tallinn_estonia
Photo Credit: Tallinn Convention Bureau, Kaupo Kalda

Тhe post is written by Ann Abel and was published in Forbes magazine.

Medieval Tallinn is an enchanting sight to behold. With its pastel-hued buildings, slender church spires, and charming timbered halls offering delectable game meats and mead, it is a must-see destination in Estonia’s capital.

Probably you’ll sleep in it. The Telegraaf Hotel is a particularly fine place to stay, with 83 comfortable rooms and an appealing thermal suite in the spa. It sits on a main street in the old city, in what was once the main center of communications: the telegraph office—the place where news traveled to and from. The place that connected people from far away, as today’s best luxury hotels continue to do. (It’s part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection for people who care about loyalty points and the like.)

But if you’re like me, you’ll grow a bit bored of the old city, with its Medieval Times dinner theater-style restaurants, costumed waitstaff and amber-laden souvenir shops. It’s 2023. We don’t travel just to go to museums, no matter how beautiful, let alone theme parks.

When that happens, it’s time to leave the walls that surround the old city. “The real wherever” is a travel blogging cliché, but the parts of Tallinn where Estonians work, live and play are at least as interesting as the picturesque old squares.

While Estonia was a Soviet republic (against Estonians’ will) until 1991—the KGB museum in the agency’s former HQ atop the Viru hotel offers some good insight into this—modern Estonia considers itself a Nordic country rather than a “Baltic country,” a clumping that was manufactured in the 20th century. While its economy is vastly smaller, it seems to have more in common with Helsinki than with Riga.

tallinn_estonia
Photo Credit: Tallinn Convention Bureau, Kadi-Liis Koppel

Influences of that are visible outside the historic center. The confectionery architecture turns to contemporary, a mix of bricks, glass, and steel, particularly in the residential buildings overlooking the sea. A good example is the Noblessner seafront quarter, an industrial district that was in 2020 awarded the title of Best Urban Regeneration. It’s home to places like the PROTO Invention Factory, a kid-friendly science museum that leans into virtual reality, and the Kai Art Center, a cultural complex in a 100-year-old submarine factory.

Noblessner is also home to some of the city’s most exciting restaurants. Matthias Diether’s 180° was just awarded a second Michelin star for its inventive tasting menus that include dishes like a tomato marshmallow with parmesan, hand-dived scallops with kohlrabi and sweetbreads, and pigeon with cauliflower and tarragon. Bonus points for the cheese trolley and creative wine pairings.

More casual is Lore Bistroo, whose partners Janno Lepik and Kristjan Peäske (a chef and a sommelier) have been in business for ten years with several restaurants around Tallinn. Michelin gave Lepik the Young Chef Award in 2022. Here, they focus on sharable comfort food classics with a twist, inspired by their world travels. Think scallops with Kalamatsi goat cheese, oven-baked leek with cashew cream and Jerusalem artichokes, and slow-cooked pork cheeks with creamy organic buckwheat.

tallinn_csr
Photo Credit: Tallinn Convention Bureau, Simon Snopek

Even further afield, the moody dining room at NOA Chef’s Hall is the site of the city’s other (colorless) Michelin star, a showcase for the menu of chef Tõnis Siigur. Its casual sibling—just plain NOA, though it’s not very plain after all—is decorated like a beach house with a large terrace and serves a relaxed menu. The NOA redfish for two was a highlight of my week in Estonia: trout that’s been cured with salt, mustard and “a drop of vodka” served with garlic bread, trout roe, sour cream, dill and lime.

It wasn’t fussy, but it was perfectly done and carefully presented, with a flavor combination I’ve found nowhere else in the world. Kind of like Tallinn in general.

 

For more information on Tallinn visit https://www.visittallinn.ee/.

FIND OUT MORE

Visit Tallinn Convention Bureau
Kaarli pst1 / Roosikrantsi 2
Tallinn, 10119

T: +372 640 4414
E: convention@visittallinn.ee
W: www.visittallinn.ee

Event planners can find out everything about organising their events in Tallinn here.

tallinn_banner

Join our newsletter!

Subscribe to our newsletter and stay up-to-date with the latest updates from Kongres Magazine.