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Sure they´ve had their share of "Silver spoons" and a lot of folk consider them to be one of the best, if not the best...BUT, I have been reluctant to offer my opinion about them. See the guy in charge loves foam and yes we all love foam - on the beach, in the bubble bath, it is a must for shaving and whipped cream is foam, no matter if you use it in the dining or the bed room.

Right... but he puts it on the plate and then the plate is placed in front of me. Guess what, that is the absolute worst place for the foam to be...No really. I can´t stand it when something like herring or veal for that matter is turned into a foam form. I don´t get it either. Sure, maybe it´s just me and everybody else loves ribs turned into foam, but... On top of everything this is just so five years ago.

Anyway, I decided to give them one more chance and it turned out to be a somewhat pleasant surprise. At this point I have to acknowledge the intricate skills of my date for the night, who managed to recommend things on the menu knowing my foam´o´phobia.

So here it goes. I had.............Dammit...I can´t remember what I had. I wonder if it means anything? I do remember that Conch Chowder I enjoyed almost ten years ago in Boca Raton, I also can remember the best Gnocchi ever with Artichoke Pesto in Monteriggioni about eight years ago and my very first Porterhouse at Peter Luger´s. Now, I wonder if this really means anything. Probably not...

Here´s their link

Best Baristas of Tallinn

If you can live without coffee, can you still call it living? I personally absolutely love a great espresso. You know you have it just by looking at it, the crema is not brownish-yellowish, but dark red mixed with colors of chestnut and butterscotch. Sometimes almost burgundy shade. When you drink it, you taste the sweetness alongside the bitterness without adding any sugar. I don´t like when it´s accompanied with a sour taste. So you get it. I like my espresso.

Here are the best places to have a cup.

Illy Galleria del Caffè - Lai 26

Kehrwieder Chocolaterie - Saiakäik 1

Cafe Chocolaterie de Pierre - Vene 6

Josephine - Vene 16

Well...and my place - Lai 32

Oh, and every office that uses 7 Kohvipoissi machines and coffee. If you think that this is a shameless plug - you´re absolutely right. They are my friends, but that does not change the fact that their coffee is excellent. Give it a try.

Spaghetteria da Vinci

They've been open now under the new name for a while, but I've been ignoring them in spite of their good location and good looking wait-staff. See, they used to be an ice-cream parlor, well in fact a gelato parlor, if that's even appropriate to say. In any case they used to be the best place in Tallinn to enjoy Italian ice-cream or any kind of ice-cream for that matter.

Then they decided to reform and ended up with what they are now - a Spaghetteria da Vinci... Alright...Good news though - they still have the ices, just not all the same flavors. Don't get me wrong, still great.

I don't know what it is about this place, but I like them. They're not over-designed or over-priced or serving "cooking pretty" food. There you go, maybe that's it. Good, tasty food that doesn't end up costing you an arm and a leg.

You can get a fresh salad or/and a reasonably sized pasta dish and be on your way. Wait, don't forget the gelato. Plus, one of the blondes has this absolutely amazingly intriquing little smile that I just can't read. Either she thinks that I'm the biggest idiot or she's flirting with me.

P.S. Best value offering in Mid-Town: Birra Menabrea 66cl - 40EEk

Museum

Perfect location, really really perfect. Nice, but not over-achieving cuisine, at least on paper and potentially people-friendly space. What I mean is that it's not a basement, not a hotel and it has floor to ceiling windows. So far - so good for the Museum.

Now, I really don't want to bitch about the interior...so let's get it over with quickly. Unless you are one of the people who have trouble making a decision about what kind of lighting fixture or a chair you like or a wall color for that matter, you are not gonna like this interior fiasco. I do get it, they were going for the whole retro 70's chic thing, but it turned out like a cheap set for making a mocumentary about the work of John Holmes.

Oh and the whole we have a lounge and a restaurant side. It really would be fine , but why does the restaurant side look like the lounge and vice versa.

Now to the food. I actually visited them several times, I'll explain shortly. The
first visit I ordered Trout Tartar with Avocado in Miso sauce. The trout was quite nice and fresh and so was the avocado. What ruined the whole thing was the so-called Miso sauce that was just mind boggling. They managed to somehow come up with a dark brown gravy that was so sweet that it made my teeth itch and obviously overwhelmed the taste of mango and the trout. Believe me it would have done that to any taste known to man.

After that I ordered Scallops grilled on Teppanyaki with Wakame and Cucumber Salad. I was surprised with the salad and in a good way. It was tasty and fresh and visually pleasing. The scallop was slightly over-cooked, but not bad. The keyword being A SCALLOP. What makes them believe that if you slice the thing crosswise you can call it scallops. What, you think that putting a knife to it is gonna make it multiply. One scallop is one scallop. That's it.

Then before leaving I took another look at the menu and saw that they have a Burger on there. So I promised to myself to be back. So I did. That happened few days later when they were getting ready to close for the night. I had the burger and several Mojitos. Possibly the best Mojitos in town and also possibly the best burger in town.


Still pretty far from a real burger though.

In Vino Veritas

This is not the first time I'm talking about In Vino Veritas, but I figured that everybody likes good news. And the good news is - they finally got their pizza oven up and running. Still testing it out though, but very shortly will be adding various pizzas to their menu offering.

I like this place and I like their food. Both are unpretentious and inexpensive. Plus the food is tasty. Just the place for my liking. The main guy in the kitchen does not consider himself an artist, but a craftsman. And he or she is a good one at that.

Simple, but delicious, homey tasting pasta dishes and excellent wine. That is enough for me, no need to pile ingredients on the plate in a three dimensional puzzle manner.
They just added Carpaccio and now pizza...I like it even more.

Possibly the best tasting simple Italian fair in Tallinn.