Cheap Eats in Tallinn's Old Town
Eating cheap in Tallinn is easy once you learn one rule and one address. The rule: never eat on Raekoja plats. The address: Balti Jaam Market. Do those two things and a short break here costs a fraction of what the tourist strip wants.
The one rule: step off the square
Restaurants sitting directly on the main square are priced for people passing through once, and the food rarely justifies it. Walk two or three streets in any direction and the paevapraad, the daily lunch special, drops to about 5 to 8 euros for a plate that is usually better. A casual sit-down meal runs 10 to 15 euros; a mid-range dinner 20 to 35 a head. Cheap eating in Tallinn is not about finding secret bargains, it is about not standing still where the prices are highest.
The one address: Balti Jaam Market
Balti Jaam Market (Balti Jaama turg) in Kalamaja, next to the train station, is the best cheap food in the city. It is a covered market of produce, bakeries and street-food counters serving Estonian, Georgian and Asian plates at prices locals actually pay. Around it, the Telliskivi Creative City factory quarter adds more casual cafes and craft-beer bars. Come hungry and graze; it beats any restaurant near the Old Town on value.
What to try for cheap
Fill up on black rye bread (leib), the staple on every table, and Baltic herring. Bakery counters do cinnamon buns and savoury pastries for pocket change. If you want a souvenir you can taste, a bottle of Vana Tallinn liqueur or local marzipan costs far less bought in town than at the airport.
The famous restaurant, and whether to bother
Olde Hansa, by the main square, is the candlelit medieval-themed place with costumed staff and spiced mead. On a budget trip, treat it as a drink and a look rather than a full dinner: the atmosphere is the point, the food gets mixed reviews, and a whole meal there is a splurge better spent on two market feasts.
Paying
Tallinn is close to cashless. Cards and phone taps work at market stalls, bakeries and bars alike, so you rarely need euros in hand, and never need to hunt an ATM before you land.
Read more: Tallinn Old Town prices breaks down the district, and the things to do in Tallinn guide fits meals into a day.