Tallinn: Where to Eat Well

Eating well in Tallinn is mostly about knowing where not to eat. The city has a good, honest food scene, but the most visible restaurants, the ones with terraces right on the main square, are the ones charging most and delivering least. Here is where to actually go, by area, and roughly what it costs. Estonia has used the euro since 2011, so every price below is in EUR.

Read more: the Tallinn city guide puts the food scene in the wider context of a two to four day trip.

Skip the main square

Restaurants directly on Raekoja plats price for the view, and it shows in the cooking. Walk two streets in any direction and the same money buys a noticeably better meal. This is the single most useful rule for eating here.

Kalamaja and Balti Jaam Market

For the best value in the city, head to Balti Jaam Market (Balti Jaama turg) in Kalamaja, on the edge of the Old Town. It’s a covered market with food stalls used by residents rather than staged for tourists, and it’s the cheapest genuinely good eating in Tallinn. The surrounding Kalamaja streets and the Telliskivi Creative City blocks hold the independent cafes and bars where locals actually spend their evenings.

Olde Hansa, for the show

Olde Hansa, near the square, does candlelit rooms, costumed staff, and period recipes. Go once for the medieval theatre and a mead, not for the food, which is average and priced like it isn’t. Treat it as an experience with a drink attached.

What to try

Estonian staples worth ordering: black rye bread (leib), herring, and game like elk when it’s on the menu. For a drink, Vana Tallinn is the spiced local liqueur, and marzipan is the classic sweet to take home. The modern New Nordic scene, built on foraged and local ingredients, is worth a splurge if you have one dinner to spend up on.

Price bands

  • Paevapraad (daily lunch special): 5 to 8 EUR
  • Casual meal: 10 to 15 EUR
  • Mid-range sit-down dinner: 20 to 35 EUR per person
  • Fine dining: 50 to 80 EUR-plus per person

Tip: the city is almost entirely cashless, so a contactless card or phone covers everything from a market stall to a tasting menu. Decline any card machine that offers to charge you in your home currency.

Quick bites between sights

For eating on the move, the market halls and the Telliskivi food stalls are your best bet, with everything from a filled roll to a full hot plate for a few euros. Bakeries across the city sell savoury and sweet pastries cheaply, making an easy breakfast or a between-sights snack. Lunch is where the real value sits, since many kitchens run a paevapraad daily special at 5 to 8 EUR that costs a fraction of the same food at dinner. Tip: build your one splurge around dinner and keep the lunches cheap and local.