Hotokas

PS! Update 2016:

Hotokas, mida on kirjeldatud allolevas arvustuses, ei eksisteeri enam. Praegusel Hotokal on uued omanikud ja täiesti erinev menüü.

Hotokas, as it is described below, does not exist anymore. Hotokas nowadays has new owners and a completely different menu.

Lõpuks ometi korralikud hot dogid Tallinnas! Mingil kummalisel põhjusel pole see, läänemaailmas nii ülimalt populaarne, snäkk Eesti turul veel esindatud olnud (see õnnetus mis saadaval teatud bensiinijaamades ei vääri märkimist).
See tähendab, kuni praeguseni.
Hotokas (Toompuiestee 16) pakub suhteliselt laia menüüd erinevatest hot dogidest: Chillidog, guacamole dog, klassikaline dog jne. Kõigile peaks seal midagi maitse järgi olema ja (väga sõbralik) neiu leti taga mainis et menüü on laienemas, nii et veelgi rohkem huvitavaid variante on tulekul.
Samas kui iga järgiahvija meie kaunis linnas avab oma burksi kohta (et inkasseerida selliste kohtade nagu Estonian Burger Factory ja Dineri ilmselge edu pealt), on Hotoka inimesed valinud auväärse Koera.
Ja see on väga hea asi!
Koerad on suurepärased. Veise-sea-põdravorst on õige tekstuuri ja krõmpsuga, sai on kvaliteetne ja muud täidised (proovisime chillit ja guacamolet) kvaliteetsed ja maitsekad.
Isegi hinnad on vägagi mõistlikud, eriti kui võrrelda mõne uue burksi kohaga.
Tähelepanu soovitame pöörata ka väga korralikule õllevalikule.
Nii et kokkuvõttes: soovitame soojalt!

PS: Neil on KÕIGE paremad friikad Tallinnas!

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At last a decent hot dog in Tallinn! For some strange reason this particular snack, while so popular and ubiquitous in the West, has so far failed to appear in Estonia (we are not going to mention that sorry excuse available at certain gas stations).
That is, until now.
Hotokas (Toompuiestee 16) has a rather extensive menu of hot dogs: Chillidog, guacamole dog, classic dog etc. There should be something for everyone and apparently the menu is expanding, so more interesting variations to come.
While every copycat in town is busy opening their own burger joint (to cash in on the obvious success of Estonian Burger Factory and Diner), the people behind Hotokas have chosen the venerable Dog.
And that is a very good thing indeed!
The dogs are excellent. The beef-pork-elk sausage has the right texture and crunchiness, the bun is of high quality and the toppings (we tried chilly and guacamole) are top notch.
Even the prices are very reasonable, especially when compared to some of the burger joints around.
A special mention has to go to the rather excellent choice of beers.
So all in all: highly recommended!

PS: They have the BEST french fries in Tallinn!

Chi Asian Food – Takeaway

Solarise keskuses.

Mina: "Paluks kaasa ühed nuudlid veiselihaga"
Tülpinud näoga neiu: "Vjeiseljiha jej jole"
Mina: "Aga ülejäänud asjad menüü peal on olemas?"
Tülpinud näoga neiu: "(Sügav ohe) Vjaata"

Kas ma tellisin midagi muud?
Tellisin ma jee..

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In Solaris Shopping Center

Me: "Noodles with beef to go, please"
Peevish looking young lady: "Wje hjave njo bjeef"
Me: "And all the other stuff on the menu you do have?"
Peevish looking young lady: "(Deep sigh) Ljook"

Did I order anything else?
Nope, I ordered f*ck all..

Estonian Burger Factory

 

  

 

Viimase aasta jooksul on elu Tallinnas tunduvalt keerulisemaks läinud.. heas mõttes. Rohkem valikut!

Kui suhteliselt hiljuti oli Tallinnas põhimõtteliselt kõigest üks korralik burgerikoht, siis nüüd on meil kolm: Diner, Dereku Burger ja Estonian Burger Factory. Ja jutt ümber lõkke räägib, et õige pea avatakse veel üks.

Estonian Burger Factory's (Pärnu mnt 41a) tegutseb Martin, ehk siis väidetavasti SEE isik, kes kvaliteetburgeri meie kauni linna näljaste massideni üldse tõi.

Kas see tähendab et tema burksid on parimad?

Tänase seisuga ongi nii, et parim medium-miinus burger, mida ma eales maitsunud olen, ongi Estonian Burger Factory's. Siin ei ole odavama liha varianti, kasutusel on ainult parim Liivimaa lihaveis ja ka kõik teised komponendid on topp kvaliteet kraam. Kotlet ei ole liiga lahja (ma pole dieedil!), vaid täpselt õieti mahlane ning perfektse struktuuri ja maitsega. Isegi suurus on õige keskmisele meesterahvale kellel üle-keskmise isu.

Koht ise näeb ka väga hubane välja ning funktsioneerib suurepäraselt ka mõnusa baarina, kus sõpradega õlle libistades nii mõnegi tunnikese toredalt veeta saab.

Nii et, ilma pikema jututa: mine!

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Within this year life in Tallinn became a little bit harder.. in a good way! More choice!

Whereas not that long ago there was only one decent burger place in Tallinn, now we have three:

Diner, Dereku Burger and Estonian Burger Factory. And apparently another one will join their ranks soon.

Estonian Burger Factory (Pärnu mnt 41a) is operated by Martin, arguably THE guy who introduced a quality burger to hungry masses of our lovable town.

Does that mean that his burgers are the best?

To this day this is the place where I have tasted the best made medium-rare burger of.. umm.. anywhere basically. There is no cheap meat option here, every burger is crafted from the best Liivimaa beef and other ingredients are all top shelf stuff as well. The patty is not overly lean (I'm not on a diet!) but just exactly perfectly juicy with spot-on texture and taste. Even the size is right for a average sized male with over-sized appetite.

The place itself looks great as well, in fact it can easily double as a great bar where you stay with your friends for hours, have a few beers and even more burgers.

So without further ado: Go there!

Diner

The good burgers are back in town.

Diner (Vabaduse Pst 39) is the new place of one of the brains behind the original Vesivärava Grill and it shows: The burgers are just as excellent, possibly even better and the choice of different burgers positively humungous.

Most burgers on the menu can be had with either "normal" beef or Angus beef.

Personally we prefer the normal beef, as its more fatty, and everyone knows that fat is good. Oh yes.

The regular cheeseburger is just unbelievable value for money: for €3.50- you get a massive burger with restaurant quality beef patty. And here lies also the only possible criticism: The price for burgers with extra ingredients rises quite a bit, basically the same burger with added blue cheese or bacon is a couple or euros more expensive. While they still are a lot cheaper than far inferior burgers in some of the restaurant type establishments in Tallinn, when compared to the normal €3.50- cheeseburger we have the feeling that they don't add that much extra.

Anyway, the place still rocks. Also it looks nice, with real US style seating and other interior touches.

Highly recommended!

    Looks nice!

    Hungry folks are waiting for their fix

    Plenty of choice

    Regular with bacon

    Cheeseburger and French Fries (mmmm.. cheesy)

    Hangover

       Also on the menu: Hot Dog. Pretty good, although thoroughly overshadowed by the burgers.

R-18 Väike Resto

Väike Resto (Raekoja Plats 18) on suht kummaline, identiteedikriisi all kannatav kohake Tallinna vanalinnas.
Menüüs on kaheksa burgerit, nii et tegemist on purksikohaga?
Samas sisustus, kelnerite olemasolu ja leti puudumine meenutab pigem tüüpilist ülehinnatud turistilõksu, millistest meie Keskaegne Disneyland, ehk siis Tallinna Vanalinn, kubiseb.
Tegelikult oligi kuni eelmise sügiseni tegemist just sellega: tüüpiline vanalinna turistikas kus pakuti kitsejuustu salatit ja muid selliseid peeneid roogasid. Ühel hetkel aga jõudis juhtkonnale kohale et talvel siiski kõikide turistilõksude jaoks turiste ei jätku ning koht moondati talveperioodiks burgerirestoraniks, lootusega ka kohalikke kliente meelitada.
Burgerid on tegelikult täitsa OK, kindlasti hoopis teisel tasemel kui kioskite ja bensujaamade sitaburgerid, aga siiski kaugeltki mitte see tase mis originaalses Vesivärava Grillis oli. Ka ei tea nende kokk mida sõna Meedium tähendab.
Kokkuvõttes siiski täiesti arvestatavad purksid.. kui ei oleks ühte suurt "probleemi" milleks on hind. Nende asukohaga Raekoja Platsis arvestades pole kõrge hind muidugi mingi üllatus, aga siiski ligi topelt maksta sellest mida võiks normaalseks pidada pole need burgerid väärt.
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Väike Resto (Raekoja Plats 18) is a rather odd place that seems to suffer from a identity crisis.

The menu consist of 8 different burgers, so its a hamburger joint, yes?

Yet the interior, the presence of waiters and the lack of a counter suggests a run of the mill overpriced tourist trap restaurant, so typical for our Medieval Disneyland called the Old Town.

Actually this place used to be exactly that: a overpriced tourist trap offering poncey dishes like goat cheese salad etc. At one point the management decided that since during the winter season there aren't enough tourist, so why not try their luck with a hamburger menu and hopefully attract some local clients as well.

The burgers are pretty decent, definitely far above the typical crap-burgers available at gas stations but nowhere near the quality of the original Vesivärava Grill. And whoever mans the grill there does not seem to know the meaning of the word Medium.

All in all not a bad burger if it wasn't for one big caveat: the price. Not surprising since they are located in just about the most expensive location the Tallinn. Still, paying almost double of what might be considered "normal" is not worth it.

MoMo

Tallinn on eriline linn mitmel põhjusel, aga on ka üks põhjus millest enamus siinseid elanikke teadlikud pole: Nimelt on Tallinn üks väheseid linnu mandri-Euroopas, kus on võimalik osta ehedat Jaapani toitu, mis on valmistatud päris Jaapanlaste poolt! Jaapanist!
Ei mingit seda mujal Euroopas levinud Hiina-immigrandid-kes-alles-

eile-veel-pidasid-Hiina-nuudlisööklat-ja-täna-otsustasid-avada-sushi-koha-kuna-Jaapani-toit-on-populaarne. Oh ei, ehtne Jaapani toit, ja mitte laialtlevinud sushi, vaid ehe Jaapani igapäevatoit (mitte ainult meie arvates, seda on kinnitanud mitmed päris Jaapanlased).

MoMo (J.Kunderi 29) on peamiselt pood, kus saadaval korralik valik erinevaid Jaapani ja Korea tooteid, pluss iga päev on päevapakkumine alates kell +/- 12.00 kuni jätkub (vahest sulgemiseni kell 19.00 välja).
Päevapakkumine maksab 4.50 või 5.50 ning kvaliteet on tõeliselt kõrge. Riis, kala, kana, oad, salat - sul oleks raske leida sama kvaliteetseid tooraineid ja valmistust nõndanimetatud kõrgklassi restoranides Tallinnas.
Ainus miinus MoMo's on ruumipuudus: Nende poe ainsa söögilaua taha mahub 6 inimest, nii et tegelikult me vist ei peakski seda artiklit üles panema, nüüd ei mahu me enam kunagi sinna lauda..

Õnneks saab alati kaasa osta.

PS: Suvehooajal pakub MoMo oma suurepäraseid toite Katusekino terassil.
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Tallinn is a special city for many reasons, yet there is one that most people don't realize: Namely it is one of the few cities in continental Europe where you can buy real Japanese food that is made by real Japanese people! From Japan!

None of that Chinese-immigrants-who-until-yesterday-were-running-a-Chinese-shop-and-today-decided-to-open-a-sushi-place-because-Japanese-food-is-popular. Oh no, genuine Japanese food, and not just sushi but REAL everyday Japanese meals (not just our opinion, verified by real Japanese people from Japan).

MoMo (J.Kunderi 29) is mainly a shop selling a myriad of Japanese and Korean products, plus every day they have a daily meal, starting from noon until none is left (or the shop closes, which happens at 19.00).

The daily special usually cost € 4.50 or 5.50 and the quality is excellent. Rice, fish, chicken, beans, greens - you would be hard pressed to find the same quality ingredients and preparation in any of the supposedly luxury restaurants in Tallinn.

The only downside to MoMo is the lack of seating: Their shop only seats 6 or so, so perhaps we should not publish this review after all, since now these seats will be non-stop occupied..

Luckily there is always takeaway.

PS. During the summer season MoMo serves their excellent dishes at Katusekino open air cinema.

Estonian Burger Factory = endine / former Vesivärava Grill

Kindlasti enamus rahvast on juba asjaga kursis, aga anname igaks juhuks siiski teada: Vesivärava Grillil, mis asub endise koha peal ja kannab endiselt Vesivärava Grilli nime, ei ole "päris" Vesivärava Grilliga, mille suurepärastest burgeritest me eelmise aasta märtsis kirjutasime, mitte midagi pistmist. Põhimõtteliselt koha omanikud nägid et poistel läheb liiga hästi ja ütlesid nende rendilepingu üles, et nüüd kuulsa nime all ise raha teenida..

Aga nüüd hea uudis: Varsti avavad päris Vesivärava Grilli taga olnud burgermeistrid oma uue koha Estonian Burger Factory! Viimaseid uudiseid, kus ja millal, jälgi siin: Estonian Burger Factory

Update: Väidetavasti avavad Martin ja Indrek eraldi burgeri kohad.

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Please be noticed that Vesivärava Grill that exists in its old location and still bears the same name has nothing to do with the "real" Vesivärava Grill that we reviewed last March. Apparently the guys behind the original got a short notice from the owners of the property that their rental contract will not be renewed.. so the owners could take over the business that obviously went so well.

Now the good news: The original burgermeisters behind Vesivärava Grill are going to set up a new place very soon! To stay informed about the developments around Estonian Burger Factory (that's how their new place will be called) tune in to their Facebook page here: Estonian Burger Factory

Update: Apparently Martin and Indrek will open new separate places.