot.ee
ADDRESS / Vana-Posti tn 7, Tallinn
My friend Ellie who joined me on this trip to Tallinn
Photo by Anders Husa
I met the owner a few weeks after she had opened the place. As the kitchen wasn’t cooking when I whizzed past, she invited me inside for a drink and showed me the secret ‘bar’. I can’t reveal here where that is but let’s just say you’ll be surprised. Thank you to Anders Husa for these photos of the food and drinks at Parrot.
Photo by Anders Husa (Fired tuna, mango & pineapple salsa)
That’s me in the reflection
5) Peatus
Want to dine inside a former Soviet train while exploring Tallinn restaurants? Peatus lies in the heart of the creative city, Telliskivi
CONTACT / Telephone: (+372) 5887 7727
E-mail: info@peatus.eu
Address / Telliskivi tn 62, Tallinn
Some photos were taken from their website.
Lovers of trains and romantics of a bygone era will love Peatus, one of the most unique Tallinn resaurants. Parked permanently these days in the fashionable, hipster Telliskivi district (a stone’s throw from the main Balti Jaam train station), which used to serve as train depot, Peatus is a vintage railway restaurant car serving top food in the kind of place you don’t get the opportunity to eat every day. Peatus – Visit Tallinn
6) Paju Villa
Natural light filled space inside a renovated villa
CONTACT / Telephone: (+372) 507 6242
E-mail: paju@pajuvilla.ee
Address / Vabaduse Puiestee 88
7) Tuljak
Every dish is like a plate of art – presentation plus!
CONTACT / Telephone: (+372) 53022020
E-mail: tuljak@tuljak.ee
Address / Pirita tee 26e, 10127 Tallinn
8) Umami
A short drive out of the city brings you to this wonderful house with a bustling Tallinn restaurant inside and an outdoor garden area
CONTACT / Telephone: (+372) 600 1035
E-mail: info@umamiresto.ee
Address / Kadaka tee 141, Tallinn
That was our little table, in the left corner.
9) Pull Restoran
Vegans beware: this place is all about serious meat!
CONTACT / Telephone: (+372)5382 5000
E-mail:info@pull.ee
Address / Rotermanni 2 (on the corner of Hobujaama and Ahtri street) Tallinn 10111
10) Harg Restaurant and Bar
Hidden from the street, what a treat!
CONTACT / Telephone: (+372) 5382 5003
E-mail: info@harg.ee
Address / Maakri 21 (Entrance from Tornimäe street) Tallinn 10111
11) Rataskaevu 16
Local, regional and fresh. This place does zero advertising and is usually always full.
CONTACT / Telephone: (+372) 642 4025
E-mail: info@rataskaevu16.ee
Address / Rataskaevu 16, Tallinn
Photo by Inspired Citizen
Word on the street is that Rataskaevu 16 has opened a second Tallinn restaurant. I contacted them to try and get some photos and they told me they don’t have any because they don’t do advertising. If you’re interested in stopping by to check it out, it’s called Väike Rataskaevu 16 and the address is: Niguliste 6, Tallinn (+372 601 1311)
Photo by Inspired Citizen
Casual Dining
1) Tai Boh
Quirky interior, vibrant atmosphere and a great take on Asian food
CONTACT / Telephone: (+372) 6299 218
E-mail: info@taiboh.com
Address / Mere pst 1, 10111 Tallinn
2) F-Hoone
Right in the heart of Tallinn’s creative hub Telliskivi, lies this former factory restaurant – locals flock here.
CONTACT / Telephone: (+372) 5322 6855
E-mail: info@fhoone.ee
Address / Telliskivi 60A, 10412
3) Kohvik August
Right in the heart of Tallinn’s old town is this colourful cafe serving colourful food, too.
CONTACT / Telephone: (+372) 508 6022
E-mail: info@kohvikaugust.ee
Address / Väike-Karja 5, Tallinn
4) Vegan Restoran
‘I’m not even vegan’ and I loved their food. Beyond tasty and opened my mind to the flavours of veganism
CONTACT / Telephone: (+372) 6269 087
E-mail: reserve@veganrestoran.ee
Address / Rataskaevu 12
Boutique Shopping in Tallinn
While you’re at it, you might like to try Oma Asi and the Tali Estonian design shop for some very special handmade Estonian designer pieces. I brought a couple of things back home!
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- See those bags and sunglasses?
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- I bought one of each!
Still need some more convincing on Tallinn?
I still don’t know if we got lucky on the weather but to me, this city seemed very colourful with LOADS of fabulous Tallinn restaurants, bars and photo opportunities. Tallinn is seriously perfect for a long weekend. An additional plus: it’s not as expensive as what I’m used to from living in Frankfurt. I found these fine dining Tallinn restaurants to be at least 30% cheaper than what I could pay in Frankfurt.
I’ve already written one other post on Estonia – check it out:
https://kaptainkennytravel.com/2017/07/25/a-mother-nature-must-see-in-estonia-lahemaa-national-park/
Try these other blog posts from fellow friends in my Team Kaptain Kenny community:
http://www.travelingtaveners.com/hipster-tallinn/
http://aspectsofstyle.com/2017/08/23/tallinn-estonia/
https://spinthewindrose.com/two-days-in-tallinn-estonia-in-winter/
Thank You
A very big thank you to Visit Estonia who kindly provided me with their car for the weekend, as well as lodging at their media home. I was lucky to receive a voucher to one of the above mentioned Tallinn restaurants but the rest, including travel there and back, were paid for by me. It’s because of small cooperations with tourism boards that I’m able to create content which is helpful for your future trips. All opinions are most definitely and always will be my own.
If you like my work, please do support me. You can follow me here for Instagram, here for Facebook or if you want to be part of my positive travel community, you can join the Team Kaptain Kenny group on Facebook.
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