4 Best Restaurants in Tallinn, Estonia
Estonian cuisine includes elements found in both Scandinavian and German cuisines, and there is still a lingering Russian influence. Menus offer seasonal produce but are often heavy on wild game. Another local delicacy is eel. Restaurant bills always include 20% V.A.T. and service, so an additional tip is not expected in most cases.
Olde Hansa
In a 15th-century building in the Old Town, this welcoming and lively restaurant re-creates medieval times and cooking, with waiters in period costume, candlelit tables, and historic Eastern European recipes for such dishes as game pot and wild boar. The honey beer is claimed to be out of this world, and the old-fashioned food is always fresh and tasty.
Maiasmokk
A restoration has revived this fine Estonian restaurant's 19th-century feel. Founded in 1864, the property has been refurbished to its old, refined glory, with a menu of international café classics. Living up to its name (maiasmokk is Estonian for "sweet tooth"), the property has a bakery in the basement, providing a range of excellent cakes and other baked goods that can be enjoyed together with coffee. The adjacent marzipan room and museum displays artistic marzipan items, as well as artisans at work creating them.
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Vanaema Juures
Just as the name suggests, "Grandma's Place" is a cozy and homey spot to sample genuine Estonian favorites such as game stew, wild boar roast, or the traditional dessert kama. Filled with antiques, sepia photographs, and the sounds of the 1920s and '30s, this restaurant gets high marks for its authenticity and warmth.