Gluten Free in Tallinn: My Field Guide to a Quick Weekend Visit
I am an absolute sucker for old cities. Stunning old buildings, fortified walls, a little gothic gloom, and I’m there. With 800+ years of history and buildings to match, Tallinn had long been on my list, and I finally made it there this winter as part of a Baltics trip. But the question that you’re here for is how it went eating gluten free, and the short answer is: decent, but not a city to show up to without doing your homework. This post covers what worked for me, not just to get through it, but to actually enjoy the trip, eats and all.
Tallinn gluten free overview: 7/10
Navigating Tallinn while gluten free
Traveling with Celiac, as soon as I start planning a trip, I start scouting out what the gluten free scene is like. Usually this means scanning through apps like Find Me Gluten Free and Google Reviews, opening some other blogs, and some quick searches to get a sense of just what is around. In the case of Tallinn (also Riga, if a Baltics trip is on your list), there are reliable options, even a couple of dedicated spots, but not enough volume or reviews to just roam without doing some digging first.
Now that I’ve been through Tallinn, even briefly, I can say the options aren’t numerous but they are solid, a classic case of GF apps having fewer reviews than actual visitors deserve. From safe pizza to dedicated eats, I found I had few issues finding good food across my trip though my travel style is certainly not foodie. In places like Tallinn, I have a habit of repeating what works rather than venturing across the city to scope out every possible spot, so almost everything in my guide is a place I returned to.
Like most places without huge GF communities, the trick in Tallinn isn’t so much in finding options, whether out of kindness or business, almost every restaurant I chatted with was willing to adapt a dish. But free from gluten is not enough. Being ready to check on cross contamination processes, shared spaces and make your own judgment for the risk or the reward of a place is key here. And as always, while our goal may all be to avoid gluten, places do change, staff can make mistakes so be sure to double check even what I’ve suggested before ordering there.
Where I ate
Margherita Pizzeria & Trattoria
About the place: Shared / Italian / Table service with seating
The vibe: Touristy but charming, this spot is fun and knowledgable for an easy GF bite
With Kohvik Vaffel now out of business (explained below), my favorite dinner in Tallinn has shifted to Margherita Pizzeria & Trattoria. I know, pizza, in Estonia? But yes. While there are definitely good GF options for local cuisine (I did not visit, but try Kivi Paber Käärid a dedicated GF spot about 15 minutes outside the old town center), there’s a lot to be said for a nice Italian spot too, especially when it’s right in the heart of the old town, right en route to the Kohtuotsa viewing platform and Toompea Castle.
Margherita Pizzeria is of course a gluten centric business, but like many Italian born places, quite familiar with gluten free. They offer a nice selection of safe options, and on a rainy winter stay, I ended up here twice, getting to try a few selections. Their pasta is spot on, served nicely al dente with a very good sauce that even my friends with me on the trip enjoyed, though they certainly had a full gluten dish themselves.
I also had a pizza from here on my second night. Generally, I avoid pizza in shared spots unless they are incredibly GF centric, and Margherita Pizzeria certainly seemed qualified. When I talked at length with the server on my first visit, she explained that not only are they careful with separating the prep for their GF pizzas, but they also test their oven periodically for gluten. While I am not entirely sure how they do that, that they really consider Celiac safety was enough for me to give it a try. The quality was decent, certainly not that of Da Roberta in nearby Riga, Latvia, nor Italy, but it was tasty and I had no reaction or gluten issues at all.
5Senses Tallinn
About the place: Shared / Cafe / Table service with seating
The vibe: My go to and the spot for breakfast
For my stay in Tallinn, I had booked a place with a kitchen, and with decent grocery store options around the city, that made it easy to skip a few meals out and save me from hunting around. Usually when I have a kitchen, or even just a mini fridge, I’ll bring breakfast in, as it’s one of the harder things to find GF and one of the easier ones to cover with some simple store options. Tallinn has a great exception to this with 5Senses Tallinn, a unique breakfast and lunch cafe located inside the old town center and just a few minutes‘ walk from the famous House of the Blackheads building.
5Senses is not heavily rated on apps like Find Me Gluten Free, but they do have a very nice menu, and our server was very patient going through options with me to confirm exactly what was fine, even reconfirming with the kitchen. During the trip, I had the huevos rancheros, which were wonderfully done and even came with a side of (safely prepared) GF bread, potato pancakes (a common local dish) served with salmon caviar, and the friend I was traveling with had their okonomiyaki (also done GF so we could share items). It would be a struggle for me to try breakfast anywhere else in Tallinn after how good this spot was.
Tommi Grill
About the place: Shared / Burgers & Grill / Table service with seating
The vibe: Moderately nice burger spot and bar, not just a grab & go
My first meal after arriving off a half day bus ride in from Riga was at Tommi Grill, for a much needed meal. A standard burger and grill sort of place, Tommi Grill is one of the most rated GF spots in Tallinn and just a few minutes outside the old town center by foot. They’re knowledgeable, have a safe fryer, and even a bun that doesn’t completely fall apart. So while it’s a simple meal, it’s another one I would certainly go back for.
Healthy Sweets by Polina
About the place: Dedicated / Bakery & Cafe / Counter service with a few seats
The vibe: Health focused but delicious looking for a quick treat
Healthy Sweets by Polina is Tallinn’s only dedicated gluten free bakery, and the only other dedicated spot besides Kivi Paber Käärid, again, just a few minutes‘ walk from the old town area by the Tallinn train station. The bakery is small but elaborate, full of many treats and breads. As the name implies, they are health focused, with a no-sugar-added approach. That is not something I thought would bug me, but after my visit and talking with a few other Celiacs who have been, seems most everyone agrees that as much as we wanted to love this place, it just did not wow us.
Next time I am in Tallinn, and there will be a next time, I would definitely try their bread, but the pastries were just not my thing.
Kohvik Vaffel
Sadly, Kohvik Vaffel (dedicated waffles & bowls) is no longer in business
Good (GF) waffles are one of my favorite treats, and in planning my trip, Kohvik Vaffel, a 100% dedicated GF place serving waffles as both entrees and treats, was a real draw. Their menu was impressive, their flavors were great, but sadly they have since closed down. Hopefully someone will resurrect the idea and relocate it to a more touristy area with more GF demand.
Grocery store options
Tallinn’s old town is fairly large, but there are a few grocery shops right inside, mostly different sized versions of a chain called Rimi, all of which had some GF options, so I never had to venture further into the city for food. The Express, obviously a smaller location, has a couple items, but the Super is really where you’ll want to head for a good assortment of packaged snacks and essentials. Other foods in Tallinn of course follow EU label laws, which include naming gluten as an allergen, so it was quite easy to do a quick translation and find safe yogurts to go alongside fruit and some veggies for snacks to bring back to the small kitchen I had.
Closing thoughts on a gluten free visit to Tallinn
Tallinn is an amazing city. Though it’s certainly become much more popular, I feel like it’s still vastly underrated for all there is to see and eat, even for us. That said, it does mean requests are a little less frequent and options a little more scarce than in many other touristy spots. I never struggled to find a meal, and it was more out of enjoyment for the place (or laziness) that got me to go back to the same spots, but unless you are willing to be adventurous and push to try some unknown or once-known spots, some repetition is going to be necessary after more than a long weekend here.
Exploring the Baltics?
See my post about visiting Riga Gluten Free as well
