Best Cheap Eats in Tallinn: Our Favorite Spot in Estonia’s Capital

If you’re visiting Tallinn and want to stretch your food budget without sacrificing flavor or variety, there’s a place we kept going back to on our last trip. It’s affordable and offers a great way to sample Baltic and international cuisine in a casual environment. Whether you’re looking for a quick bite, a microbrew or cocktail, or a DIY food crawl, our favorite market in Tallinn covers it all.

The Deets on Balti Jaama Turg

🍽 Balti Jaama Turg (Baltic Station Market) is Tallinn’s main food hall and one of the best places in the city for casual dining and street food. It’s packed with vendors selling everything from handmade dumplings to vegan burgers to fresh desserts and coffee.

🪑 You could easily eat here every day of your trip without getting bored. There are also plenty of spots to sit comfortably and relax, so you don’t feel rushed or have to opt for takeaway.

🛍️ The market spans multiple floors with food stalls, small eateries, and all kinds of specialty shops selling fresh produce, vintage clothing, and local crafts. It’s worth taking a walk around to explore after your meal. And there’s even a supermarket, so you can grab some staples and save even more on food and drinks during your visit to Tallinn.

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😋 What Should You Try? Here Are Our Favorites

🥟 Pelmen

We headed straight to Pelmen for Northern European comfort food. The handmade pelmeni (dumplings) come in both meat and vegetarian options, served with a generous dollop of sour cream or other sauces. It’s simple, hearty, and delicious.

🍔 VLND Burger

This is a great spot with juicy burgers, classic and creative options, and good ingredients. It’s a solid choice if you’re craving something familiar and filling, and they also have vegetarian options.

🍺 Humalakoda

So this is a more expensive, sit-down restaurant, but it’s located upstairs in the market and offers a nice space to unwind. It’s a lovely microbrewery and taproom serving local craft beers, ciders, and a full pub menu. We popped in on our arrival in Tallinn and tried a few Estonian brews.

I wish we had sampled cuisine from even more stalls. Here are a few spots we can’t wait to try next time:

• Baojaam: Taiwanese-style bao buns with crispy pork, marinated chicken, or plant-based fillings.
• Samsa Family Bakers: Authentic Uzbek cuisine, including plov and sweet and savory pies.
• Tokumaru Sushi: We always crave sushi when we travel. It’s nice to mix up heavier meals with something lighter, and the sushi rolls and poke bowls looked fresh and delicious.
• VegMachine: This place offers vegan comfort food like fries, burgers, wraps, and more. Everything coming out of the kitchen looked like solid, hearty portions.

🚶‍♀️ Walkability

We easily walked to the market from our apartment in Tallinn’s Old Town, but you can also take Uber or Bolt. It was incredibly convenient and serves as a great option on a cold or rainy day since everything we tried at this market was indoors.

🍞 Estonian and Baltic Flavors to Try

We focused on comfort food at the market, but you should also keep an eye out for traditional Estonian and Baltic foods. If you see these local dishes on a menu, they’re definitely worth tasting:

• Kama is a traditional Estonian breakfast food made from roasted barley, rye, oat, and pea flour, typically mixed with yogurt or kefir. Kama is also used for desserts.
• Smoked fish, especially Baltic herring, is often sold at the market.
• Mulgipuder is a mashed potato and barley dish.
• Verivorst is a blood sausage that may pair well with the mulgipuder.
• Black bread, or dark rye bread, is commonly served with butter, cheese, or fish across the Baltics. It’s hearty and delicious.

🥣 Bonus Tip: Don’t Skip III Draakon and Olde Hansa

🐉 If you’re exploring Old Town and want a memorable experience without breaking the bank, stop by III Draakon (The Third Dragon). It’s a small medieval-style tavern in the Town Hall building that offers simple, hearty food like elk soup, meat pies, and pickles straight from the barrel. It’s affordable, fun, and a quick way to step into Tallinn’s medieval past. The staff are super entertaining (and deliberately rude in a funny medieval way).

🥂 Just around the corner is Olde Hansa, which is more of a sit-down, special occasion kind of place. It’s definitely pricier, but the atmosphere and unique medieval menu (featuring dishes like wild boar and honey beer) make it worth the splurge if you’re up for it. Some locals told us they even go there for work events or celebrations, which says a lot.

Both are touristy but also a great time. They add a nice bit of character to your Tallinn food crawl.

🙋‍♀️ What are your favorite cheap eats in Tallinn? Let us know in the comments.

Explore More Baltic Cuisine

• Tallinn Estonia: 7 Top Places to Eat and Drink 
• Vilnius Lithuania: Best Fine-Dining Spot For Local Cuisine
• Riga Latvia: Our Favorite Dinner Spot with a Tasting Menu

Check Out Our Baltics Itineraries

• Which Baltic Capital Should You Visit? Tallinn, Riga, or Vilnius?
• How to Get Around the Baltics
• Baltic Travel Itinerary: A Week in Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius + Helsinki