Eating Out in Tallinn

Cathedral
Just opposite the Aleksander Nevsky Cathedral, this high-class establishment serves a combination of bourgeois French and Russian cuisine to a discerning, dressed-up clientele. Eccentric touches like swirling blue mirror frames and court jester seat covers take the edge off its formality, as does the live piano music, but look for the new Italian owners to make some changes in the design and concept in the near future.

Le Chateau
Bring a torch - this cellar restaurant redefines the concept of dim lighting. If you do manage to read the menu you will find a varied selection of delightful French meals. The daily lunch specials are exceptional value and already popular amongst locals. Le Chateau has gone for the stylish medieval look, lots of wood and wrought iron, with staff decked out in peasant costumes.

Mata Hari Creperie
Wow, a creperie by day and a striptease place by night! Large salads, crepes (sweet pancakes), and galettes (savoury pancakes) make up the menu, and what you get is fairly good, for the price. The romantic, pre-war France interior certainly deserves praise, but the layout here makes it l ess than cosy. You’re either sitting in the foyer (where it’s breezy) or in the corridor (where you’re in the corridor).

Pika Jala
huge windows, quirky iron work decor and paintings by famous contemporary artists give this little restaurant a particularly cheerful look, but the high prices here aren't really justified by the ambience or food. French favourites like ginger flavoured duck breast and quail eggs make up the menu. The cheese soup is excellent.

Galaxy
Dining in the TV tower's 170m high restaurant is like travelling back in time to the Soviet 1980s (not that Galaxy tries to be that way). The decor, and some of the clients' wardrobes, scream for an update. That said, the food and service are surprisingly good, and if you don't mind the fact that most of what you see is the Lasnamäe suburb, the view is rather romantic. Rockstar's Until the hard rock club got ahold of it, it was an oh-so-cute village-lane-themed restaurant filled with lampposts, fake trees and fairytale brick facades. Now the cellar venue looks more like something out of Nightmare on Elm Street. Enjoy your lunch under the stern gaze of heavy metal legends.