Ivar Vendelin opens DAO, a new Asian buffet restaurant, at Ülemiste Centre

In early November, Estonia’s first Asian buffet restaurant, DAO, opens its doors at Ülemiste Centre, offering more than 100 dishes from a range of Asian cuisines for one fixed price. The restaurant is led by versatile entrepreneur Ivar Vendelin, who aims to expand into the other Baltic states as well.

The Asian buffet restaurant DAO will open on the second floor of Ülemiste Centre near Apollo Kino, occupying more than 800 m². The concept takes its cue from the grand buffet restaurants of Las Vegas, where a wide choice of food goes hand in hand with luxurious interiors and a complete dining experience.

According to DAO’s sole owner Ivar Vendelin, the aim in creating the new concept was to take the best features of buffet restaurants and move the experience a step beyond the usual buffet. “Asian cuisine is incredibly broad, and that is exactly what we want to show with DAO. Usually, a guest picks one cuisine in a restaurant and sticks to a single dish, but here they can try sushi, Indian curry, Korean flavours, wok dishes and teppanyaki over the course of one evening – all of Asia on one plate at once. We want to offer a Las Vegas-style buffet experience at a price that lets people come to DAO regularly, not just on special occasions,” said the experienced restaurateur.

In this way, DAO brings a Las Vegas-inspired concept to Estonian diners in a more affordable format: for one fixed price, guests can freely choose and sample dozens of different Asian dishes on an all-you-can-eat basis. The menu of more than 100 dishes ranges from Japanese, Chinese and Korean cuisine to the flavours of India, Thailand and Vietnam and dishes from Southeast Asia. There is sushi and sashimi, dim sum, curries, naan, wok dishes and much more, all rounded off by a wide selection of desserts and a chocolate fountain.

The kitchen is staffed by chefs specialising in Asian cuisine, and some dishes are prepared right in front of guests. In the Live Wok area, everyone can put together their own dish, and in the evenings and at weekends it is joined by Live Teppanyaki, where chefs grill each guest’s chosen ingredients to order. At lunchtime, DAO offers a more compact selection at a lunch price, while in the evenings and at weekends the buffet expands with more special dishes and premium ingredients.

According to Guido Pärnits, Director of Ülemiste Center, DAO complements the centre’s restaurant and entertainment offering with a concept the market is clearly asking for. “People increasingly expect a shopping mall to give them reasons to come beyond their usual shopping trip, and food, entertainment and time spent together play an ever greater part in that. DAO is an excellent addition to the centre because it creates a compelling evening destination next to Apollo Kino and complements Ülemiste’s already strong restaurant line-up with a clearly distinctive concept,” said the director of center.

Time spent with loved ones guided the design of the restaurant: a carefully considered interior, open kitchen areas and a separate bar create a space where people come not only to eat but also to linger.

DAO’s CEO Kristi Saluste also stresses that the restaurant has to work equally well for a weekday lunch and for a longer evening visit. “At lunchtime, you can eat quickly and easily at DAO, while in the evening you can slow down and enjoy the whole experience: trying different dishes, watching teppanyaki and wok dishes being prepared and discovering new flavours with friends. Drinks from the cocktail bar and a relaxed atmosphere complete the experience. We want people to come to DAO to spend the evening, not just to eat,” said Saluste.

The Ülemiste restaurant is DAO’s first step: the concept was designed from the outset with expansion into other markets in mind. The company’s ambition is to grow DAO into a restaurant chain present both in Estonia and in the other Baltic states.

DAO’s first restaurant opens its doors on the second floor of Ülemiste Centre in early November 2026, right next to Apollo Kino.