Tallinn & The Food Scene

December 22, 2014 by Anna Keski-Kohtamäki in Travel, Restaurant, Food

Tallinnan ruokaskene - Suomenkielinen tiivistelmä löytyy lopusta.

Twice I have had an honor to join the evaluation of The 50 Best Restaurants in Tallinn. First time was in Septermber 2013 and the second in Septermber 2014. As I have also traveled to Tallinn many times I have visited many restaurants.

There are many interesting restaurants with great value for the money. Many of the restaurant have a different style from the restaurants in Finland. I have noticed that the tradition of cooking with game meat and the season vegetables among the home made style is more obvious in Estonia. You will find delicious home made ice cream and bread from most of the nice restaurants.

Here are some of my recommendations in totally random order.

Horisont

Fine dining with amazing views up in the 30th floor. If you want to skip the dinner enjoy a drink with a view at the Horisont Bar. Eaten here once in September 2014.

Photo © Marina Ekroos — Photo © Marina Ekroos

Kolm Sibulat

Easy going stylish atmosphere with inspiring food and pleasant service. One of my favorites and I love their scallops! Great value for your money. Eaten here twice in September and November 2013.

Kohvik Moon

Same owners with Kolm Sibulat. Same style but a hint more fancier. Try the home made schnapps. Located quite close to the harbor so eat here just before taking the ferry. Great value for your money. Eaten here three times in February, September and November 2013.

Mekk

Savoy Boutique Hotel's restaurant. Quality food thought the milieu is ok, but nothing special. Worth going for the food! Eaten here once in September 2013.

Gianni

Classically beautiful Italian with chatty service and white table linen. Try the risotto. Eaten here once in September 2014.

Platz

Weird building, ugly menu card, but cozy atmosphere with surprisingly good food. Recommended for vegetarians as well. Service was pleasant. Great value for your money. Eaten here once in September 2014.

Klaus *

Comfortable inner yard terrace. Lovely place for a breakfast close to Kohvik Moon. Eaten here once in June 2014.

Diip *

A cozy restaurant in Kalamaja neighbourhood. A possibility to dine on the terrace. In case you are traveling with children choose this one. They have a play corner for kids. The food was delicious. Eaten here once in June 2014.

Chedi *

Fine dining Chinese. I was expecting a lot more and got a little disappointed. The milieu is beautiful but the food was too basic if you look at the price tag. Or then I just didn't know what to order. Eaten here once in November 2013.

Bocca

Modern Italian. Beautiful milieu. Service a little bit distant. Would expect something more. Most of the portions were delicious. Eaten here once in September 2014.

Neh *

Location is weird next to a gas station but the building is really beautiful. Everything was quite good. Eaten here once in February 2013.

Dominic

This one has the best wine cellar in Tallinn. Food was ok, but they could do better with the service. Eaten here once in September 2013.

Among these I have also eaten once at Wicca, La Bottega & Nero and twice at Lucca. Wicca and Lucca are outside the Tallinn city center.

La Bottega. Photo © Marina Ekroos — La Bottega. Photo © Marina Ekroos

Me Instagramming at Lucca. Photo © Marina Ekroos — Me Instagramming at Lucca. Photo © Marina Ekroos

Restoran Lucca sells some wine. Photo © Marina Ekroos — Restoran Lucca sells some wine. Photo © Marina Ekroos

Cherry jam with the chocolate cake was delicious. Photo © Marina Ekroos — Cherry jam with the chocolate cake was delicious. Photo © Marina Ekroos

I will write more about my favorites Kohvik Moon, Kolm Sibulat, Platz & Gianni. Stay tuned!

On my next trip to Tallinn I will make reservations for Salt, Frank and Vegan Restoran V.

Read also my previous posts about Tallinn:
Tallinn Traveller
Tallinn, Estonia - Where to Stay and How to Travel.

In cooperation with The 50 Best Restaurants & Visit Estonia (but the ones with the *).

Tallinnan ruokaskene

Olen kahdesti saanut kunnian olla mukana arvioimassa Tallinnan ravintoloita The 50 Best Restaurants -sivustolle. Lisäksi olen käynyt Tallinnassa useaan otteeseen eri ravintoloissa, joten osaan antaa useita ravintolavinkkejä. Jos englanninkieli ei taivu, niin ota toki yhteyttä meilitse tai Facebookissa, niin saat vinkkini myös suomenkielellä.

Yhteistyössä The 50 Best Restaurants & Visit Estonia (paitsi ravintolat, joiden nimien perässä on *).

Tallinn, Estonia - Where to Stay and How to Travel

November 19, 2014 by Anna Keski-Kohtamäki in Travel

When I have traveled to Tallinn I have stayed in few hotels and once in an airbnb loft. Here are my recommendations for your stay.

Hotels

Swissôtel is defenately the nicest place to stay. It's quiet and 117 meters high with 30 floors. The view we had from the 16th floor window to the sea was peaceful and beautiful. The room price we paid didn't include breakfast as I wanted to try the room service. Pete and I ordered eggs, pancakes and juice, it was a good choice as I don't enjoy buffets. The service is five star class in this hotel.

Nordic Hotel Forum* also had a nice room with an urban city view. I really enjoyed my stay there. Tia and I also took the advantage of the Leisure Center and went swimming. The breakfast was a basic hotel breakfast.

This one and the main photo are taken in the Nordic Hotel Forum. September 2013.

Jenni and I stayed in Savoy Boutique Hotel in the Old Town. The hotel is in an old building and it has a sympathetic atmosphere. The breakfast can be enjoyed at the restaurant Mekk, that is one of the Tallinn restaurants with quality food.

Jenni at Savoy Boutique Hotel. February 2013.

The view from the Savoy Boutique Hotel. February 2013.

During my latest visit Marina and I stayed in Sokos Hotel Estoria*. It is a more quiet and smaller hotel next to the legendary Viru hotel. We saw some beautiful sunsets from our room window and enjoyed prosecco and chocolate we got as a gift from the hotel. We stayed in a business traveler's room.

Sokos Hotel Estoria. September 2014. Photo © Marina Ekroos — Sokos Hotel Estoria. September 2014. Photo © Marina Ekroos

Estoria. Photo © Marina Ekroos — Estoria. Photo © Marina Ekroos

* In cooperation with Visit Estonia.

Airbnb

This airbnb loft is a gem. I stayed there in June 2014 with my brother, sister and niece.

Loft in Bohemian Kalamaja

We loved the area of Kalamaja with a small bakery on the home street. The loft was beautifully decorated and worked quite well even with a 1 year old child. We cooked and spent quite a lot of time there as it was so cozy appartment.

My sister chillin' at the concrete loft. June 2014. Photo © Matti Keski-Kohtamäki — My sister chillin' at the concrete loft. June 2014. Photo © Matti Keski-Kohtamäki

Lots of Travel Books to read. June 2014.

Kalamaja Pagarikoda bakery on Jahu 11, Tallinn. June 2014. — Kalamaja Pagarikoda bakery on Jahu 11, Tallinn. June 2014.

Read what my brother Matti wrote about our trip in June 2014: Visiting Tallinn.

How to travel

From Finland you can take a ferry or flight to Tallinn. I have only taken the ferry. There are three ferry companies to choose with:

Eckerö Line's comfortable Lounge Cafe is my favorite. Photo © Avaruusasema — Eckerö Line's comfortable Lounge Cafe is my favorite. Photo © Avaruusasema

I will share you few tips how to travel more comfortable in a ferry. The most enjoyable might be to take a cabin if you just want to rest the few hour boat trip. But if you would like to enjoy a cup of coffee or some snack with enjoying the sea view you will find a Conference Lounge or Lounge Cafe at all of the ferries. There is a Lounge Cafe at Eckerö Line, Tallink Silja Line has a Business Lounge and Viking Line offers a Conference Lounge. You need to pay 10-20 euros to get in but the price includes some drinks & snacks and a WiFi. These areas are always more quieter with less noisy people. My personal favorite has been Eckerö Line and their modern and cozy looking Lounge Cafe. They serve some delicious carrot cake among the peaceful atmosphere.

View from Eckerö Line's cabin. Septermber 2013.

My niece on her first ferry trip to Tallinn. June 2014.

Stay tuned for more blog posts about the food scene and the restaurants in Tallinn.

Most of the ferry trips traveled in cooperation with Visit Estonia and the ferry companies.
www.visitestonia.com

Tallinn Traveler

November 18, 2014 by Anna Keski-Kohtamäki in Travel

I have become a true Tallinn traveler. My first trip to Tallinn was in 1997 with my family. And the second trip was in 2001 when I traveled there with three friends of mine: Maikki, Annu, Liina & her daughter Matida.

Septermber 2014. Photo © Marina Ekroos — Septermber 2014. Photo © Marina Ekroos

Jenni. February 2013. — Jenni. February 2013.

After the first two trips I had 12 years gap in traveling there. Within those 12 years Tallinn had really developed in many ways and that I noticed when I traveled there with Jenni from Liemessä blog in February 2013. I was so delighted about the food scene going on there that I had to take my next trip there already in Septermber 2013 when I was invited to review restaurants for The 50 Best Restaurants. I traveled with Tia & Mikko from Avaruusasema blog and a group of journalists from Finland *. I couldn't get enough of Tallinn restaurants so I traveled there again with Pete in November 2013.

Tia Instagrammin. September 2013. — Tia Instagrammin. September 2013.

The view from Swissotel. — The view from Swissotel.

In 2014 I have been to Tallinn twice. The first trip I took with my brother, sister and niece. We traveled there last June. This autumn The 50 Best Restaurants evaluations took a place again. This time I traveled with my photographer friend Marina Ekroos in the end of September *.

Read what Avaruusasema blog wrote about our trip to Tallinn in 2013 (in Finnish) *.

My brother's journal post about our trip has some nice photos, just click here.

June 2014. Photo © Matti Keski-Kohtamäki — June 2014. Photo © Matti Keski-Kohtamäki

So at this point of my life I have already visited Tallinn seven times. And I am sure I will continue travelling there few times a year.

See you soon Tallinn! Photo © Marina Ekroos — See you soon Tallinn! Photo © Marina Ekroos

In my desk drawer I have more post coming up about the restaurants, places to stay and the traveling options. So stay tuned for more posts about Tallinn!

* In cooperation with Visit Estonia.
www.visitestonia.com