Tallinn

Tallinn is Estonia’s capital on the Baltic Sea, and is the country’s cultural hub. It retains its walled, cobble stoned Old Town, home to cafes and shops, as well as Kiek in de Kök, a 15th-century defensive tower. Its Estonian History Museum is dedicated to the country's 20th-century history, and its Gothic, towering Town Hall is among the Baltic region's oldest.

Tallinn's atmospheric Old Town is an enthralling hotch potch of medieval streets and spires. It's a small city, and the tourist areas are safe and easily explored on foot. Buy a Tallinn Card if you intend to use buses, trolleybuses or trams. A great place to visit is Balti Jaama Turg, the renovated market hall on three levels with fresh food, clothing and antiques vendors, plus hip eateries. For a look into Tallinn's past, visit Rocca-al-Mare Open Air Museum's typical rural Estonian taverns, windmills and watermills......

But as always its the beer that we are here for, Tallinn has 6 breweries (as of Jan 2022) and quite a few good beer taverns worth visiting. So here is Otto's take of Tallinn's beer bars;

Põhjala Brewery & Tap Room, Peetri 5

Open: Tues Sat 12.00 - 23.00 Sun 10.00 - 17.00

A proper place. You can eat here, you can drink here, you can... well that's basically it. Most of their core beers on tap, plus wide range of guests. Certainly worth a detour. Not very close to any other beer places, but not too far away from Uba ja Humal either. The ambiance is very nice. It is a raw industrial building, located in the harbour area (Take the tram to Volta and walk from there is not a bad option). It is quite an old building, with a very robust design. Inside the remainders of the old factory works can still be seen. It breathes Soviet Union. A spacious three floor place with the brewery attached which is visible behind the windows. A small shop next to entry. A pleasant atmosphere and friendly staff. Otto says; All in all, an amazing place.

Kochi Aidad, Lootsi 10

Hours: Mon - Fri 11.30 - 15.00

A nice Czech/Bavarian style brewpub near the harbour. The ambiance is pretty good. It’s pretty new, well Bavarian-beery- decorated without seeming too touristy or fake. Nice woody interior, big and spacious. Beer samplers are available. Beware of ordering large beers as they are inclined to pour old beer in with the fresh beer! Food is OK. Definitely worth visit.

Humalakoda Pub Restaurant Brewery, Kopli 1

Open: Daily 12.00 - 23.00

A big brewpub on the side of a big market. Inside there is a nice big bar area to check out the beers on offer. Apart from some taps of different guest beers, most the taps serve their own beers so take advantage of the beer flights. Also lots of tables/seating, very much a restaurant type brewpub affair and a dinners both inside and out. You can enter either from the street through the patio seating area or via the market. Friendly staff, and a nice relaxed foodie bar environment. Curious mural on the bar, could be misinterpreted by some I'm sure, it's the bloody "Danse Macabre" with a beer theme, you idiots! The food is a bit gastro-pub-food and a touch overpriced compared to what is available elsewhere, but the quality is high, and you can also peek into the kitchen.

Beer House, Dunkri 5

Hours: Daily 13.00 - 22.30

The Beer House is a brewpub in the Touristy German-style bierhalle/restaurant. Located in the middle of the old town, coming with the full range of German lagers, from hells and pilsner to märzen, with the odd honey beer thrown in for good measure. True to style, the male waiters dress in lederhosen and the waitresses in Bavarian dirndl. So, yes, this is a tourist trap and has little to do with Estonian culture, but it’s still worth a visit. If not for the show, then surely for the hearty portions of Bavarian-style and the 7 beers. The bier is brewed by a Breewster, (a female brewmaster) called Eve Toomela knows what she’s doing.

Kolme Kuninga Õlleklubi, Trummi 30R

Hours: Depends who is @ home...

Founded on 1 September 2012, Three Kings Brewery, was established by 3 Fraternity Leola foxes: Martin Born, Maido Käära, Jörgen Remmelkoor. In their pico-brewery they mostly produce Ales and other rare beers in Estonia. Beer tastings etc....

Pudel, Telliskivi 60A

Hours: 14-02

Located in an old industrial area. A bit hard to find, just as the other places over this side of town, but one of the top bars in Estonia once you get there. Pudel means bottle in Estonian and the emphasis here is definitely on the bottle list, which includes a lot of Mikkeller etc... Grab a beer and enjoy some stand-up comedy or bump into strangers that are passionate beer lovers or home brewers. A light and airy modern place great ambiance with a nice patio. Service is friendly and nice Plus Free Wi-Fi.

Põrgu, Rüütli 4

Open: Wed - Sat 17.00 - 00.00

A lovely old cellar venue in old town. Welcoming staff on arrival. A lovely atmospheric dark candle lit, old rustic place with lots of old well worn stone and wood. The food is great go when you are hungry to really appreciate it. Very friendly and efficient service. About 16 beers on tap, mainly Estonian craft including the Saaremaa farmhouse beer, a great find. Prices were very reasonable for central Tallinn (where most bars are very expensive now). Food is traditional and excellent.
A mandatory stop in Tallinn.

Põrgu Kõrts, Rüütli 4

Hours: 12:00-24:00 Fri/Sat: -02:00. Closed Sunday.

A nice cellar bar in the old town, next to an old church. A very old building and a beautiful place. Great atmosphere and a nice selection of beer both on tap and in bottles. Certainly a place worth a visit plus extra point’s for having Pihtla koduõlu on Tap (possibly the only place in Tallinn where you can get genuine Estonian koduõlu on tap).

Taptap Tallinn, Rotermanni 2

Open:Tues - Thurs 17.00 - 22.00 Fri - Sat 16.00 - 00.00

I cannot recommend this spot enough. The selection of beer and location are only exceeded by the father and son who run the place. Located next door to "BrewDog Tallinn" (for those of you that visit such places!) in a small alley about 1 km away from the Old Town, in the area called Rotermann City. A very modern interior, electronic music is played. A great selection on tap with different sizes to try. From the bar area room can walk into the room next door with seating and shelves of bottles along the length of the room and then at the end a kind of narrow cooled walk in room to open door and select some bottles from. A lovely relaxed ambience, with the old feel of the place with original features intact with the grain silos still there. I'd recommend this spot for every craft beer lover that comes to Estonia.

BrewDog Tallinn, Rotermanni 2

Open: Tues 0 Fri 16.00 - 23.00 Sat - Sun 14.00 - 22.00

A no-nonsense chain bar specialising in the Scottish brewery's craft beers, with regular guest brews. However, the service is absolute rubbish! Pretty much standard Brewdog on tap with a couple of interesting guests. Prices ok to expensive. Worth visiting (I Suppose?) when combining with the excellent TapTap next door.

Koht, Lai 8

A place for your soul. This is a tiny bar accessed through a courtyard behind the main beer shop. There is an extensive list of Estonian and other international beers, the barman is very knowledgeable and willing to provide advice to the bewildered! There are no frills here, just a variety of chairs and tables to facilitate enjoyment of good beer and conversation. As the evening proceeded the bar fills with groups of mainly young people who were clearly drawn by the bar's reputation for top quality beers. Do visit! Dark and rainy evenings are great spent here!

Hell Hunt, Pikk 39

A quirky old beer bar in the old town that claims to be Estonia’s very first pub. Also one of the best beer places in Tallinn with a cool, tree shaded beer garden outside and a large interior for cold days. The pub has a nice selection of draft beer, though mostly foreign; Sillamäe Õlletemas München Vaskne, and their own Hell Hunt house beers, brewed at Viru Õlu, being the exceptions. They also had a good bottled beer selection of about 50, with more Estonian beers but still mainly foreign (Belgian, German, English, Czech). Great service and good Wi-Fi. A nice place for a beer and there are a few ticks for everyone.

Restaurant F-Hoone, Telliskivi 60a

Open: Daily 10.00 - 00.00

Located in an old industrial area, a bit off the beaten track. If they’d shot ’Friends’ in Estonia, this would definitely be Central Perk? Follow the railway tracks from Balti Jaama Turg on the outside of town, as you emerge on Telliskivi, about 15 minutes walk outside old town. It’s tucked away in the courtyard of one of the blocks down there. A great place for tasty lunches, or a proper evening meal. The floor is wonderful, it’s an enormous map of the whole area. It even has its own house beer, brewed by Pohjala. Looks scruffy in a hipster sort of way.

Hopner, Vanaturu kael 3

Hours: Mon - Thu: 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm Fri - Sat: 12:00 pm - 2:00 am Sun: 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm

A great cosy place at centre of old town. A stone’s throw from Olde Hansa. Its a medium size cellar place with a small terrace in the middle of the most popular tourist paths. Surrounded by souvenir shops, it doesn’t look like much but has an impressive beer menu, rivalling Pörgu in selection of Estonian craft beers. The staff are friendly and seem to know about beer. Well worth a visit.

Drink Baar, Väike Karja 8

Hours: Mon- Thurs/Sun 12-23, Fri – Sat 12-03

A nice Bar located in Old Town. The ambiance is good, but nothing special. Service is friendly, but they are not very knowledgeable about beer. Selection is good and sometimes they have some interesting beers on tap. Food is OK, but the prices are rather high, but not too bad. Overall: worth a visit. There are around 200 bottles now and there is a great selection of both local beers and imports.

Neikid Resto, Wismari 3

Hours: kitchen 12-23, bar 12- people leave

A simple, but friendly but modern Baltic restaurant. Not too expensive. May look fancy, but it’s totally OK to have just a drink as well. A Small but good quality selection of beers and cigars, a great choice of wines and food. A bit off the normal tourist track, so it’s not too noisy. Definitely hop in.

Toit’s, Kivisilla 4

Hours: Mon - Sun: 10:00 - 21:00

The Best pub this side of town? Located out of the old town, walk past the Viru Centre on the Kaubamaja (right/south) side, and then cut through the parking lot next to Kaubamaja, and it’s there, on the corner with the traffic lights. Classy cafe feel. It has colouring books and pencils, so you can paint your girlfriend’s eyebrows while drinking! Small, but nice selection of bottles and good stuff on tap. Friendly service and relaxed atmosphere. Certainly a pleasant place to enjoy a beer or two with great burgers. Good English spoken (as everywhere in Tallinn).

Drink Shop, Müürivahe 15

Hours: Tue-Fri: 2:00 PM - 10:00 PM Sat: 12:00 PM - 10:00 PM Sun: 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM

A great bottle shop in Tallinn Old Town, right behind the Drinks Baar. Not many Estonian beers, but especially England, Belgium and Germany had strong selection. Little shop with great ambience, also some glasses for sale. Prices are reasonable.

Uba ja Humal, Võrgu 3

Open: Wed - Thurs 14.00 - 10.00 Fri - Sun 12.00 - 23.00

A nice modern taproom close to the seaport, not to far out of north part of old old town easy to get to. Grunge and Alternative Rock is played all the time. Service is nice but reserved. The tap selection is big (about 20) but not the best in my opinion, but still there were some gems. Nice place overall which can be recommended.

SIP Tallinn, Telliskivi 62

Open:Daily 10.00 - 22.00

The Sip wine and beer shop is located in trendy Kalamaja. SIP has a good selection of local and foreign beers. You can buy some from the shop to take with you. Or you can sit down, have a drink, relax and chat with the friendly shopkeepers.

Terviseks õlut Otto