Sweet Tooth In Tallinn?

After a few days in Estonia’s main city, I decided to discover some cosy cafes to spend part of my free time working and enjoying a cup of local coffee. 

In London, I always visit my nearest Starbucks for a regular Soy Latte. When it comes to getting a nice place to sit down and get things done, London coffee places can be a real challenge due to the amount people that visit them every day.

In quiet Tallinn the story is different. I almost always succeeded in finding a table for myself. However, something I didn’t expect at all was the lack of Starbucks. Love it or hate it, you won’t find the popular coffee chain, but you can still taste similar versions of your favourite beans in many establishments around the city.

Let’s start with one of my favourite ones:

Reval Cafe

Reval Cafe is a chain of coffee places in Tallinn that you will find almost everywhere. On top of coffee and tea, you can get a delicious piece of cake. One of the things I loved the most about this place was the huge area it had where you can sit and plug your laptop in. 

Fika

Fika is a Swedish word used to describe the moment of peace and relaxation people takes pleasure in while drinking coffee. In this establishment, you can expect high-quality coffee served in beautiful cups and fresh pastries.  

Caffeine

One of the most popular coffee chains in Tallinn. This place resembles Starbucks when it comes to its special flavoured drinks. Aside from the basic Latte and Americano, you can find some extraordinary flavours like “Pistachio and Berry Bliss” or “Blueberry Cold Brew”.

Their establishments are all over the city and despite not being particularly huge, I never had a problem finding a table. They also have a nice amount of sockets to connect your laptop.

I once had to hide in one of these during a storm!

Nikolay Bar-Buffet

My favourite place by far. This coffee and cake place is more popular for their cakes than for their coffee. They sell a wide variety of sweet and savoury fresh pastries that they prepare on a daily basis. You can buy other types of food too, but everyone seems to love their cakes more than anything else. I had the best Cherry cake I have ever tried.

On top of that, I tried a different type of coffee that they described as “a pretty sweet coffee”. It reminded me of a latte with condensed milk, decorated with a few chocolate chips on top and a delicious cookie on the side. 

The place is very spacious, with plenty of tables and seats to work. The reviews on Tripadvisor often mention a beautiful cat even though I didn’t see it at all during my stay.

Kohvik Koomet

I was seconds away from giving up when looking for this place. It’s on the top floor of Solaris Shopping Centre. Here you can find an amazing selection of fancy cakes and desserts with breathtaking views of the city. They also have a huge food menu, but I only tried their sweet specialities. The prices are slightly higher, but the cakes were delicious. 

Epic Coffee and Most

If you happen to visit Tallinn, you are likely to spend at least one day walking around the neighbour of Rottermani. This place is a spectacular mix of the old and the new. You can find buildings with contemporary designs connected to old, pebbled houses. 

You will also find two of the best-rated coffee places on Tripadvisor, both of them located on the same street.

ROST is a very small establishment that serves delicious pastries. The most popular and the one I had was a cinnamon roll. They also have a selection of good coffee. The only negative point is the lack of tables and space. The place is too small, with only around 3 tables inside and a few more outside, all of them occupied the few times I walked by. 

A few steps away you will find Epic coffee, a charming cave with enough tables to sit and enjoy your drink.

And these are the places I discovered during my stay and that I recommend to everyone that visits the city. Every time I travel alone I discover new flavours and corners that inspire me and help me understand the country, the people and even myself.