Family-friendly restaurants in Tallinn – suggestions from blogger Kairi Tähe

Kadriorg is best known for its lovely park and colourful array of flowers. The kids can have fun at the playground and the Miiamilla Children’s Museum, whose playful environment is perfect for families as it allows younger members to experience and learn through touching and playing with the exhibits.

If you’re hungry after your visit, head for everyone’s favourite mini-pancake café, Kooker. Take time out to enjoy the beauty of life by having a picnic on their terrace with your family.

Next, hop on a retro tram, which traverses route 3 every day according to the ordinary timetable and stops at the same stops as other trams. Take a ride to Tallinn’s world-famous Old Town, enjoy the scenic views over the red rooftops from the viewing platform on Toompea Hill and who knows, you might even see a little man with a propeller flying over the city. You can easily fill your water bottles at any of the public water taps around the city.

Located by the sea in Kadriorg Park, Mon Repos Villa is situated in what was once a popular summer resort. The area became widely known thanks to Kadriorg Palace, which was built as an imperial summer residence, and its park, which was inspired by the grounds of the famous Palace of Versailles. The kids will love its Michelin-recognised café with its cosily luxurious interior for its varied and healthy menu. They can even colour in the menu while waiting for their meals!

Balti Jaam Market is a truly unique complex. It is best known for its wide range of fresh produce and its street food vendors: from ice-cream rolls to mini-pancakes, from fresh bread at Muhu Pagar and Pagar Võtku to delicious cakes at the Ristikheina café and from handmade dumplings to... well, much, much more!

 

In addition to its street food, Balti Jaam Market is also known for selling the freshest produce in Tallinn. Here you can buy oysters, prime cuts of meat, olive oil and the sweetest fruits direct from Italy. Fill your picnic basket with delicious treats to enjoy later in any of Tallinn’s beautiful parks. After your meal, take a stroll around Telliskivi Creative City and enjoy the art at Fotografiska.

Welcome to one of the most magnificent maritime museums in Northern Europe! Its exhibits include Lembitu, the greatest submarine of its era, as well as the oldest Estonian museum ship, Suur Tõll. You can marvel at a copy of the seaplane Short 184, all sorts of mines and cannons, plus many other life-sized exhibits. Enjoy a trip in a yellow submarine, have your photo taken in navy uniform and create memories that will last a lifetime! In addition to the carefully planned exhibits, you can also explore the city’s coolest playground.

Before visiting the Lore Bistro, make sure you explore the waterfront district of Noblessner next to the Seaplane Harbour. In addition to its impressive architecture and scenic promenade, the area will win you over for its variety of cafés, galleries and stores.

 

Lore Bistro is known as a restaurant that values quality time spent together as a family. There’s a special menu and a shelf full of games and art supplies for the kids. The restaurant also caters to the needs of its littlest clients by offering a range of baby purees.

The Proto Invention Factory is a fantasy world offering a unique experience you won’t find anywhere else in Europe. The factory, which opened in October 2019, is located by the sea in Põhja-Tallinn, just 500 metres from the Seaplane Harbour. There’s a lot to discover here, so make sure to give yourself enough time to immerse yourself in its magic. The factory showcases unique prototypes that come to life thanks to 21st-century virtual technology. It also includes children’s play areas with a variety of features, included distorted mirrors, air cannons, a building area and VR and hands-on exhibits.

 

Proto Invention Factory is fun and accessible for everyone, including people with special needs.

 

Allee is known as one of the most family-friendly restaurants in Tallinn, where kids can spend time drawing before enjoying meals that have been prepared just for them. The green and spacious interior of Allee creates a sense of being far away from the city, even though the Old Town is right on its doorstep.

Gelato Ladies brings the taste of Italy to the Old Town. Just a short stroll from the Allee restaurant, this cosy and friendly café serves Italian gelato. It doesn’t matter if you’re two or 92 – no one can resist the creamy consistency and rich flavour of gelato! The gelatos here are prepared in the café’s ice cream kitchen using fresh, carefully selected ingredients from Estonia and Italy. It’s the perfect place to visit with the kids! The café is also dog-friendly, so you can enjoy a treat with your pet by your side.

If you haven’t been to Tallinn Zoo before, then you haven’t seen all of the world’s animals! Home to 500 different species and 10,000 residents, the zoo boasts the world’s foremost exhibit of ibexes and mountain sheep, a remarkable array of eagles as well as a considerable variety of owls and cranes. There’s also a tropical house, bird ponds, kangaroo enclosures, an impressive polar bear exhibit and much more. Visitors with small children can rent a cart to take their kids around the zoo. The carts are located by the entrance and cost five euros to hire. The zoo also has two cafés and a souvenir store. You can celebrate birthdays and enjoy picnics at the zoo as well.

Another place to visit with your kids in Tallinn is its Botanic Garden, which is located in Pirita and showcases plants from all over the world. It offers enjoyment both indoors and outdoors. It is a home to plants from different environments, such as deserts, rainforests, taiga, tundra and alpine regions. Located in the Pirita River valley, the garden is the perfect place for a walk or picnic, or just to get away from it all.

You should contact the botanic garden if you wish to organise a cook out or a large picnic.

Another tourist attraction worth visiting is the Tallinn TV Tower, located near the garden.