Cafes
Bellevue: Kloostri tee 6, in Pirita, above Charital restaurant; tel. 623-7379. Open:12-24. Well off the beaten track, but a good stop if you’re strolling in the lovely Pirita.
Bogapott: Pikk jalg 9, built into an old city wall, tel. 631-3181. Open:10-18. A tiny, heartwarming café. Motherly service, good pastries—beautiful bathrooms!
Boulevard: Liivalaia 33, on the 2nd floor of the Reval Hotel Olümpia, tel. 631-5889. Open:07-01. Children’s playroom.
Brasserie Rendez-Vous: Liivalaia 33, on the 2nd floor of the Reval Hotel Olümpia, tel. 631-5898. Open:12-23. Excellent service.
Café Anglais: Raekoja plats 14, 2nd floor of the Teachers’ House on Town Hall Square; tel. 644-2160. Open:11-23. Do not miss this place! Café Anglais is simply outstanding—one of the best things the capital’s got going. It’s something of a cross between a San Francisco deli and New York coffee shop, and is a perfect place for a light lunch or for hanging out with friends in the evening. The interior is spacious, if minimalist: simple chairs and tables scattered across a theater-like room; there are usually artsy photographs or paintings on the walls, and windows frame a picture-book, cobblestone square. Where so many others in Tallinn have failed, the on-the-ball proprietors here have managed to instill the place with a sense of warmth and soul; background music is often jazz or blues. The cakes, salads and daily specials all taste home-made; they’re staggeringly good. Excellent range of coffee and a mean hot chocolate that’s made in-house from real chocolate bars.
Café Aroma: Pikk 12, tel. 648-7210. Open:07:30-21. Comfortable sofas with cushions, upscale atmosphere, a wide range of coffees.
Café Mocha: Vene 1, in the old city; tel. 644-6473. Open:08-21. A new cafe with pleasant, tasteful atmosphere: wooden beams and a fireplace.
Café Palace: Vabaduse väljak 3, tel. 640-7300. Open:12-23:30. A continental café in Scandic Hotel Palace. They also have an ŕ la carte menu.
Café Peterson: Narva mnt. 15, tel. 662-2195. Open:08-23; Sat. 09-23; Sun. 09-22. A good-taste, high-quality, extremely cozy addition to the Tallinn café scene; a big plus is that it is attached to the outstanding Gallery Viviann Napp—so you can both feed your stomach with fine food and your eyes with some excellent art.
Choccolaterie Café: Vene 6, entrance in the courtyard; tel. 641-8061. Open:10-22. This cottage-sized café could be the stage set for a play by Chekhov, with a small piano against one wall and silver vases set on embroidered table cloths. It’s all juxtaposed against remnants of a town wall and heavy beams in what could have been a medieval-era stable. The owners include the on-the-ball proprietors of the excellent Tristan ja Isolde café nearby, so Choccolaterie has credibility from the get-go; the New Old Theater is also associated with the place, hence the occasional poetry readings and plays. The music, as one might expect, is good taste: Edith Piaff on a recent night. This is mainly a place for coffee and mouthwatering chocolates (made on-site). Quiet getaways this good aren’t that easy to come by in Tallinn.
CityGourmet: Maakri 36, tel. 630-9301. Open:10-23; Fri., Sat. 10-01. This partly American-owned café, deli and gourmet-food shop all rolled into one has quickly and deservedly become a hit. It’s also partly owned by the same people who do the outstanding Pädaste manor hotel in Muhu, which is another reason to be sure of its quality. Great wine, cheese, salads, cakes, truffles and coffee. Hip, casual, and slightly cramped—though cramped isn’t a problem in a place this good. Huge windows ensure no sense of claustrophobia will overcome you. Everything in this New York City styled establishment has the touch of refinement. There’s plenty to take home with you when you leave as well, from dips to cheddar cheese.
COFFE®: Vanaturu kael 8, close to the Town Hall; tel. 646-0265. Open:09-20. Thoughtfully designed: street signs for menus and tables made from oak barrels, filled with coffee beans. A wonderful range of coffee—including latte, frappé and mocca, all of which can also be flavored.
Elsebet: Viru 2, tel. 644-1294. Open:08-20. In a lovely old town building.
Gateway: Suur-Karja 17, tel. 644-6703. Open:09-21. Suited for a quick snack.
International Press Café: Viru 23, 2nd floor, in the old city. Open:10-20; Sat. 10-18, Sun. 11-16. Enjoy a good coffee while also feeding your mind—at this homey bookstore café; buy your book and settle in here to read it. Lots of English-language books, magazines and newspapers on sale. Internet access, too.
Kehrwieder: Saiakang 1. Open:11:30-23. A quaint basement café just off the Town Hall Square. Great coffees and good pastries. Run by the same people who do the excellent Chocolaterie Café, Tristan and Isolde and the Press Café—so atmosphere, comfort and quality are a given..
KuKu Kohvik: Vabaduse väljak 8, tel. 644-5926. Open:08-22; Sat., Sun. 09-21. Well-located, hip, smoke-filled.
Le Bonaparte: Pikk 45, old city; tel. 646-4444. Open:08-20; Sun. 10-18. A fine café in the foyer of an upscale restaurant inside a wonderfully renovated Medieval building. Classy—and expensive; good coffee and mouthwatering pastries and mouthwatering pastries.
Mademoiselle: Toompuiestee 27, in the Grand Hotel Tallinn; tel. 667-7150; also at Lai 3, (G-3), in the Meriton Old Town Hotel. Open:07-22. Excellent cakes and pastries. Good for breakfast or a quick lunch. For residents, it’s a great option for picking up fresh supplies of bread and cakes.
Moskva: Vabaduse väljak 10, tel. 640-4694. Open:08:30-24; Sat., Sun. 11-24. A reincarnation of a café that was here during Soviet rule. But this and the Soviet era have nothing in common: this fashionable but affordable place is in good taste from top to bottom. A favorite of the chic-but-cash-poor crowd. The downstairs is good for people watching; the 2nd floor has a cuisine nouvelle restaurant, a bar and a dance floor for frequent visiting DJs.
Novell: Narva mnt. 7c, a five-minute walk from the old city, linked with the Hotel Central; tel. 633-9891.
Poliinia: Gonsori 10, tel. 661-2927. Open:09-22; Sat., Sun. 11-23. Pastries flown in from France and cooked in special ovens here. A good place to pick up pastries and bread to take home. Also has a fine deli, so the place is also ideal for lunch. The quiche is the robust ham-and-cheese variety, not the feeble, milky stuff you sometimes get in the Baltics. The coffee is good, the service friendly and prices reasonable.
Popular Café: Vana-Viru 6, tel. 641-4565. Open:09-01; Fri., Sat. 09-04. In a medieval room overlaid with a trendy interior decor. Laid-back, ambient background music, water pipes.
Rae Café: Raekoja plats 10, tel. 644-3988. Open:10-22. This small café on Raekoja Plats provides the perfect vantage point for peoplewatching. It is across the street from Town Hall, so has one of the most scenic views in town.
Robert’s Coffee: Viru 13/15, on the top floor of the De la Gardie shopping mall. Open:10-20; Sun. 10-17. A modern Italian-style café that overlooks old city rooftops. In the summer, you can sit on a balcony. Sandwiches and pastries, and a good selection of coffees and tea.
Rossini: Raekoja plats 2, tel. 641-1220. Open:09.30-01, Fri.-Sat. 09.30-02. An Italian-like minimalist cafe/bar. Best assets are tall windows that open on the Town Hall Square and that it's open late.
Tristan ja Isolde: on the ground floor of the old city’s Town Hall—possibly the most storied building in Tallinn; tel. 645-7919. Open:08-23. After a management change, it now threatens to at least vie for the title of Tallinn’s most atmospheric café. It’s wonderfully dark and brooding; yes, it’s cramped, but this somehow just makes it all the more quaint. It’s something of a cross between a dungeon out of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and a 19th century hideaway in Bohemia. Largely candle-lit, often with progressive, but soothing background music—Leonard Cohen and the like. Chessboards and cards, too.
U-cafe: Paldiski mnt. 1, in the Uniquestay Hotel; tel. 660-0700. Open:07-21
Vanalinna Cafe: Suur-Karja 18, tel. 641-2545. Open:08:30-19; Sat. 10-18; Sun. closed.
