Cafeography
Pagarikohvikud · Tallinn

Bakery cafés in Tallinn

Sourdough at RØST in Rotermann, cakes and kringel by the Swan Pond, pontšik doughnuts and pancake houses.

Photo: Valeria Boltneva, Pexels License

Rye has been grown in Estonia for more than a thousand years, and in the Middle Ages the country was known across Europe as a rye exporter. Must leib, dark rye bread made from rye flour, water, salt, sugar and leaven, is still an essential part of Estonian cooking, and the toast "Jätku leiba!" literally means "May you always have bread."1

The Sangaste rye variety, bred in 1875 by Count Friedrich Georg Magnus von Berg, is described as the oldest cultivated rye variety in the world.1 The City Center has the most bakery cafés, followed by Kalamaja & Telliskivi, with Kadriorg & Pirita and Kristiine & Mustamäe next.

Local tip: RØST is closed on Sundays and takes orders for its regular pastries with at least a day's notice.6

Where these cafés are: City Center (6), Kalamaja & Telliskivi (3), Kadriorg & Pirita (2), Rotermann & the Port (2), Kristiine & Mustamäe (2), Old Town (2), Ülemiste & Lasnamäe (1).

At a glance

18Cafés listed
14With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
21:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Precious café, from 07:00 (Mon–Fri 07:00–16:00 · Sat 09:00–16:00).
  • Closes latest: Katharinenthal, until 21:00 (Daily 08:30–21:00).
  • Most common features: card payment (44%), wi-fi (33%), outdoor seating (33%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Tallinn.

Kringel and the vastlakukkel

Kringel, the twisted sweet bread, reached Estonian from Lower Middle German, and Eerik Randsalu coined the English name "event bread" for it a couple of decades ago.2 Around vastlapäev (Shrove Tuesday), counters add the vastlakukkel, a wheat bun usually spiced with cardamom and filled with whipped cream, sometimes with jam or marzipan as well.3

Katharinenthal, the yellow house with a green roof at the entrance to Kadriorg Park, is at A. Weizenbergi 22.4 Its shop lists kringel alongside cakes, tortes, macarons and savory pastries.5

Sourdough in the Rotermann Quarter

RØST, at Rotermanni 14, is a small bakery with Scandinavian influences in the historic Nisuveski (wheat mill) building. It bakes natural sourdough loaves, pastries and sandwiches, and its coffee comes from The Brick Roastery and small European roasters.6

As of 2026 a cinnamon bun, a cardamom bun, a seasonal bun and a gougère each cost €3.50 and a nata €2.50. It opens 08:30–18:00 on weekdays and 09:30–17:00 on Saturdays, and in February 2026 it took vastlapäev orders by phone.6

Kalamaja and the center

Fika, at Telliskivi 60a/1, opens at 08:00 on weekdays, and Fika Bakery, at Tehnika 117, daily 08:00–15:00. Ristikheina Kohvik's Pelgulinn café on Ristiku 57 bakes cakes, buns and kringel; a kreemisai (cream bun) costs €3.20 as of 2026.7 Rohe Kohvik is at Kopli 4, opposite the Balti Jaama market.

Cafe Pontšik, at Narva maantee 2, fries fresh pontšikud, which it notes you may also call sõõrikud: doughnuts.8 Napoleon, at Pärnu maantee 48, opens Monday to Saturday, 10:00–19:00, Luna cafe & bakery on Pille opens at 08:00 on weekdays, and Herne Bakery is at Herne 18. In the Old Town, Toormoor on Sulevimägi bakes without sugar, dairy, gluten or eggs.9

Pancake houses

Kooker bakes mini pancakes, sweet and savory, and runs four cafés in Tallinn, among them Kooker Kadriorg at L. Koidula 21c, open daily 08:00–20:00, and a street café at Kadaka tee 5, open daily 09:00–20:00.10

Pann ja Kook, on the third floor of the T1 Mall of Tallinn at Peterburi tee 2, calls itself the largest pancake restaurant in Estonia; its play area has a 6 m fire-breathing dragon, and it was named the most family-friendly restaurant in Tallinn in 2023, 2024 and 2025.11 Pannkoogimaja, at Tondi 17, opens 09:00–20:00 on weekdays and 09:00–18:00 at weekends.

Sources

  1. Estonia's national bread, Visit Estonia, accessed October 2026
  2. Kringel, or "Event Bread", and How to Explain It (Kadri Tüür, 20 April 2026), Eesti Elu, accessed October 2026
  3. Semla, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. A self-guided journey through Kadriorg, Visit Tallinn, accessed October 2026
  5. Katharinenthal: cafe and bakery, Katharinenthal, accessed October 2026
  6. RØST: Leib & Kohv, Rotermanni 14, RØST, accessed October 2026
  7. Ristikheina Kohvik: kohvikud, Ristikheina Kohvik, accessed October 2026
  8. Kohvik Pontšik: värsked pontšikud Tallinna kesklinnas, Pontšik, accessed October 2026
  9. Vegetarian restaurants in Tallinn, In Your Pocket, accessed October 2026
  10. Kooker minipannkoogid: Kookeri kohvikud, Kooker, accessed October 2026
  11. Pann&Kook, T1 Mall of Tallinn, Pann ja Kook, accessed October 2026
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Terrassid

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22 cafés
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Vegan options

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By area: Old Town Rotermann & the Port Kalamaja & Telliskivi Kadriorg & Pirita City Center

FAQ

Bakery cafés in Tallinn: questions

What is a vastlakukkel in Tallinn bakeries?

A vastlakukkel is the Estonian Shrove Tuesday bun, eaten around vastlapäev: a wheat bun, usually spiced with cardamom and filled with whipped cream, sometimes with jam or marzipan too. RØST in the Rotermann Quarter took vastlapäev orders by phone in February 2026.

Where can you buy sourdough bread at a café in Tallinn?

RØST, at Rotermanni 14 in the Rotermann Quarter, is a small bakery in the old Nisuveski wheat mill that bakes natural sourdough loaves, pastries and sandwiches. It opens 08:30–18:00 on weekdays and 09:30–17:00 on Saturdays, is closed on Sundays, and sells cinnamon and cardamom buns for €3.50.

What is must leib, the dark bread in Tallinn bakeries?

Must leib is Estonian dark rye bread, made from rye flour, water, salt, sugar and leaven. Rye has been grown in Estonia for more than a thousand years, and the toast "Jätku leiba!" means "May you always have bread."

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