Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and brunch can be enjoyed not only before lunch but also instead of it. Many cafes and restaurants in Tallinn offer breakfast and brunch that may be a great fit for late risers.
Breakfast and brunch are usually ordered from the menu as portions. Buffet-style dining is mainly only offered at hotels. We have put together a delicious list of the capital’s best morning and midday eating places. Maybe you’ll find a new favourite among them?
Levier Cafe in the Rotermann Quarter offers a diverse breakfast on weekdays from 8:00-12:00 and all day on weekends. The menu is extensive and offers everything from porridge to roasted potatoes and smoothie bowls to Dutch mini pancakes. Estonian breakfast can be enjoyed any day, any time – it includes potatoes, smoked meat or grey trout, eggs, rye bread and pickled cucumber.
Loulou Restaurant, found in the commercial buildings between Rotermann and Terminal D, serves its guests breakfast and brunch every day from morning until evening. The menu consists of classics from all over the world, including Eggs Benedict, shakshouka, croissants and various porridges in addition to sweet delicacies.
F-hoone, a popular restaurant in Telliskivi Creative City, offers breakfast on weekdays from 10:00-11:30 and on weekends until 12:00. The menu includes porridge, various omelettes and sandwiches. Those who sleep in can order an All Day Breakfast any time of the day.
Ristikheina Cafe is an atmospheric cafe in an old wooden building in the middle of the cosy neighbourhood of Pelgulinn. All-day breakfast is always available – options include porridge, omelette, English breakfast, muesli and buckwheat salad. The same selection is also available at the Ristikheina in Ülemiste Centre.
The glorious Italian cafe Gianni offers breakfast on weekdays until 12:00 and weekends until 14:00. The menu includes porridge, various egg dishes, toast and pancakes with savoury or sweet filling.
Settled into the new skyscraper on Maakri Street, Päris pays its respects to France by being a proud symbiosis of a French-style bakery, deli and restaurant. A French-style breakfast and brunch are available – food to please your taste buds includes truffles, lobster and oven-warm pastries. Breakfast is offered on weekdays from 8:00-11:30, brunch on Sundays from 11:00-15:00.
In between the city centre and Kadriorg is the cosy Faehlmanni cafe where you can enjoy breakfast on weekdays from 8:00-11:30 and on weekends from 10:00-14:00. In addition to the usual yoghurts, porridges and various egg dishes, the menu also includes, for example, a breakfast wrap with egg and ham, a delicious shakshouka and oatmeal with bacon and parmesan. The cafe’s selection of fresh pastries is also the best in the morning.
5Senses at Pikk Street in Tallinn Old Town encourages us to use all five senses. The brunch menu features flavours from all over the world, including England, Belgium, Turkey and Japan, and it’s available from Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:30-15:00.
Cafe Grenka, which got its name from the hot Slavic sandwiches, offers breakfast on weekdays until 12:00 and weekends until 13:00. In addition to the usual breakfast foods, you can also order delicious cottage-cheese patties from the cafe on Pärnu Highway.
Kohvik Sesoon in Kalamaja welcomes hungry guests from Monday to Friday and offers breakfast on those days from 8:00-11:00. The wide selection includes porridge, various egg dishes, grilled sandwiches, fruit, oven-warm pastries and croissants.
Rudolf Restaurant in Kadriorg offers the best of modern French and European cuisine. Brunch takes place on Saturdays from 10:00-14:00 and Sundays from 10:00-15:00 with a menu offering various tasty dishes from French toast to a truffle omelette and from porridge to pancakes.
Peps, a cafe-restaurant in the basement of a modern apartment building on Kentmanni Street in the city centre, hosts pancake mornings on weekends – but from morning until evening. They offer pancakes with either savoury or sweet fillings. The menu also always includes a “late riser” omelette.
Põhjala factory, which is quickly becoming a new centre of urban culture, offers brunch from Kopli Köök on Saturdays from 12:00-17:00. The cafe with its pleasant retro feel offers traditional brunch dishes and popular breakfast foods from near and far. The idea is to always offer something new and different.
Mimosa, a restaurant with charmingly old-fashioned interior design, is located in a gorgeous villa in Nõmme where it offers late breakfast on Saturdays from 12:00-15:00. In addition to eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, fish and beans, the menu also includes sweet pancakes.
Your Sunday villa visit should be Mon Repos, a restaurant on the edge of Kadriorg Park that first opened in the same building a hundred years ago. You can enjoy brunch in its luxurious setting on Sundays from 11:00-14:00 and you can also order nutritious dishes such as blinis, Nizza salad and bouillabaisse.
Põhjala Brewery & Tap Room, a beer restaurant in Noblessner, pampers its Sunday guests with an all-day breakfast. The menu includes many great options from eggs and bacon to bagels with fillings, sweet pancakes and chicken waffles.
Brunch at the Fotografiska Cafe is enjoyed on Sundays from 10:00-17:00. The menu includes both old classics and new favourites. Once a month, Sunday brunch can also be enjoyed at Fotografiska’s restaurant with a panoramic view.
One Sunday a month, brunch is also offered at Paju Villa in Nõmme, a restaurant in a top restaurant chain. The dates, times and menu can be found on the restaurant’s website where reservations can also be made.
Tallink’s hotel restaurants Nero (Tallink Spa & Conference Hotel) and City Grill House (Tallink City Hotel) offer brunch on Sundays from 12:00-15:00. All guests can eat as much as they want at the generous buffet. The price includes sparkling wine.
At Radisson Blu Hotel Olümpia’s Restaurant Senso offers brunch on Sundays from 12:30-15:30. The buffet offers both hot and cold dishes in addition to desserts. The price includes a welcome drink.
Radisson Collection Hotel’s MEKK Restaurant & Bar offers brunch one Sunday a month. The buffet consists of a wide selection of hot and cold dishes – more information and dates can be found on the restaurant’s website.
The vegan cafe Kringel is located in the heart of local life in the Uus Maailm neighbourhood. Although it’s been named after the party kringles available by pre-order, it’s also a great breakfast and brunch cafe. Regardless of the time, it offers porridge, pancakes, smoothies, grilled sandwiches, savoury and sweet pastries in addition to various coffee drinks. Everything they offer is plant-based and thus a safe choice for anyone on a lactose-free, dairy-free and egg-free diet.
Kivi Paber Käärid in Telliskivi Creative City, on the other hand, offers a gluten-free breakfast. The restaurant opens at noon after which a breakfast plate can be ordered until the evening. All other dishes at the restaurant are also gluten-free.
Special diets are generally well known in Tallinn’s restaurants and the most common ones are also marked on the menus. You can always ask the staff for help – many dishes can be modified to fit the customer’s needs.