Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
I generally don't dedicate an entire blog entry to a meal, it's a bit like Face book updates of a plate of food with no reference to the meal or company around the food. But this dinner was an entertainment in itself.
After chilling in the hostel for a couple of hours, Chris and I headed out for dinner about 9pm. We first went into an Irish Pub, but without a single vegetarian choice, we settled for a drink and left. Some Australian friends told us about a great Italian place in the old town so we attempted several Googlings but could not find it. It was approaching 10pm and we faced the thought of no dinner as kitchens were beginning to close.
As luck would have it and out of desperation we went into the next open restaurant we came to. This was one of those great travel moments where everything fell into place and the food Gods were looking down on us.
Olde Haus is a very old building with an intentional atmosphere of medieval banquet dining. The attention to detail was incredible. We were met by a 'servant' fully costumed in medieval attire and sat at our table. This was a thick timber table with chunky heavy chairs and a large candle burning in a stone dish. In fact the only lighting in the restaurant were candles, with the exception of the street light coming in. There was no electric lights to back up the candles.
We ordered a French wine to keep with the atmosphere as the other choice was Argentinean. It was served in thick green glass goblets with water in clear goblets and a stone jug on the table with water. This was becoming a great meal. The wine goblets had wide hollow stems with many small k*** of glass around the base as decorations. They were heavy and felt great to drink from. And the wine itself wasn't too bad either.
The menu was available in Estonian, Finnish, Russian and English and written in old style script with feasting options and all the meals were traditional medieval meals from this region. I expect a few additional dishes to fill out the menu, but this was a far cry from anything we had seen on the trip so far.
We had baked juniper cheese with herbs and berries for an entree with a piece of whole meal bread with nuts and fruit. This was served in dark red oven dishes with the bread tucked on the side of the dish. I can not explain the taste as I have never had anything like it.
For the main the servant suggested the vegetable plate. We went with this. Served on a similar dark stoneware plate was the most delicious range of vegetarian dishes. There were lentils, red sauerkraut, turnips, mushroom sauce, and barley, pastry case with white beans and in the middle a salad. Olives and whole pieces of roast garlic thrown on top. All on the same plate as it would have been served originally. Each dish was a joy to eat. This sounds like an exaggeration, but it's not.
The entire restaurant was done to perfection. The attention to detail with painted walls, ornate timber furniture, plates and glasses and costumed staff lead to a great night. Wish we found it earlier to extend the evening.
Even the bathrooms were in character. All the modern plumbing had be hidden behind brass decoration to give the feel of something far less 20th century within the obvious restrictions of hygiene.
As a surprise for Chris I bought him 2 of the wine glasses as his souvenir for Tallinn. We will remember this restaurant and Tallinn every time we use them far more than any mass produced Babushka doll or ceramic house. What a great find and true reward for daring to try something new when traveling. And Tallinn is one of those towns full of narrow streets to explore and doors to walk through. It has been the highlight of the trip so far.
Written by Rod
- comments
Tina What a fantastic memory, that's what travel is all about, enjoy it !!!