Estonia's national peasant dish: a creamy porridge of mashed potato and pearl barley, finished with butter, bacon and onion. Mulgimaa-region origin.
Mulgi puder takes its name from the Mulgimaa region in southern Estonia, where pearl barley grew well on the heavy soils. Peasant farmers cooked the barley into a porridge then mashed it with potato to stretch the dish through winter. The barley was usually pearled and slow-cooked, then loosened with cream or milk and topped with bacon and onion. Tallinn's Old Town traditional rooms like Rataskaevu 16 still keep it on the menu year-round, alongside lingonberry jam.
3 editor picks for Mulgi Puder in Tallinn, ranked by editorial score. All Tallinn signature dishes · Mulgi Puder across every city.
Olde Hansa ★ 4.7
vanalinn · Vana turg 1, 10140 Tallinn
Olde Hansa on Vana turg in the Old Town is a long-running Hanseatic-feast restaurant with medieval costumes, live hurdy-gurdy music and a 14th-century menu.
Rataskaevu 16 ★ 4.5
vanalinn · Rataskaevu 16, 10123 Tallinn
Rataskaevu 16 in the Old Town is a long-running Estonian comfort-food institution, with braised elk roast and chef's choice white fish carrying a vegetable.
III Draakon ★ 4.4
vanalinn · Raekoja plats 1, 10146 Tallinn
III Draakon under the 13th-century Town Hall on Raekoja plats is a tiny medieval-themed tavern serving elk soup, pirukad pastries and house beer cellar.