Lunch in Tallinn, Estonia

If you read my posts on Monday and Wednesday, you know that this week I've been focusing on the food I ate during my travels this summer to Finland and some of its neighboring countries. In addition to the overnight cruise to Stockholm, you can take a 2-hour boat ride to Tallinn, the capitol of Estonia. Lots of people make this trip back and forth, and since there's only a window of about 5 hours, the area you get to explore is quite limited. Tallinn dates back to the 1100s and boasts an 'old town' that is enclosed by a stone wall complete with turrets and red-tile-roofed towers. It's gorgeous and has windy, cobblestone streets that lead you to the top of a hill that overlooks the rest of Tallinn.

My friend and I had lunch at a place called First Lounge (Rataskaevu 22, (372) 6 413 414), where we sat outside in the sun and enjoyed gazing up at the stone buildings against the perfectly blue sky. It's kind of an odd place - with pasta dishes, wraps, sushi (?) and salads, techno music pumping mid-day and an interior painted in purples and silver. Like I said, we sat outside int he sun and had a lovely lunch. My friend ordered the Pasta with Salmon, with cherry tomatoes, peas, basil and (canned) black olives. It was decent, and a pretty big portion.



I ordered the Wrap with smoked salmon but received the Club Sandwich instead. It was good though, with turkey, lettuce, tomato and bacon (again with those damned canned olives!), plus, a little ramekin of Pringles in the center of the plate. There was also a nice, spicy mayo that apparently the Finns just love (and Estonians I guess), which added a nice zing to the sandwich.



First Lounge was nice since it was off the main streets where all the very touristy restaurants were. It was quiet and mellow and a great place to recharge for more walking and exploring!