Experiences in Estonia
SHOPPING
Local design & boutiques
Estonia’s well-kept secrets are its fashion stores, workshops and boutiques scattered around medieval alleyways, weekend markets, creative villages and even larger supermarkets offering quality design for surprisingly affordable prices.
What’s special about Estonian design is its resourcefulness. Estonia’s large forests contribute to the simple and chic designs often produced by small teams of dedicated designers. Locals also love to combine traditional patterns with contemporary trends from glass and ceramics, textile and fashion, wood and furniture, to jewellery and handicraft.
We suggest you plan a day or two to take full joy in your design shopping spree and don’t forget to stop for the scenery and take scrumptious lunch breaks while feasting on Estonian design.
Handicraft & Souvenirs
Take a piece of Estonia with you, whether in the form of a pair of hand-knitted woollen socks, playful mittens, carved wooden mugs, felt hats, juniper coasters or rustic jewellery. Local handicraft showing off traditional Estonian patterns is just about as Estonian as you can go with your gift.
Knitting, crocheting and embroidery traditions in Estonia date back centuries and here you can find items like no-where else in the world. Look for natural fabrics like wool, cotton and linen and wooden kitchen utensils carved from the juniper tree.
It gets even better – many shops and studios offer workshops where you can learn to make somethings with your own hands. What could be better memory for yourself or gift for a friend, than something you have made by yourself?
Shopping centres
Local designers, international high street brands and signature Estonian handicraft can all be found under the same roof in larger Estonian supermarkets. Even though Estonia as a country is one of the smaller ones, the shopping centres are big enough to lose track of time and spend a day there.
A day out in a shopping centre can be as pleasant as sightseeing, with many Estonian shopping centres showing off pristine interiors and housing a range of restaurants. Also entertainment like a cinema, skating rink and sport clubs may be found in many shopping centres. And if you get hungry experiencing all this – you have quite wide selection of sushi, pizza and other cafes and restaurants on the spot.
FOOD | DRINKS | NIGHTLIFE
Estonian cuisine
Estonian food stems from ancient traditions and pure nature. Even though we have been affected by numerous cultures, our food has maintained its authentic Estonian taste. Estonian cuisine is attractive and distinctive, the Estonians’ love for pure and local food is well-known.
What makes a dish a national dish and what makes a dish an Estonian dish? The common feature is the fact that food must be fresh, tasty, made from local ingredients and produced locally. Many companies hold local and Estonian ingredients in high regard throughout the year, although the seasons and specificities of the local area are taken into account as well, all of which reflect in the quality of what is offered. The most traditional produce in Estonian kitchens are rye bread, meat, milk, vegetables, fish and various forest goods. The interest towards organic food and awareness thereof is becoming increasingly prevalent.
Traditional cuisine is not adhered to on a daily basis, however, people are sure to do so on folk holidays, the most significant of which are Christmas and New Year. Meat jelly, roast pork or goose, roasted potatoes, sauerkraut, lingonberry jam and blood sausages are without a doubt the staples of the dinner table on these days.
Nowadays, we are increasingly more interested in where our food comes from, who has produced it and how it has been made. Many head chefs of noted restaurants who have introduced delicacies produced from high-quality and authentic-tasting local ingredients into their menus consider Estonian cuisine close to their heart. They challenge themselves to find increasingly more exciting ingredients to make their dishes even tastier, more natural and more appetising.
There are many different and distinctive eateries across Estonia that offer characteristic ingredients of the area and dishes inherent to our national cuisine, which have been modernised in an exciting manner. This is done by companies that offer simple traditional farm food as well as distinguished and internationally recognised restaurants that present high-quality culinary sensations.
Culinary experience
Good food is always an experience – a feast for taste buds and joy from enjoying one’s company during a meal. However, there’s a growing number of places popping up in Estonia that offer more than just great food. In these places, you get to find out how food is made and where it grows as well as to
Culinary excursions are very popular. Organised in Tallinn and across Estonia, they are carried out as set programmes as well as tailor-made trips put together based on the specific interests of the customer.
Culinary themes are increasingly enriching museum exhibitions and programmes in an educational and interesting way. No matter the era, significant war or masterpiece – in all of the depicted times and cases, people ate and it goes without saying that culinary traditions say a lot about the spirit and people of each era. For example, a guided tour for gourmands in Pärnu Museum connects expositions with a tasting session of specific era inspired snacks and the Open Air Museum offers Peipus-Russian and Seto culinary culture workshops. In fact, there are many other places filled with culinary history. Such as the Hellenurme watermill with its workshop titled “From water to bread or how flour is made in a mill and bread made in a bakery”, which proudly carried the quality mark EHE given to providers of authentic natural and cultural experiences.
Educational and social entertainment is a culinary workshop led by a professional or amateur chef. Learning doesn’t have to take place only in the city. You can combine a culinary experience with a trip to Estonian nature. For example, Kopli Farm Kitchen in Põlva country and Nautse Mihkli farm in Muhu are well-known culinary training organisers . Another way to get a culinary experience is to visit small producers.
Food can also be tied with an active holiday. Many rural tourism enterprises offer guided mushrooming and berry picking trips as well as fishing trips combined with a cooking class of the freshly picked and caught ingredients.
Food is such a diverse subject that even a person least interested in the secrets of cooking can find a way to make eating interesting. For example, order your feast to an unusual setting or put your taste buds to a test on a blind dinner.
Restaurants in Estonia
International and fusion gourmet food can be enjoyed very inexpensively in Estonia, making this a desired destination for foodies. New and original restaurants pop up regularly in local towns, seaside villages and even in the middle of the forest.
Estonian restaurants are as diverse as the country’s history. Tallinn is a great place to explore the aristocratic flavours of medieval tradesmen, while you can witness a high-end culinary tradition in the making pretty much anywhere you travel in Estonia. Estonian TOP 50 Restaurants is a great guide for any travellers looking to sample Estonian food at its best.
A spoonful of Nordic with a twist
Similarly to Estonian culture, the local taste palate has been infused with the best of our neighbouring countries. Here you’ll find traces of Scandinavian, Russian and German kitchens, not to mention other mainstream international influencers such as the French nouvelle cuisine.
An ode to the pure, fresh and seasonal
Estonian chefs, food establishments and retailers have a similar understanding of the nature and future of Estonian cuisine, manifesting loyalty to healthy ingredients cooked into simple dishes that reflect the mastery of Nordic culinary traditions.
Cafes in Estonia
Estonia is best known for its cute and cosy cafes located in stunning historical locations, with the selection of mouth watering pastries bound to make anyone feel like a kid in a sweet shop. Many Estonian cafes are also open late and quite a few offer gourmet style dining.
Modern rooftops, medieval courtyards and cute wooden houses on the high streets of larger Estonian towns host a range of Estonian-style cafes, elegant in appearance and romantic by nature.
Every cafe in Estonia has its own unique story to tell. Tallinn’s Gothic Old Town lures in visitors with its niche cafes specialising in handmade chocolate and marzipan, while you can relive the golden 1930s by visiting vintage style cafes scattered across smaller Estonian towns.
Bars and pubs in Estonia
Tallinn and Tartu have the greatest selection of bars and pubs, while visitors are sure to find cosy wine bars and traditional pubs as they travel through smaller towns. Most Estonian bars and pubs also serve lunch and dinner until late hours and have a good selection of local beers on the tap.
Bars tend to be more common in Estonian cities, while pubs are more prevalent in smaller towns and villages. Tallinn bars range from trendy cocktail lounges to hipster hangouts with late night venues doubling up as gastropubs, an affordable and popular dining option among the locals. Tartu bars tend to have a more of a scholarly vibe due to the large student population, offering a decent selection of beers and cocktails in a creative and youthful atmosphere.
Nightlife in Estonia
Tartu and Tallinn nightlife is full on yet fairly sophisticated year round, with tons of events happening every weekend. While there is a great range of dedicated nightclubs hosting the best of local and up-and-coming international DJs, many bars and cafes hold regular gigs on the weekends.
Choose your favourite theme, whether its electro, rock, funk or dance music, and you will find a cool place to shake off the routine and welcome the dawn of a new day. Make sure to check out upcoming festivals and concerts by international artists.
