Best of the best: Food guides featuring Estonian restaurants
Restaurant guides introduce the best of the Estonian food world to both locals and visitors. Add these eateries to your itinerary!
Three words describe Estonian food culture: seasonal, local, and homemade.
These words highlight how people cook and eat in Estonia.
Everyday meals feature food that comes directly from the forest or a local garden. Mushrooms and berries grow rife in the forests, traditional family recipes are passed down over generations, and homes with greenhouses are the norm rather than the exception.
This philosophy is shared — and practiced — by the restaurants that have received international recognition. Read on for a closer look at the locations that have received awards or been included in the world's top food guides.
What does Estonia taste like?
Silverspoon
The quality label of Estonian gastronomic excellence
The Silverspoon Awards Competition recognizes restaurants in various categories and aims to promote food culture in Estonia. Unlike many awards given by food industry professionals, Silverspoon evaluations are based on feedback from regular guests. This diversity of opinion makes Silverspoon unique.
2024 Silverspoon Award winners
- Fine dining: Horisont Restaurant & Bar
- Casual dining: Ugandi Resto
- National cuisine: Argentiina Restaurant
- Best kohvik*: Fellin Cafe
- Best service: Ugandi Resto
- Family restaurant: Georg Ots SPA Hotel Restaurant
- Consistent quality over time: Controvento
- Best chef: Silver Illak (Ugandi Resto)
- Outstanding supporter of gastronomy: Kristjan Peäske (founder of the restaurants Lee and Lore Bistroo)
* Kohvik is "café" in English, but in practice, they are more like bistros. While coffee and cake are usually on offer, they often have full menus complete with lighter dishes, mains, and desserts.
The MICHELIN Guide
The world-famous MICHELIN Guide guide focuses on the quality of food, the harmony of flavors, the chef's skill, and consistency. Over the years, the MICHELIN Guide has become a global symbol of restaurant quality.
In 2024, the MICHELIN Guide recommended 35 restaurants in Estonia. Restaurants can receive Stars, a Bib Gourmand, which recognizes good value for money, a Green Star for sustainability, or general recognition.
In addition, six hotels have received a MICHELIN recommendation, showing that Estonia stands out not only for its food but also for its high-quality hospitality:
Photo author: Näljane Nelik
360°Eat Guide
The 360°Eat Guide aims to promote sustainable cooking by looking beyond the plate. The assessment is based on the restaurant’s culinary skills, the origin of raw materials, environmental friendliness, resource use, and social responsibility. Experts visit restaurants and thoroughly evaluate their activities based on the 360°Eat Guide standards.
Restaurants can receive one, two, or three circles, indicating the restaurant’s sustainability efforts — the higher the number of circles, the more sustainable the restaurant.
The 2024 guide includes 12 Estonian restaurants.
Photo author: Karl Markus Antson
360°Eat Guide restaurants in Estonia
La Liste
La Liste is a restaurant guide created in France. The first rankings were published in 2015. It combines the ratings of more than 700 food guides and reviews to calculate an overall rating of restaurants. The restaurants with the highest scores are included in the La Liste ranking.
In 2024, three Estonian restaurants made it to this list:
Photo author: Ken Mürk
The Falstaff Guide
Falstaff is a lifestyle publishing house founded in 1980 in Austria and is now based in Zurich. The publishing house does not follow the same path as other restaurant guides. In addition to professionals, it also involves members of the Falstaff Club. These people frequently visit restaurants and hotels due to their lifestyle. Restaurants are rated on a 100-point system, with a maximum of 50 points for food, 20 for service, 20 for drinks, and 10 for ambience.
In Estonia, over 150 restaurants have received Falstaff recognition. In addition, the guide published the first part of a street food restaurant guide, which recommends 22 of the best pizza restaurants in Estonia.
50 Top Pizzas in Europe
Pizza lovers will also be interested in the Italian ranking 50 Top Pizza list of the world's best pizza restaurants.
Two Estonian pizza restaurants landed on the 2024 European list:
- Margherita Pizzeria in Tallinn came in 39th place.
- Kaja Pizza Köök was recognized in the "Excellent Pizzeria" category.
Photo author: Karl Markus Antson
Top 500 Bars in the World
Inclusion in the list of the Top 500 Bars is based on criteria such as cocktail quality, bartender creativity, and atmosphere.
Estonia is represented on the list by Whisper Sister, coming in at #341. Whisper Sister is a sleek speakeasy in Tallinn known for its innovative cocktails, combining the classics with modern techniques and using local ingredients to give the drinks a regional touch.
Photo author: Näljane Nelik
A celebration of Estonian food culture
Maitsev Eesti (Tasty Estonia) is an annual food festival that has become one of the most important events for the Estonian food industry. The event combines presentations and tastings, special recognition for the Estonian food region of the year, competitions, and awards.
Organized by the Estonian Chefs Association and the Estonian Sommeliers Association, together with other industry representatives, Tasty Estonia introduces attendees to local raw materials, small producers, and members of the hospitality sector and draws attention to Estonia as a food tourism destination.
Photo author: Alina Birjuk
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Last updated
29.12.2024