The best restaurants in Estonia
Renowned Berlin chef Matthias Diether has moved to Tallinn, bringing with him a healthy dose of big-city glamour. Enchanted by the interior, the attentive service and the first promising tastes, diners are discovering that classic fine dining, often considered a little passé, is alive and well here. Matthias Diether runs his kitchen in the spirit of proper German organisation, while the dining room embodies effortless French elegance. The combination creates a refined dining experience unlike any other restaurant 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.
Pädaste Manor serves Nordic island cuisine. Just like the Nordic weather, the dishes are subject to frequent changes and the menu is completely new for each season. However, you will not be served the traditional simple, rustic dishes of the past, but dishes inspired by them, using the same ingredients. In all other respects, Pädaste's cuisine is a unique form of contemporary culinary art.
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.
Maidla Nature Resort is a micro-hotel with three small forest villas. SOO is a restaurant for ten guests within the resort. It couldn't be more exclusive. The chef personally brings all the dishes to the table and introduces them to everyone. It's like having your own private chef. The only difference is that instead of you deciding what to eat, he does it for you.
It is generally accepted that a good restaurant can be opened anywhere. People who love good food will discover it. Lahepere Villa is such a place. The driving force that keeps food lovers flocking and queuing is Chef Silver Saa. Silver's fine cuisine is a fascinating contrast to the summer house atmosphere of the restaurant.
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.
Unexpected flavours in unexpected surroundings. That's what you'll find at Restaurant 38. The walls are decorated with murals that attempt to draw your attention away from the food. But what comes out of chef Joonas Koppel's kitchen is just as eye-catching and delicious.
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.
In a single summer, the little yellow wooden house has made the tiny village of Lüllemäe a household name among Estonian gourmets. Here, the journey from farm to fork is the shortest in both time and distance, as most of the ingredients are grown by the three sisters either in the greenhouse or on the various allotments nearby.
The restaurant combines French hedonism with Nordic minimalism and marks the beginning of a new chapter in Estonian gastronomy. With its unique cuisine, it is radically different from the rest, especially at a challenging time when most restaurants seem to be looking for a middle ground.
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.
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.
Over the years the restaurant has changed names, owners and staff, but it has always been the best Italian trattoria in the city. The only thing that has remained the same is the interior and the food, which is still prepared with true Italian passion. Today, Orm Oja's name and skills are a guarantee of quality. He is probably the most famous chef in Estonia.