Estonia Restaurant Culinary Tallinn

Michelin Stars of Tallinn

The French-founded Michelin Guide is the world’s most prestigious culinary guide. It has rated close to 30,000 establishments in 37 countries on three continents. The anonymity of their inspectors is fiercely protected by the Guide, and a Michelin rating is considered a destiny-altering achievement in the world of haute cuisine. The one, two, and three stars have become its most coveted awards.

The ratings are based on five criteria: quality of products, mastery of flavour and cooking techniques, the personality of the chef represented in the dining experience, harmony of flavours, and consistency between inspectors’ visits. One star stands for ‘high quality cooking, worth a stop’, two stars for ‘excellent cooking, worth a detour’, and three stars for ‘exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey’. The Guide’s ‘Bib Gourmand’ is awarded to restaurants offering good quality and good value. And the recently launched ‘Michelin Plate’ is awarded to a restaurant for capably prepared dishes that are made from fresh ingredients.

Estonia has become the first Baltic country to be included in the Michelin Guide in May 2022. Noa Chef’s Hall and 180 Degrees in Tallinn each received the One Michelin Star. Five Bib Gourmand awards and twentyfour Michelin Plate were also awarded to Estonian restaurants – a total of 31 restaurants in Estonia have been included in the Michelin Guide.

The Stars: NOA CHEF’S HALL www.nch.ee Noa Chef’s Hall is part of awarded chef restaurateur Tõnis Siigur’s Noa restaurant along the Pirita seaside in Tallinn, known for its own aquarium. Not surprisingly, this modern European restaurant is seafood-centric. The show kitchen takes centre stage and magnificent views of the city’s skyline, Tallinn Bay and the Gulf of Finland enhance the experience. The view of the

sunset from the lounge, enjoyed with an aperitif of local Estonian spirits, is stunning. Chef Siigur’s seven-course menu is extraordinary from start to finish. An experience that is worth every second! The gastronomic adventure through complex, flavourful and authentic dishes, each presented by a chef, paired by Sommelier Põld, and served with care, appeal to the eye and the palate.

Michelin Guide’s Point of View: The on-view kitchen is the heart of the restaurant. Luxury ingredients are sourced from around the world, but locally foraged and preserved produce also plays its part. The creative menu of very original dishes is packed with complementary flavours and layers of texture.

180° www.180degrees.ee Set up by Berlin-born Chef Matthias Diether in the historical shipyard area of Noblessner, 180° is just a few miles outside Tallinn’s city centre. This fine-dining restaurant offers a melange of international influences prepared with the best produce from Estonia and the world. A U-shaped open kitchen in the heart of the dining room is its centrepiece, and the restaurant is named for the 180° views enjoyed from the tables set around this. Discover the Chef’s Table experience that gets you up-close-and-personal with the kitchen as you witness innovative techniques creating masterpieces before your eyes. Chef Diether aims to raise the bar for haute cuisine in Estonia by creating an unforgettable ‘old days’ fine-dine multi-sensory escapade – bold and rich.

Michelin Guide’s Point of View: Sit at the U-shaped open kitchen for a ringside seat. Ambitious, showy dishes are chef Matthias Diether’s hallmark. The fourcourse ‘Flavours of 180 Degrees’ or the six-course ‘Matthias’ Inspiration’ menus show an array of flavour and texture contrasts and great attention to detail. L

The Ambassador of Estonia to India, H.E. Katrin Kivi, shares her impressions of culinary highlights from restaurants in Tallinn that she visited recently.

TULJAK www.tuljak.ee Tuljak has a tastefully decorated lounge with a terrace overlooking Tallinn Bay — there is no better place in the capital city to watch the sunset! It provides excellent service with very competent, helpful, attentive and witty waiters, who really went the extra mile for me. Michelin Guide’s Point of View: Set in an elevated spot, with distant views of the Gulf of Finland, this airy restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows is a wonderful example of modernist architecture. Dishes have a Baltic heart, with a few Asian and Mediterranean touches; expect plenty of originality and some intriguing flavours.

MANTEL JA KORSTEN www.mantel-korsten.ee “Have visited the restaurant several times with family and friends, including my international guests and was never disappointed.” This sounds exactly like an Estonian compliment – “not bad” – which actually means that something is “excellent”! This is why I keep going back again to this tiny cosy place in Tallinn, close to the Park Kadriorg.

The tiger prawns served with kataifi and lemongrass aioli are among preferred starters together with the outstanding Tartare Tuljak. The Lamb Dumplings were easily the best I’ve ever had – served on a creamy wine butter sauce and accompanied by smoked sour cream, surrounded by a teaspoon of extra virgin chili oil in a separate small bowl. The flavours were delicately balanced with a mixture of fresh chives and other herbs on top of it. On my latest visit, I got a very innovative Tartare experience with crunchy sea cabbage, anchovy and fleur de sel, topped with an interesting addition of the famous Italian cured pork cheek – Guanciale. The King Prawn Ravioli were soft and creamy with a tickling touch of sourness created by the mixture of basil, fennel and saffron on top of all that smoothness to keep you wanting to take the next bite (and yet another bite, yet another bite…).

The restaurant’s home-made Limoncello is also an absolute must! I would definitely visit again together with friends!

The Chocolate Cake with Morello cherries and green pistachio ice cream is made with the finest and unbeatable Valrhona – a treat for the chocolate dessert lovers.

Michelin Guide’s Point of View: This picture-postcard clapboard house’s name means ‘mantel and chimney’. A green-tiled fireplace and mantel take centre stage in a room furnished with bright, bold designs. Mediterranean-inspired dishes are accompanied by well-chosen wines with an organic and biodynamic bias. Michelin Guide’s Point of View: This busy, buzzy, all-day brasserie comes with stone walls, exposed ducting and striking copper chandeliers. Well-priced modern dishes come with a focus on the chargrill, with steaks taking centre stage; the ‘Dirty Steak’ – a ribeye – is cooked directly on the charcoal. The courtyard is a popular spot.

HÄRG www.resto.harg.ee Situated at the heart of Tallinn’s business district, Härg is undoubtedly your Number 1 spot for a romantic date night or a family dinner. The staff is both forthcoming and kind, serving visitors in many languages, including flawless English. CAFÉ KOMEET www.kohvikkomeet.ee Last but not least. A special add on – and definitely a good value for money suggestion. A cosy luminous restaurant at the heart of Tallinn, with an unspoilt view of the national Estonia Opera House and the UNESCOlabelled Old Town with its many medieval towers. Café Komeet offers delicacies prepared only with local ingredients grown in Estonia, including organic meat, eggs and milk products.

The menu is rich and diverse and has something special for everyone. We were stunned by the marinated Seabass Ceviche, ideally accompanied with a glass of perfectly chilled Pinot Grigio to bring out all its flavours. As a main course, make sure to try the Grilled Octopus, which was hands down the best I’ve ever had! Its soft, mushy core and hard outer layer gave it the perfect consistency. The dish is served with sweet oven-baked cherry tomatoes and sweet potatoes, hand-picked leaves, lime-mayo and a savoury avocado cream that melts on the tongue, offering a delicate mixture of tastes.

As a side order, I can but recommend you try the seasonal vegetable wok and the charcoal grilled potato with its refreshing creamy sauce. The sizzling side orders are served in ardent rustic stone pots reminiscent of the traditional rural Estonian style, mixing archaic tradition with modern savoir-faire. Its legendary patty of organic lamb comes with honeyglazed carrots and beetroots and a roasted garlic and red wine sauce. The local pike-perch fillet served with celeriac, sugar snap peas and lemon-mustard vinaigrette is another temptation people succumb to numerous times and yet, keep coming back for more. Don’t leave here without sampling one of their virgin cocktails or trying their excellent cakes with fresh seasonal berries that you will fall in love with! L

When my husband was posted to New Delhi, I started a tea club with twenty fellow-spouses of Ambassadors. By the time we disbanded due to the pandemic in March 2020, we had 65 members representing over 40 countries, and had witnessed 26 presentations of teas and coffees from around the world. Even as the T-Club, as it was called, taught us about traditions, customs and elaborate ceremonies linked to tea, it did what tea does best – it brought us together in friendship and understanding.

Black, white, green, yellow, red, pink …, fresh, earthy, woodsy, fruity, flowery, malty, brisk, grassy, nutty – there are so many types of tea! After water, it is the secondmost consumed drink in the world. Its rich and welldocumented history dates back to 2737 B.C. It began as a medicinal beverage, and today is a way of life in many countries. There is even an International Tea Day on 21st May, in time for the first flush of Darjeeling tea.

At a session on Chinese teas, we tried the rare and precious Pu’er or pu-erh tea, produced in the Yunnan province. This tea gets better and more valuable with age. In ancient times, parents bought Pu’er tea at the birth of a daughter and kept it until her wedding day, when the tea would be sold for her dowry, its value then being equal to gold.

A group of visiting Japanese tea masters were once our guests at the T-club. Did you know that in Japan it takes years to learn how to conduct a proper tea ceremony? Even the way you hold a ladle, matters. We tried our hand at whisking up the unique and healthy matcha tea. Till a few decades ago, a Japanese girl had better marriage prospects after attending a few years of tea school. We learned that simply from the tea served at a business meeting, you can tell if a company is well off or in financial trouble.

In Mongolia, it is an unwritten rule to offer tea to any guest, even uninvited ones, to show the household’s hospitality and openness. Besides black tea (with milk and salt), there are teas in Mongolia prepared with fat (butter or lard), dried horse meat, dumplings, barley flour or millet. The spout of a tea kettle should never face the south or the door, because it indicates loss. Traditionally, before drinking tea there would be a tea oblation, using a flat, carved, wooden spoon to sprinkle tea upwards in a sacrificial offering to the Sun, Sky, deities and nature spirits.

In Russia there is a saying: Take a cup of tea and you’ll forget your grief. In the past, tea was so expensive that a box of tea equalled the price of 444 books. It was customary here to drink tea from a saucer, sipped through a sugar cube held between the lips. Traditionally, a strong tea concentrate (zavarka) is prepared in a teapot and hot water added from a samovar when serving.

In Vietnam, the traditional method of preparing tea was to stuff dried green tea into each just-blooming pink lotus flower down at the lotus pond. The flowers would then be picked at dawn, and the tea, now scented by the lotus flowers, extracted. Nowadays, a popular though still complex method is to mix tea with lotus anthers. To make a kilogram of lotus tea, a thousand lotus flowers are needed.

Another wedding-related tea tradition comes from South Korea. Before their wedding, young girls were required to take part in a tea-ceremony class, where they learned how to behave themselves, how to bow, and how to perform the ceremony. Originally, green tea

South Korean Tea Ceremony

was used at the ceremony. Nowadays, in traditional Korean tea houses, ginseng and date tea are more common.

Sri Lanka’s Ceylon tea is mainly black tea. The tea region is not big, but due to a large variation in elevation, soil and climate, the teas from different districts such as Uva, Nuwara Eliya or Dimbulla, taste very different. In general, Ceylon teas have a full and bold taste. Ceylon cinnamon tea is a big favourite, perhaps due to the excellent cinnamon grown there. Steeped in ritual and ceremony, the Moroccan way of drinking tea is all about slowing down. Moroccan mint tea is green tea flavoured with lots of fresh mint and heavily sweetened. It is always served to guests, at homes or in shops. In the south, mint tea is served thrice, first strong and bitter, then medium-strong, lastly weak and very sweet. Mint tea is drunk to calm down, chill out, look at the world, debate and connect. Tea can be masculine, accompanied by loads of sugar and a beautiful demonstration by men to show their skill at making it. Or it can be feminine, with less sugar; part of the ritual of the Moroccan hammam.

In Azerbaijan, tea is always served when a boy’s family visits a girl’s home to ask her hand in marriage. If the girl and her family agree to the match, the future bride serves the tea with sugar. This means that preparations for the wedding can begin. But if she serves the tea without sugar, it spells a brush-off. Azerbaijanis favour a strong black tea, scented with an infusion of herbs and flowers. It is drunk with lemon and white or black cherry jam. Azerbaijani men love to go to tea-houses. They discuss politics and social issues and exchange gossip and manly advice over glasses of tea.

Tea in pink? Yes, it does exist. Noon chai or sheer chai (from the Persian, meaning ‘milk tea’) is a traditional

Noon chai

Kashmiri Kahwa

Photo: Poonam Bachhav

beverage in Kashmir, a winter drink made with salt, milk and baking soda. The addition of air with baking soda gives the tea its unique colour.

Another famous Kashmiri tea is, of course, Kahwa. The secret to Kahwa is the exotic spice mix. Dry roast cinnamon bark, cloves, black cardamom and a tiny little black pepper (or optionally Kashmiri roses) give it a wonderful fragrance.

Though technically not a tea, in spirit, Yerba Mate or ‘the drink of friendship’, is the tea of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. It is made from Ilex paraguariensis, a special plant with high levels of caffeine. The people of Uruguay drink the most yerba mate in the world; a typical Uruguayan always has a thermos of yerba mate in hand, even when walking or cycling. When serving yerba in a group of friends or family, the host will pour hot water, refilling the same yerba mate about ten times, the drink is passed around and everyone shares a bombilla (a kind of straw). If you want more, don’t say thank you, because that means you are done.

Though prepared in lots of different ways, using various rituals or ceremonies, all tea basically comes from different varieties of the same plant, Camellia sinensis – a small evergreen shrub whose leaves are used to produce it. Just like the human race! For me, tea will always stand for friendship, goodwill, acceptance, and inclusion. L

Vietnamese lotus tea Yerba Mate

Annamari Somogyi, a diplomat, is the wife of the former Hungarian Ambassador to India. She started the T-Club in India in 2017.

Romancing Filter Coffee

There is something about the quintessential south Indian filter coffee that makes me wax eloquent so here is an observation for my readers…

Filter coffee is a focused flow and not a force!

My morning cuppa of Kaappi (as it is pronounced in the south of India) is like black gold caffeinating my literary soul. This is not an exaggeration – I am truly a fanatic fan. So, what makes this humble coffee so superior to all the cappuccinos, lattes, flat whites, etc. of the sophisticated world?

As a novice, I would describe filter coffee as having a well-rounded, subtle taste and aroma that pleasantly rolls around your tongue and appeals to all your senses, then hits you hard and strong. It is a slow, engaging, and long-lasting affair. The main reason its taste is so, well, coffee-like, and not a bitter thrust down your throat, is the way it is brewed. Steamed droplets fall into the mesh of an electric filter coffee machine or the tiny holes of the classic two-pieced steel container, ensuring that they completely surround the coffee before dripping down. This, in turn, gathers all notes of the coffee powder, rather than just the top notes mustered by other forms of pressurized coffeebrewing.

Another interesting observation is the way filter coffee decoction foams almost of its own accord. Compared to instant coffee powder that needs to be whipped into a foam, filter coffee foams as soon as the milk joins it and needs only a little mixing ritual. This ritual is part of the charm – you raise the steel tumbler to a height and pour it down the dubbra (a small steel container) creating a light brown, frothy layer hiding the golden concoction. Yummm, I am yearning for another cup.

A large part of the flavour of filter coffee comes from the nose and not the tongue, making the blend of beans and the way it is roasted and ground most important. In traditional Tamilian families like mine, the lady of the house – my grandmother – would be the one in charge. The green beans chosen from the trusted local vendor would be roasted on her ordinary kadai, with no additives like oil – just the beans and the heat. She would know intuitively when it hit the right note. Close scrutiny was maintained on the color – moving from green to light brown to a dark brown – the last hues rendered by the resting heat of the kadai off the charcoal fire. My mother yearns for her childhood filter coffee which has been etched in memory for this home roasting method.

The beans roasted, grinding is a function of the type of filter used and the size of its holes. If using the traditional steel drip, then one may need a slightly coarse grind, but for an electric machine with a mesh, the grind has to be a fine one. Slightly impatient fans, like me, prefer electric, though the decoction is more consistent through the steel filter. Either way, the liquid gold at the bottom of the container glistens with potential as you drink your way through several small servings through the day.

That brings me to the other ritual of filter coffee – you should not consume it like a meal as served in the large-sized café style cups. It needs to be consumed in small quantities throughout the day like a tiny nudge to the senses. Of course, the morning cup may be a different matter, but the beauty of filter coffee is that it is light enough to be consumed across different parts of the day. Each quarter-filled steel tumbler is an occasion, and reason enough for a break.

South Indian filter coffee is usually portrayed as a hot steaming beverage, but I guarantee that it yields one of the tastiest cold coffees I have ever had. The innate froth of the decoction makes the mixer-grinder redundant. Just by mimicking the top-to-bottom mixing action of hot coffee, you will have the pleasure of a thick, frothy cold coffee.

Some notes before I dash off for my cuppa – chicory. Some prefer to add chicory to their coffee powder simply because this woody plant-based ingredient gives a bitter note and body to the decoction. Personally, I would recommend an optimal mix of Robusta and Arabica beans to do the same trick.

Photo: Dinesh Valke

Photo: Triv Rao Baba Budan Giri

And, the homeland of Indian Coffee is Chikmagalur. Coffee is said to have been introduced here in 1670 by a Mohammedan Saint at Chandradrona Parvatha by sowing seven seeds – this hillock is now called ‘Baba Budan Giri’. A blend of the right roasted beans emanating from the rain-kissed high-altitude plantations of this area yields the freshest, most authentic coffee.

Now I really have to go folks, I can’t let my Kaappi get cold! L

Nandita Kaushik is a creative writer, content writer, blogger and poet who fell in love with words at age 9.

The Age of Zero

My early thirties were filled with spirited fervor, as is with many in their formative ‘alcohol fueled’ years. Then there were those sporadic moments when you’d abstain due to various reasons – health, religious interventions, saturation… dry January anyone? In my sober period, I would carry French sparkling water to house parties and steal lime wheels to pop in my pretend gin and tonic.

This resonates with Julia Bainbridge, a New Yorker whose bestselling book Good Drinks: Alcohol-Free Recipes for When You’re Not Drinking for Whatever Reason is a resounding success. It followed close on the heels of a New York movement in 2015-2018 when a large portion of the beverage menu real estate was devoted to alcohol-free cocktails. Bartenders were (and still are) pushing the boundaries that had previously limited ‘mocktails’ to syrup-laden juices or glorified Shirley Temples, and consumers – sober or not – got curious. “I began to codify a just-emerging drinks landscape.”

American bar owners, bartenders and beverage writers are all vehemently pitching the message of low or zero alcohol drinks.

Amanda Fewster moved to Etta in Los Angeles five years ago, when she first heard of this trend. She has recently introduced invigorating lower alcohol options on her A.M. menus. Her favorite is Bergamot Buzz (Italicus Bergamot liqueur, fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, pellegrino & burnt rosemary garnish) which

clocks in at 20% ABV – half of a regular vodka/gin cocktail. The half spritzes – ginger & turmeric tea style with bubbles give the drinker the experience of a cocktail. A guest in her 7th month of pregnancy had three of these spritzes and was thrilled to enjoy a beautiful ‘cocktail’ in her hand. “I love the joy people get out of such little details in life,” concludes Amanda. California is seeing a jump in low or zero alcohol beverage options on the shelf.

Photo: Aperol

also does an 1860s classic ‘Americano’ – similar to a Negroni but uses seltzer water instead of gin. In fact, all his specialty cocktails can be made to accommodate low alcohol by dialing down the amount of spirit used. A quintessential bar menu in India would include both half and full pours – maybe inadvertently this was a way to cut down on alcohol? Is America legitimately circling on that train of thought?

Globally, we have come a long way when it comes to options for non-drinkers, minors and temporary

Photo: Etta

Jon Rugg introduced Sawtelle Sake in smartly designed cans. “The idea of a low alcohol cocktail in a can became a real alternative to beer”, says Jon. He also believes that the consumer base is becoming much more informed about what they’re drinking with regards to ingredient transparency.

Similarly, Brian ‘Vito’ Morales of Saso Bistro in Pasadena, offers many spritzes naturally low on alcohol, Aperol Spritz being the most popular. He

Photo: Katrina Frederick Studio

abstainers alike. Zero and low alcohol beverages have found a niche for people who love alcohol but also fill a need for those who do not. It seems that in India, bars began to focus on creating low alcohol options only recently, as the pandemic hit the world. Bar Max, who creates incredibly innovative cocktails on his instagram disagrees: “Low alcohol cocktails are not new – think Sangrias, Mimosas, Shandies and Spritzers.” Bars in India are playing it safe though. “It’s still a nascent industry” says Varun Sudhakar, of Bar

Bundle, who thinks that this category first needs to create awareness within the bar community to see the shift trickle down to consumers. While gin rules the roost in bars, the allure of wines fuels a Sangria culture – the menus based on wines work well. They may not be pegged as ‘low alcohol cocktails’, but one can see the category slowly take form on bar menus. Pankil Shah of Woodside Inn also believes the introduction of low or zero alcohol cocktails is trending. “The health-conscious look to consume lower calories in alcohol without compromising on the complex flavours in a cocktail”. Brunch is an excellent opportunity to introduce such cocktails. Frozen Campari Lemonade (ABV 20%) was a hotseller at his friendly neighbourhood bars as a part of their #DayTripping campaign, which focused on daycentric food and beverage creations.

Some established brands are kicking up a non-alcoholic storm. Svami has created a zero-alcohol gin and tonic. Co-founder Aneesh Bhasin was initially not convinced about this segment. “Our zero alcohol cocktails were popping up in baby shower hampers and we realized we have a whole untapped segment to cater to.” This segment today forms 15% of their portfolio.

Some established brands are kicking up a non-alcoholic storm

Photo: Foxtrot Beverages Pvt Ltd It’s becoming evident amongst the fraternity, in India as well as the West, that using various wines, spirits and non-alcoholic spirits to create a magical experience for discerning consumers is the way of the future. The Age of Zero is likely upon us. L Mumbai-born Nikhil Merchant is a foodie, restaurateur & writer (Nonchalant Gourmand) who lives in Los Angeles.