Outdoor Dining Area – restaurants in Tallinn
If you are here for the first time and something seems familiar, there is no reason to be surprised. Today's leading chefs of several dozen restaurants cooked their first great dishes over the same hearth, following the guidance of mentor chef Tõnis Siigur. Dishes that are considered classics here live on in other restaurants in a slightly different style. At NCH, however, they taste completely anew with each successive menu that Tõnis creates in collaboration with his mentees. NCH is at the forefront of Estonian gastronomy.
The Fotografiska restaurant has been serving sustainably prepared, zero-waste food since it opened. Food produced without waste tends to be more flavourful. There are more textures on the plate and the dishes look more colourful and elegant. Today, using ingredients from leaf to root and from nose to tail is a novelty and people come to Fotografiska out of curiosity. In the future, it should be the norm. Fotografiska's kitchen is leading the way and sharing its knowledge.
Lee is one of the oldest words in the Estonian language and means a communal fireplace. Today's Lee restaurant has a Japanese chef at the hearth. The result is a distinctive cuisine, a bold combination of local flavours and Japanese influences. Lee's dishes are meant to be shared and discussed in order to understand and appreciate the unique flavours.
The glamorous lifestyle is rather unfamiliar to Estonia. Those who can't live without glamour look for it elsewhere, for example in Monaco. But there is one place in Tallinn that bears a strong comparison with Monaco. This restaurant is Puri in Kakumäe Marina Haven. Start with champagne and caviar, move on to sole or halibut and finish with a dessert called Malibu Club. Tallinn is just big enough for a well-run, classy restaurant to thrive, especially as the glamour is authentic and not a carbon copy from somewhere else.
Anno is located in an unassuming part of Tallinn, in a cosy, quaint stone house. The menu is made up of creative dishes based on the mood and the freshest ingredients available. The modest but attractive wine corner has a better selection than most wine cellars. The owner has a great respect for quality wines and is happy to suggest pairings with all the delicious delicacies coming out of the kitchen.
If you want to know what produce is in season right now, skip the market. Rado will do all the hard work for you every morning, all you have to do is show up and enjoy. Often the dishes contain just one main ingredient. Yet, these simple dishes are always prepared with expertise and appreciation of the ingredients.
NOA Restaurant is the little brother of the famous NOA Chef's Hall and is located next door in the same building. The casual dining here is not far from the fine dining experience offered by NOA Chef's Hall. The view of Tallinn Bay and the Tallinn skyline is just a little more impressive. The cuisine reflects the latest trends.
Minimally processed and boldly combined. This is perhaps the best way to sum up the essence of Barbarea's cuisine. This style is familiar to those who frequent the various restaurants in Copenhagen. Fermentation is one of the favourite activities of the kitchen team at Barbarea, and there are very few restaurants that use as many local organic ingredients as they do.
Horisont is worthy of its lofty location on the 30th floor of the Swissotel. Since it opened, it has set such high standards in terms of food, drink and service that few restaurants on the ground floor can come close to matching them. The bar always offers cocktails with very exquisite flavours and the restaurant offers fine dining at the highest level. Horisont's standards are consistently high. A solid choice for entertaining.
Rudolf is an elegant restaurant. The interior has strong Nordic influences, but the ambience is truly French. A glass of champagne is always the perfect drink, and the hearty onion soup is one of the most requested dishes. There are several French restaurants in Tallinn, but they can't quite compete with Rudolf's elegant service. Rudolf is like a French Academy of Etiquette in Tallinn.
Cru is chef Mark Keerd's culinary oasis. After working in several renowned restaurants, he now has his own restaurant. Mark offers personalised modern cuisine with a Slavic twist in every dish. In summer, the best tables in the restaurant are in the sun-drenched historic courtyard.
Located in a small wooden building next to the large Kadriorg Park, the restaurant is designed to represent the Mediterranean spirit of Estonian life. The competent and always young and cheerful service will advise each guest on the most suitable dish and drink. However, the tasting menu is the restaurant's best experience.
To a first-time visitor, Peet Ruut looks more like a private club than a restaurant. This impression is not entirely wrong. Ecologically pure food is the restaurant's passion, and its guests are usually the ones who appreciate it. The drinks are selected according to the same principles.
In Estonia, Moon is synonymous with simply good food and drink. The interior has remained virtually unchanged over the years. Even the dishes from the restaurant's early years are still on the menu, with occasional minor updates. New diners discover it and those who know it return. Classics never go out of fashion.
Päris, which means authentic in English. That's probably how many customers perceive this place. The ambience is very Parisian, and this is the kind of food served in France's modern bistros. A good dose of French lifestyle is provided by the in-house bakery, which bakes fresh pastries every morning. Enjoy the joie de vivre of this place.
A popular restaurant that has been in the suburbs for many years is now located in the city centre. Kolm Sibulat (Three Onions) looks fresher and more modern than before. It serves ramen with noodles made from freshly ground flour in a rich broth. The restaurant also has a champagne and cocktail bar.
Life literally follows the sun at Lore, a bistro on the pier of Noblessner's harbour. As soon as the sun comes out from behind the clouds, the bistro is filled with people wanting to eat, drink and socialise. But don't underestimate Lore on a gloomy day. If you run out of things to talk about, the food will make up for it. Eclectically prepared from local ingredients, it boldly incorporates flavours from all over the world and is paired with drinks from an extensive menu.
During the Soviet era, Tuljak was built in the Flower Pavilion so that the whole complex could be seen as an example of the success of socialism. In the early years of Estonia's regained independence, the Carina restaurant on this site was like a bright dream of what life would be like in the future. Now the dream has come true. Tuljak is one of the most stylish restaurants in Estonia, both inside and out, and the food and drinks are equally impressive.
Kogu Restaurant is open all day. In the mornings, it serves breakfasts worth travelling across town for and original pastries straight from the oven. For lunch and dinner, Kogu Restaurant is a stylish rival to some of the city's finest restaurants.
When you enter Radio, you will find yourself in a wine shop. The restaurant is in the next room behind the shop. The menu here is short, easily fitting on one page, while the drinks list is many pages longer. This makes sense as the sommeliers suggest several wines to go with each dish. If you are interested, you can try them all and then choose your favourite.