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24 Hours Drinking and Eating in Tallinn, Estonia
Where Medieval meets mod.
Photography courtesy of Grace Lee-Weitz | Hop Culture
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pA blend of Medieval charm and modern industry, Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn, is a thriving culture of contrasts.
You’ll find techno clubs right alongside small breweries and taprooms. Record and thrift stores next to Nordic bakeries.
Stroll through the cobblestone streets of Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, that winds through narrow alleyways with cosy cafes, unique art galleries, and Gothic structures, and you’ll think time’s stood still. But elsewhere around the city, you’ll find places like Telliskivi Loomelinnak or “Creative City,” an art-focused venue that houses studios, indie shops, bars, eateries, cafes, and theaters—all in former Soviet-era factory buildings.
Põhjala Head Brewer Martin Vahtra describes Tallinn as a “hidden gem with some rough edges,” where there’s plenty to discover for those willing to walk a little.
I met Vahtra back in March when the Hop Culture team traveled to Australia with HPA to explore the hop harvest firsthand.
I already had plans to visit Tallinn with a group called Brewtopia, who take thirsty travelers to beer destinations worldwide, so I agreed to let Vahtra know when I’d be in town.
Pro Tip: Started by Owen Ogletree, Brewtopia gives folks the backstage pass to breweries, pubs, and beer-centric restaurants in well-known beer countries like Germany, Belgium, and the U.K. as well as some surprising places, such as the trip we took to Finland, Estonia, and Latvia. Check out all of Brewtopia’s upcoming trips here.
Which is how Vahtra, who lives about a twenty-five-minute bike ride outside the city center, graciously agreed to pedal into town for the day to show me around.
Below, you’ll find everywhere he took me, plus a few extra stops I made with our group.
By no means is this a vast list of all the incredible places where you can drink and eat in Tallinn. We only had twenty-four hours, so here is how we spent our one perfect day in Estonia’s breathtaking capital.
Our Perfect Day in Tallinn, Estonia
Coffee: Paper Mill Coffee
Masina tn 20, 10144 Tallinn, Estonia | +372 5344 5110
Viru location: Viru väljak 4-6, 10111 Tallinn, Estonia | +372 655 0060
One of Vahtra’s two favorite coffee roasters in the city, Paper Mill Coffee won an award last year from European Coffee Trip for “Best Specialty Cafe” in Estonia.
Paper Mill Coffee Owner Margus Varvas honed his craft in the U.K., where he started a coffee chain called Mousetail and a mobile coffee van that would park outside of London Tube stations.
After moving back to the Estonian capital, Varvas opened his own coffee spot in the historic Pulp and Paper Mill fire station.
I stopped by their newer Viru Food Hall location on my way to meet Vahtra for breakfast.
I liked their coffee so much that I wish I had gone back and bought a bag to bring home. Throughout my time traveling across eight different European countries, this was the cup of coffee that stuck with me the most.
Velvety smooth, rich, and robust, Paper Mill’s drip coffee just warmed me in all the right places.
If you go, don’t make the same mistake I did: Bring a bag of beans home.
Pastries: Fika
Bakery: Tehnika tn 117, 10139 Tallinn, Estonia | +372 5813 9871
Cafe: Telliskivi tn 60a-1, 10412 Tallinn, Estonia | +372 5838 9970
Photography courtesy of Grace Lee-Weitz | Hop Culture
On my way to breakfast, I (or more like my nose) stumbled (if noses could do such things) into Fika.
Drawn into a tiny open doorway by the tantalizing smells of butter, crystallized sugar, and baking bread, I found myself face to face with a counter of glistening mounds of knotted dough.
A small sign instructed me to serve myself and pay at the counter, but despite my best efforts, I couldn’t complete the transaction.
One of the bakers working in the back came over to tell me the machine wasn’t working and to just take my Kardemoni sai, or cardamom bun, for free. After much hemming and hawing, and several attempts to pay in cash, he told me just to go and enjoy the day with a bit of sugar. He left me with one nugget, though: to pass on this goodness to someone else. Which I would be sure to do later in the day.
Named after a tradition commonly found in Sweden where one takes a break during the day to enjoy coffee and a sweet treat, often with friends, Fika seemed a fitting way to describe this bakery.
The cardamom bun was shatteringly crisp on the outside with a lovely doughy interior. And the hospitality from the baker inside made this pastry that much sweeter.
Pro Tip: I had inadvertently stumbled into Fika’s actual bakery, which was empty without any lines. Fika also has a café with a more extensive menu, but it’s also busier in Telliskivi Loomelinnak. In terms of which to visit, the choice is yours!
Breakfast: Aarde Pagar
Telliskivi tn 60a-1, 10412 Tallinn, Estonia | +372 523 7767
Photography courtesy of Grace Lee-Weitz | Hop Culture
“We could meet either in Aardo for shakshuka and dark sourdough or Põhjala for the all-day breakfast menu. Which would you prefer,” Vahtra sent me over WhatsApp.
Trying not to sound too excited over text, I responded, “Let’s do Aarde.” Because dark sourdough with shakshuka sounded amazing.
A part of the aforementioned Telliskivi Loomelinnak,
It’s so incredibly worth it. As soon as you walk in, you’re offered coffee and either apple or aronia (a local small, dark berry) juice and handed a menu from which you can choose any open-faced sandwich.
During our visit, the cafe offered a selection that included options with potato and herring salt, another with fresh trout and fermented Jerusalem artichoke, one with smoked bream and pickled cucumber, another with duck rillettes and marinated red onion, and lastly one with Dragon sausage accompanied by a slice of tomato.
Purporting to “make sourdough from the dark side,” Aarde Pagar focuses on one type of bread—Aarde Black. The dark country loaf, sweetened with honey and fermented with rye malt, sort of combines the San Francisco-style sourdough with Nordic dark rye bread. It’s an incredible combination that’s equal parts crunchy, airy, pillowy, rustic, and slightly sweet.
Each open-faced sandwich comes with the Bread Bar Skillet Eggs, a mixture of eggs, butter, tomato, beef sausage (can be removed for vegetarians), goat feta, and greens.
Once you order, you watch the chef literally bake everything in a hearth right in front of you.
A hearty breakfast, Aarde Pagar, is absolutely one of the best ways to start your day in Tallinn.
Drinking Lunch: Põhjala
Peetri tn 5, 10415 Tallinn, Estonia | +372 5666 2800
Photography courtesy of Põhjala (top and bottom left) and Grace Lee-Weitz | Hop Culture (bottom right)
A twenty-five-minute walk from Aarde Pagar will give you a bit of time to digest before starting to drink at one of Estonia’s best breweries. You’ll want to carve out a couple of hours to spend here.
Opened in 2011, Põhjala has made a name for itself over the last decade with its creative offerings across all styles.
This Estonian brewery boasts numerous sought-after offerings, with its Cellar Series holding several dozen 4.0+ ratings on Untappd.
Located in an old naval shipyard, the Tallinn taproom sticks out. Walk inside and up the stairs to find a bustling bar, showcased right in the center of the room. A slim balcony allows you to sit outside and soak up that Estonian sun, while inside, large tables encourage chatting and sharing plates from a Texas-inspired BBQ menu (there’s even a private sauna to rent!).
Located right on the waterfront, the Tallinn taproom includes twenty-four taps, a private sauna for rent, and a Texas-inspired BBQ menu.
The former means hopefully, after a couple of hours, you’ve made room to eat lunch here. Despite being a very meat-based culture, Estonia isn’t home to much barbecue.
At Põhjala, though, the team respects the craft, flying in Texas barbecue expert Andrew Dilda to teach the kitchen.
Our group spread out across a long table with platters set down before us like we were at a medieval feast, which we pretty much were. Põhjala’s BBQ Feast includes brisket, ribs, sausage, smoked chicken, mac and cheese, coleslaw, bread and butter pickles, elote, and Parker House rolls.
Beerwise, we worked our way through too many standouts to count. Don’t miss the OG Öo Baltic porter, Punaane Lager, and Rukkiraak Estonian rye malt ale to start.
Brewery: Pühjaste Taproom
Rotermanni tn 2, 10111 Tallinn, Estonia | +372 557 9787
Photography courtesy of Grace Lee-Weitz | Hop Culture
Time to walk off that feast. Stroll thirty-five minutes to a small alleyway close to Tallinn’s center.
Technically based in Tartu, Pühaste has a taproom in Tallinn, which is helpful if you want to try one of the brewery’s envelope-pushing beers.
Pühaste Co-Founder and Brewer Eero Mander is known for creating innovative flavor combinations, experimenting with unusual ingredients, and exploring new brewing techniques.
It has hit in Estonia, where the brewery currently holds the highest rating on Untappd, with 582,000 ratings, almost 350 beers listed, and an overall ranking of 3.92.
During the last two years of the Untappd Community Awards, Pühaste has accumulated the most medals in Estonia with fifty-five, securing twenty-four golds in categories such as barleywine, Cold IPA, DIPA, and imperial stout.
Pühaste brews a wide array of styles from lagers and IPAs to strong dark beers and wild ales. Their Silver Series barrel-aged beers are highly sought after, with many rated over 4.25 (currently twenty-four different offerings).
Built into an old Russian grain factory, the taproom’s arched brick ceilings still preserve the old grain chutes.
Today, underneath those silos, instead of trucks filling up with grain, you’ll see raucous tables of folks filling up on beer.
Aeg, an 8% ABV wheat stout brewed with vanilla and fenugreek, stood out, as did Sadu, a West Coast pilsner hopped with Krush and Citra.
SUMI
Kopli tn 70a, 10412 Tallinn, Estonia | +372 5564 1347
Photography courtesy of Grace Lee-Weitz | Hop Culture
Also owned by the co-founders of Põhjala, SUMI serves two functions: by day, a coffee and French-focused pastry shop, and by night, an Asian-inspired small plates restaurant, where all the food, including house-made mochi bread, is cooked over an open fire.
Honestly, we didn’t have time to stop here for dinner, but we did grab pastries to go.
SUMI is one of the few places in Tallinn where you can find bagels (which Vahtra likes to buy in bulk and freeze at home) and sourdough donuts, along with a crowd-pleasing ham and cheese croissant. In my pay-it-forward move for the day, I shared these donuts with the group, who devoured them faster than I could say bon appétit.
“Those pastries you gave me,” I texted Vahtra. “I shared them with a few folks in our group, and they were gone in like two seconds. Rave reviews!!”
If you do visit for dinner, expect fun, inventive shareable plates. For instance, the salmon tataki with a burnt onion ponzu or fried tofu with Korean chili sauce. Don’t skip out on the hot dog either; it’s a sausage with spicy Korean noodles, cheese, green onion, and mayo on a fresh poppy seed bun. So definitely not a Chicago dog, but maybe more like a Tallinn dog.
You’ll also find ten taps of Põhjala beer, which the brewery selects seasonally to pair with the food menu.
After-Dinner Drinks: Choose Your Own Adventure
Tuletorn Brewing: Ankru tn 10, 11713 Tallinn, Estonia | +372 5860 5504
Põhja Konn: Telliskivi tn 60a-5, 10412 Tallinn, Estonia | +372 5445 0510
Koht: Lai 8, 10133 Tallinn, Estonia | +372 644 3302
Pudel: Telliskivi tn 62, 10412 Tallinn, Estonia | +372 5866 4496
Now it gets tough because we only have twenty-four hours, but countless places to grab another beer around Tallinn.
If you’re willing to venture a little outside the city center, Tuletorn is a big recommendation from Vahtra. Started by former Põhjala Head Brewer Chris Pilkington, Tuletorn “makes fantastic beers at the moment,” says Vahtra. “Everything from pastry and smoothie [sours] to interesting rustic lagers.”
For something a little closer to home, Vahtra has to recommend Põhja Konn, the brewery’s bar, which features mostly local Estonian breweries. “It’s not our taproom,” explains Vahtra. “The idea is to be an Estonian craft beer bar, a place for all new Estonian craft producers.” Which means half of the taps are dedicated to Põhjala beers, while the rest feature small cideries and breweries from across Estonia. Known as a mythical dragon-like beast in Estonia, Põhja Konn brings beverages from small Estonian producers that may not be available elsewhere for drinkers in Tallinn.
One of the oldest craft beer bars in Tallinn, Koht literally means ‘place’ in Estonian. “Let’s go to the ‘place,’” says Vahtra. “It has a ridiculous selection and a walk-in bottle shop that feels like a cupboard with room for only two people but a thousand bottles from lambics to Estonian beers!” Vahtra says Koht is super cosy and often stays open late, often 3 a.m. or later.
Lastly, Pudel, which means bottle in Estonian. Opened by an Englishman who had lived in Estonia for a long time, the pub is the only place in Estonia that serves cask beer, according to Vahtra.
Nightcap: Botaanik or Whisper Sister
Botaanik: Suurtüki tn 2, 10133 Tallinn, Estonia
Whisper Sister: Pärnu mnt. 12, 10148 Tallinn, Estonia | +372 5874 7837
Photography courtesy of Grace Lee-Weitz | Hop Culture
If you can swing a reservation at Botaanik, Vahtra highly recommends going here to experience “the masters of mixology.” Vahtra says the service is very personal, with the mixologists often taking your feedback on the spot and crafting you something new and customized for your next drink.
A heavy emphasis on flowers, botanicals (obviously), fresh ingredients, and handmade syrups puts Botaanik in a field all its own (sort of speaking).
Only open Thursday to Saturday, the tiny cocktail bar isn’t the easiest to get into, so if you find yourself on the outside, try Whisper Sister.
If you can find it, that is.
Considered a speakeasy of sorts, Whisper Sister is a bit hidden, with finding it half the fun. Our group spent a good fifteen minutes ambling like tourists around Tallinn’s Old Town, peeking in doors and looking for a little plaque with the bar’s name.
Thankfully, a local took pity on us and pointed out where we could find the door.
Once there, call the number on the plaque to see if they have room to seat you (alternatively, make a reservation beforehand if you don’t want to leave things to fate). Eventually, someone comes upstairs to let you through the locked door.
Walk down to the subterranean basement into a dimly lit cave of cocktails. Much like its name, Whisper Sister is intimate, a place full of alcoves and tiny booths that encourage you to get closer to your drinking mates.
For a cocktail, I ordered the One Fine Thing, one of the bartender’s favorites. With Espolon Blanco Tequila, La Herencia de Sanchez Mezcal, St. Germain, Paragon Timur Berry, and Peychaud’s bitters, this smoky, floral, and complex drink perfectly “nightcapped” our busy day.
About The Author
Grace Lee-Weitz
Currently Drinking:
Fort Point Beer Co. KSA
Grace is the Senior Content Editor for Hop Culture and Untappd. She also organizes and produces the largest weeklong women, femme-identifying, and non-binary folx in craft beer festival in the country, Beers With(out) Beards, and the first-ever festival celebrating the colorful, vibrant voices in the queer community in craft beer, Queer Beer. An avid craft beer nerd Grace always found a way to work with beer. After graduating with a journalism degree from Northwestern University, she attended culinary school before working in restaurant management. She moonlighted as a brand ambassador at 3 Sheeps Brewing Co. on the weekends before moving into the beer industry full-time as an account coordinator at 5 Rabbit Cerveceria. Grace holds her Masters degree in the Food Studies program at NYU.
