Welcome to find out what are the best restaurants in Tallinn (in my opinion)!
If you like to choose your travel destinations according to food culture and great restaurants, Estonia is probably not the first option to pop into your mind. But it should be!
Tallinn is a foodie’s heaven! It’s amazing how many incredibly high quality restaurants you can fit into such a small city. Honestly I could list almost every single restaurant I’ve visited here but I wanted to take a deeper look into each of these specific restaurants.
So, here is my Top 8 + 2 favourite restaurants in Tallinn:
Best Restaurants in Tallinn – Your Expert Guide
I’m a true foodie, so I basically eat anything (except pineapple on pizza!) So, on this best restaurants in Tallinn list you will find a good variety of places and cuisines from around the world.
You can distinguish how budget-friendly each restaurant is according to these symbols:
- € (meaning you can expect to spend between 20€ – 30€ here per person)
- €€ (around 30€ – 50€ per person)
- €€€ (from 50€ upwards)
Let’s start with the most obvious one, which stays on top of all recommendation lists year after year.
- Rataskaevu 16 (€€)
We start our best restaurants in Tallinn list with a gem! Rataskaevu translates to ‘gear well’ meaning an ancient old well with a bucket at the end of a chain or a rope.
It’s a Medieval building where the rooms are tiny and tight. There are doorways that lead nowhere, huge dents in the walls and a floor made of glass with a long drop underground in one of the bathrooms. (I gotta admit, I couldn’t step on the glass when I went to the bathroom).
I also love fairy tales and stories, and Rataskevu happens to be at the center of one of the spooky stories of Tallinn:
- the owner of the house once let a stranger hold a wedding in the upstairs room but the wedding turned out to be none other’s than the Devil himself.
But let’s talk about food! Oh lord, this place is a guaranteed treat. Fresh, local ingredients, like moose, mixed with the chefs’ amazing skill to use simple flavours and make them really special.
You will always find something for everyone here; fish, steak, vegetarian. I have enjoyed the best vegetarian meal ever in this restaurant and even my friend thought my portion was better than her steak.
Also, you cannot go to this place without taking the ultimate, most amazing, heart-melting chocolate cake for dessert! Believe me, you need it.
Unfortunately this place is not disabled-friendly. The street is made out of big cobble stones and there are dilapidated stairs to climb before you get to the front door. Inside it’s very cramped and there is no way you could fit into the bathroom with a wheelchair.
- The Kurze (€)
As much as I do love Rataskaevu, my number one for the best restaurants in Tallinn is The Kurze! This restaurant specialises in Dagestan food, which is quite similar to Georgian food. So, we’re talking:
- big dumblings filled with meat and/or vegetable mixes
- hatšapuri (which literally translates to ‘cheese’ and ‘bread’)
- great wines
- hearthy soups
- and so much more deliciousness.
Now, if you’re someone who prefers to eat healthy, this is not a place for you. Also, if you’re looking for a fancy, up-tight atmosphere to dine in, don’t even consider this. The restaurant is located in a kiosk-size hovel with just a couple tables fitting inside.
But it comes with a large yard, which is perfect for the Summer dinner experience in a laid-back atmosphere. It’s a rugged milieu that still manages to make you feel so incredicly cosy. The food and wine helps too!
The Kurze is a family-owned restaurant, and you can expect very hospitable and caring service here.
- NOP (€€)
If you prefer organic, vegetarian food, the best restaurants in Tallinn have a lot to offer. There is the Vegan Restaurant V but NOP is my favourite!
NOP is a small, wooden building in the prosperous Kadriorg district just 10 minutes from the Old Town. The park-like area itself is already worth a visit but I strongly suggest that you pop into NOP while there.
I have basically been through the entire menu in this place. They offer breakfast and a main menu, and most of their dishes are vegetarian, a lot of them also vegan. Everything there screams the words ‘fresh’ and ‘healthy’.
My ultimate favourite there is the Estonian dark bread with avocado, topped with cured salmon and poached eggs. The seafood soup is also excellent, completely different than the regular fish soups around here. The only thing I have ever been disappointed with was their chai latte.
I’m always on the hunt for the best chai latte (Urban House in Bratislava still holds the no. 1 spot) and NOP didn’t even qualify, due to too much bitterness.
- Pomo (€)
For anyone who’s ever wondered what my favourite food it: it’s PIZZA! But it has to be good pizza. And I’m picky about all things good. So, if I say that Pomo restoran is one of the best restaurants in Tallinn, you can trust that it is.
Truly authentic Italian cuisine spiced up with Italian music from old classics to today’s pop sensations. The building is a new, very modern and stylish open space right between the Old Town and Viru Keskus shopping mall.
They offer pasta and salad but I never go there for anything else but pizza. It’s really difficult to find good pizza in Tallinn, so once I found this place, why go elsewhere?
Thin base, fior di latte (which is mozzarella but better) and trade marked Italian tomato sauce (DOP): absolute bliss of an eating experience. Pomo gets 10/10 from me!
- Pull (€€)
The best restaurants in Tallinn for meat lovers offer a a lot of choice. My number 1 in this category is Pull, which specializes in big and proper steaks. You can also get duck, chicken and fish dishes here but I really recommend you go for a steak if you find yourself here.
The restaurant is situated close to the harbor in the hip-and-cool Rotermanni area. It’s interior is quite hard core; bare stone walls, thick-legged wooden tables and an open kitchen with a huge furnace.
Duck is a dish that is easy to spoil but here I was very happy with my duck dish. Also the steaks I’ve eaten here have been excellent. No need to be scared to take your steak as medium minus because the meat is really high quality and prepared with care.
I also suggest that you ask the waiters to suggest appropriate wine, I have never been disappointed.
- SPOT (€€)
This restaurant can be found at the heart of the Old Town on Vene street. This street inhabits plenty of restaurants that I could’ve listed on this best restaurants in Tallinn review, but I’ll just name a few of them here:
- Elevant (wonderful Indian place)
- Rado (menu changes daily)
- Pierre Chocolaterie (adorable French café with the best pastries!)
- Dominic (French fine dining and wine)
But now, SPOT! Located in a beautiful old stone building this restaurant offers some of the most flavoursome food you can imagine. If you’re looking for the best tartar in the city, it’s here!
Their menu includes something for everyone: fish, meat, vegetarian, etc. And their wines are excellent, ask for recommendations. Now, let’s talk a moment about service:
Those who have visited Estonia before probably know that customer service is a concept that is slowly developing in Estonia. But in the big picture they still have a very long way to go. In terms of SPOT, service has been 2/3 good.
I’ve enjoyed a fabulous dinner there on three occasions, and the first two times service was excellent. But the most recent visit was dimmed a little bit by the waiter. From the start she made us feel like she really wished we weren’t there (this is unfortunately common in Estonia).
She served the food and drinks professionally enough, but we didn’t receive even a sign of a smile once. Nobody checked on us at any point, and when we wanted more wine, we had to wait a good while to see any waiters at all.
Now, I would 100% still recommend SPOT, because their food is absolutely amazing! But just as an expert tip, be aware of the fact that service might not always be of the standard you’d expect elsewhere.
- NOA (€€€)
Next on the best restaurants in Tallinn we have NOA. NOA restaurant is located just outside of Tallinn in Viimsi. It’s right by the Baltic Sea, which guarantees the most incredible sea and sunset views.
This restaurant is on the fine dining side of things, but still casual enough. It is a beautiful 70’s inspired one-floor building with a terrace and a most gorgeous view of the Tallinn coast line with the Sun setting into the Baltic Sea.
The furnishing is very airy and quite Scandinavian with a lot of pastel-coloured pillows. Their menu consists of very Estonian flavours, like elk, fish and vegetables, with some hints of Italy.
This is not a cheap option, like most of Tallinn’s best restaurants are, but the quality of food and your surroundings make the visit here completely worth every cent.
It is a tradition that people visiting the restaurant take selfies and group photos outside on the beach patio, no matter what the weather is like. But who can blame them with a view like that!
I call it a tradition because the two times I’ve been there pretty much every single guest went outside for a little photo shoot at some point. Us included.
- Estonian Burger Factory (€)
Everybody loves burgers, right!? And it wouldn’t be a list of the best restaurants in Tallinn if it didn’t include a good burger place! So, here you are: Estonian Burger Factory right behind the corner from the D terminal in the harbour is the place to be.
It’s a budget-friendly option in a busy area, which makes it the perfect spot for people watching. Although, I have to warn you, if you don’t find drunken shenanigans amusing at all, perhaps visit this place before any cruise ships float in.
Their burgers are big, noisy, chunky, juicy and oh, so delicious! The spicy burger really did have some zing to it without being so spicy that your palate would go completely numb.
Combine your burger with a refreshing local beer or cider and Bob’s your uncle.
BONUS: Lunch cafés x 2
For those who are looking for just a quick snack, or aren’t that hungry, I have to mention these two! These are both literally behind the corner from one another, but still very different, and both 100% worth a visit.
- Levier (€)
Located in the super stylish Rotermanni quartal Levier is a chic café that’s perfect for remote work. They offer breakfast and lunch with an array of pastries and speciality coffees.
This is definitely a place for those who prefer fresh and healthy food. I can personally recommend their avocado sandwich and chai latte.
- Røst (€)
A Scandinavian style coffee bar and a bakery. This is my absolute favourite café here, so of course I had to include it on my best restaurants in Tallinn list. They make Scandi-approved authentic cinnamon rolls in addition to breads and pies, which are baked fresh every single day.
They also sell incredibly tasty sandwiches which are great for breakfast and lunch. The coffee here is excellent and while there’s not much space to sit indoors, you can take your pastries to the swings behind the corner instead.
