The culinary and cosy delights of Tallinn

When I exited my hotel for the first time in Old Town Tallinn, I almost immediately encountered a man wearing a suit of armour, lumbering up the street in my direction. Surprises like this alone are an excellent reason to explore this historic capital city. While the collage of colourful venues may leave a visitor dizzy when choosing a place to sleep or eat, The Baltic Times is pleased to offer its recommendations — the St. Petersbourg and Schlossle hotels and their accompanying restaurants, located in the vibrant heart of Old Town. The city itself is a marriage between protected relics of the past and bold ventures into the future, and these 5-star venues are no different, seamlessly blending the traditional with the chic.

The St. Petersbourg, a brief stroll around the cobbled corner from the Old Town Square, is easy for the wandering tourist to find. It faces Cat’s Well, a black structure with a strange legend positioned right in the middle of a quiet three-way intersection. The hotel’s interior is dim yet sophisticated, chandeliers and red velvet curtains evoking classic glamour. Neat stacks of vintage suitcases populate the hallways. But the atmosphere is not entirely bound to the past; hanging egg chairs suspended from the ceiling add a touch of modernity. Computers open for guest use sit on a large wooden table surrounded by red velvet chairs, another glittering chandelier directly overhead.

The decor is toned by a theme of theatrics — large black and white photographs of dancers line the hallways, and sculptures of human forms in motion pose on numerous shelves. The most notable example of the latter is a giant metal figure at the top of the stairwell, elegantly preparing to plunge down to the ground level three storeys below.
This atmosphere continues into the bedrooms, tastefully furnished by the celebrated Andrew Martin. In some luxurious venues the furnishings may appear too pristine to touch, but here, the suede, velvet, and faux fur make the space inviting and comfortable rather than intimidating. The ultra-modern light fixture in my room, composed of white hexagons, reflects in a distressed antique mirror to create a nearly metaphorical union of the opposing visual elements. Not to be outdone by the furniture, the city offered me a view of St. Nicholas’ Church, now Niguliste Museum, out my window.

Those who stay at the St. Petersbourg don’t need to travel far to find an exceptional dinner. The hotel’s very own Hermitage restaurant features Russian cuisine in its finest form, from beef stroganoff to borscht served with bacon pastries. Visitors can enjoy a plate of homemade bread while waiting for their meal, slices of dark hazelnut-apricot-beer bread with black truffle butter that tastes like an earthy autumnal harvest. My first night in Tallinn, I was treated to the crispy duck fillet, a soft and juicy cut of meat so delicate that it nearly melted in my mouth. Its crunchy skin was cooked and salted just enough to offset the sweet tenderness of the flesh. The secondary star of the dish was the cauliflower cream, its warm and smooth flavour reminiscent of mashed potatoes; it would be readily welcomed into any American’s traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Pinot Noir sauce, drizzled across the plate, added a fruity kick to the ensemble.

For dessert I enjoyed the deconstructed Pavlova with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and strawberry-lemon “pearls” scattered on top. The airy, sugary meringue blended well with the bright flavour of the pearls and the classic richness of the ice cream.
My dinner was accented with Moldovan ice wine, a tangy delight which nearly makes the tongue tingle. This treat is one of the numerous alcoholic offerings available at the Hermitage, and their origins stretch from Spain to New Zealand. Despite the large selection, the restaurant staff is knowledgeable, able to describe the special features of the wines on hand, including unique production methods.

Guests can easily spend a pleasant evening cuddled in the cosy atmosphere of the Hermitage. Its greyscale furnishings are highlighted by lamps casting red glows on the walls, and mirrors multiply the angles at which the space and its large photographs can be observed.

The St. Petersbourg also serves breakfast in its traditional Estonian-styled basement restaurant, Kuldse Notsu Korts (Golden Piglet Inn). The cold buffet offers a variety of savoury and sweet foods with which to start the day, most notably an assortment of smoked, salted, and fried fish. The Estonian and homemade caraway seed cheeses are also worth a taste. A hot menu is provided as well, from which I can recommend a steaming bowl of semolina porridge.

Contrasting the hotel’s upper floors, Kuldse Notsu Korts has bright white stone walls, their uneven texture and exposed brick serving as reminders of the building’s 600-plus year history. Flowers and ivy are painted on the walls, alongside quotations and sayings, mostly in Estonian. Guests are seated upon carved benches, wooden spoons and steins dangling overhead from chains. There are oars fastened to the walls and wagon wheel light fixtures, lanterns and clay bottles clustered on the large window sills. The scene calls to mind a treasure-filled ethnographic museum.

If travelers are unable to book a room at the St. Petersbourg, an equally pleasant and unique experience awaits them at the other end of the Old Town Square at the Schlossle Hotel. The easy-to-spot pale marsh green and pink front doors are among the many colourful entryways in the city.
These doors give way to a lodge-style lobby, its heavy support beams holding up a striking, richly-coloured wood ceiling. Centuries of life are echoed by the stone and painted walls, the notches in the wood. However, the fusion of past and present can be seen at the Schlossle as well, in details such as distressed mirror tables and soft grey and white couches which fill the room. These add to the cosy atmosphere and do not detract from the brick fireplace, nor the mounted boar’s head on the wall.

A thick rope handrail guides visitors up the spiral staircase, where sharp black and white photographs of Tallinn’s architecture adorn the walls. The rooms vary in size and dimension, but even the smallest do not feel small as much as warm and safe. Plump woollen pillows and a deep window seat gave my room the aura of a secret hideaway. To balance the folk with the chic, there is another memorable chandelier, a giant orb of crystals and thousands of tiny beads, which casts streams of textured light radially out across the ceiling and walls like an elegant disco ball. The scene out the window is quieter this time, a courtyard of huddled picturesque buildings and trees raining their multi-coloured autumn leaves onto the blueish cobblestones below.

Schlossle Restaurant, newly relocated in the hotel’s basement, also carries the blended themes of comfort and history. The two cavernous rooms are cocooned in curved brick walls and rippling arches of brick ceilings; the dim candlelight and blazing fireplace flood the space with ancient warmth.  Fuchsia accent lights add a layer complexity to the stones. The back room houses a half-wall of black and white photography and a giant flatscreen TV. As I enjoyed my second night in Tallinn, I could vividly picture the upcoming winter, as joyful crowds would gather in this welcoming basement, the icy weather above ground long forgotten.

This autumn, the restaurant is marking hunting season with offerings fresh from the forest. While tempted by beaver tail and elk, I opted for the wild goose fillet, a rugged meat full of life, touched with a layer of rich fat. The other elements of the dish encircled the goose as if in celebration of the centrepiece that unites them. Roasted baby beets brought a sweet earthiness, while minced bacon wrapped in cabbage added a secondary savoury hue. Generous dollops of bright, tart cranberry jelly saturated everything with festive flavour. This satisfying experience was concluded by a memorable, thought-provoking dessert, peanut ice cream. Unlike sweet American peanut butter ice creams, this frozen scoop was salty with a rich, subdued nuttiness, a far more accurate nod to a real peanut. It sat atop orange honeycomb toffee and shredded fluffy bread, surrounded by blackberries. The crunchy, sticky toffee provided a mature spin on the beloved pairing of honey and nuts, the bread blended amicably with the savoury and the sweet. The blackberries acquainted me with a flavourful relationship which I had never encountered, as their assertive acidity cut into the ice cream to create something entirely new. The final touch was a thin layer of sauce with a nearly oceanic punch. This vastly different saltiness brought a new dimension to that of the ice cream, which mere seconds earlier had seemed simply “salty.”

The cosy cavern of Schlossle also serves breakfast — a cold European buffet alongside menu items. After two breath-taking days spent absorbing Old Town Tallinn, there seemed no better way to finish the trip than the hot Estonian breakfast. Fresh cucumber and cheese in sour cream, smoky black pudding topped with jam, and buttery fried eggs are an ideal meal for a setting so drenched in history.
Travelers should consider themselves fortunate to experience the vivid atmosphere of Tallinn. As they marvel at the mosaic of architectural wonder and history, we at The Baltic Times hope that they find a moment to settle down in a comfortable, memorable hotel.

 Sponsored by the Schlossle Hotel Group.