Cafe culture runs deep in Tallinn, from grand old houses to modern roasteries. Maiasmokk on Pikk 16 is the historic heart of it in the Old Town, while Kohvik Must Puudel and Reval Cafe Müürivahe sit nearby on Müürivahe. Across town, Renard Coffee Shop and Fotografiska Cafe anchor the contemporary scene in the Telliskivi quarter, and NOP keeps things neighbourly in Kadriorg.
12 cafe places in Tallinn we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in Tallinn · Cafe across every city.
Order Hot chocolate and a piece of hand-painted marzipan; the kringel sweet bread is the everyday order.
Maiasmokk on Pikk has been Tallinn's confectionery cafe since 1864, the oldest continuously operating cafe in Estonia with a marzipan-painting room daily.
Order House hot chocolate and a slice of the daily cake; the kitchen also serves savoury bowls past midnight.
Must Puudel on Müürivahe in the Old Town runs Soviet-era furniture, homemade hot chocolate and a long cake counter, with the same eclectic mid-20th-century.
Order Soup of the day with sourdough, the organic shop sells take-home jams.
NOP on Köleri in Kadriorg is an organic shop-cafe near the Kadriorg Palace, serving locally sourced organic breakfasts, soup of the day and a small bakery.
Order Daily soup at lunch; the chain bakes its own marzipan cake and cardamom buns.
Reval Cafe on Müürivahe is one of 13 cafes in the Reval chain that since 2005 has run breakfasts, soups and cakes across the Tallinn region every day.
Order Daily cake plus a filter pour; the bake list rotates fortnightly.
Kohvik Sesoon on Kotzebue in Kalamaja is a small neighbourhood cafe with seasonally rotating cakes and a tight specialty-coffee programme, run by a Kalamaja.
Order Filter pour from the current roastery rotation; espresso list also runs through Nordic roasters.
Renard on Telliskivi is a specialty coffee shop pairing a vintage motorcycle dealership with Nordic-roasted filter coffee, sourced rotating from European.
Order Cardamom bun and a flat white; or grab a sourdough loaf to go.
RØST on Rotermanni is a Scandinavian bakery and specialty coffee cafe in the converted Nisuveski grain-mill, with sourdough loaves baked fresh daily.
Order Daily lunch from the counter; the cafe shares a kitchen team with the upstairs Michelin room.
Fotografiska Cafe on the first floor of the Telliskivi photography museum runs fresh filter coffee,a bakery counter and a daily lunch service.
Order Smoked chicken with curry sauce pancake; or the Estonian smoked cheese and ham version. Add a craft beer.
Kompressor on Rataskaevu in the Old Town is the legendary cheap-pancake pub, with 29 different sweet and savoury dinner-plate-sized pancakes every day.
Try Soviet-decor cafe with late kitchen and craft beer
Must Puudel on Müürivahe runs a late kitchen into the early hours of the weekend, with savoury bowls, craft beer and the same Soviet-decor crowd that fills.
