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.

Hiiu Grill

Mida öelda sellise koha puhul nagu Hiiu Grill (Vääna 2, Tallinn)?

Tegemist on keskmisest keskmisema kebab/burgeriputkaga ja söök mida seal pakutakse ei erista ennast teistes mööda Eestimaad laiali pillatud putkades pakutavast mitte millegagi.

Positiivseks võib nimetada müüapreili sõbralikku olekut ja toidu kiiret kättesaamist.

Kebab ise ei vääri mingit erilist kommentaari, liha on seesama mis igas putkas, paprikapulbriga kaetud friikad on sügavkülmast ja kogu kupatus on uputatud roosasse burgerikastmesse.

Eriti kahtlane asi on Maxiburger, mille puhul ei olnud võimalik tuvastada kas kotlet on kanast, seast, mõlemast või ainult sojast. Tõenäoliselt kõigest. Rupski-supreem.

Kas hea lugeja peaks sinna minema?

Ainult siis kui tõesti kuhugi mujale ei jõua.

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What can we say about a place like Hiiu Grill (Vääna 2, Tallinn)?

It's about as average as average can be and the food available does not differ in any way from what is available from similar little food sheds dotted around Estonia.

The positive part of the experience was the sale-girls friendly attitude and the fact that the food arrived rather quickly.

The kebab itself does not impress in any way, the meat is the same as in every kiosk and the paprika powder covered french fries of the deep freeze variety. And of course everything is drowned in massive amounts of pink burger sauce.

Especially questionable offering on the menu is the Maxiburger, as it's impossible to tell whether the patty is made from chicken, pork or soy. Probably from all of them, plus more. Meat byproduct supreme.

Should the good reader visit this establishment?

Only if you really have to.

Räägupesa

Lugupeetud lugejad.
Käesolev arvustus/tutvustus on ainult inglise keeles, kuna iga endast lugupidav Eestlane peaks tundma nii klassikalist Eesti Burksi, kui ka sellist toitlustusinstitutsiooni nagu Räägupesa.


Back to the 90's

For many locals these burgers are a trip down the memory line, as back during the infamous "Kiosk Era" this type of burger was just about the only type available. Räägupesa (Nõmme tee 53) is also one of the few places that has been continuously in business since 199-something and still serves their classics proudly to this day.

24h Food Mecca:

Räägupesa Burger, the venerable classic:

There is a meat patty somewhere down there, trust me. Yes, you get a fork, although a spoon seems even more appropriate.
I have often wondered where this curious custom of absolutely DROWNING the burger in sauce and vague cabbage mix was started. I mean, who thought that this is what people want.. or need? Back in the 80's, during the Soviet era this custom was definitely not yet around.. even burgers were not around and ketchup (a rare import from Hungary) was hardly ever found on the shelves of a shop. To get your hands on a few bottles required friends in the right places (like my parents had a friend in the buffet of the communist party headquarters), so drowning your food in it was out of the question. I have asked around, but nobody seems to remember their first encounter with the sauce monster..

Now back to this particular Räägupesa Burger. 

Is it good? This time i will not tell you, go try it yourself.
Let's just say it is an unforgettable experience.

For the fainthearted there is a far more conventional Grillburger available, as is Chicken Kebab, French Fries and some other stuff. Many people like them, but none of those has the heritage of the true Räägupesa Burger.

Grillburger:

Fries. Same sauce, same cabbage:

Go there, seriously.

Papa Joe

Papa Joe, asukohaga Sadam Turg (mis on väärt koht külastamiseks päris mitmel põhjusel) on tõenäoliselt ainuke ehtne Liibanoni söögikoht Eestis. Peamiseks põhjuseks Papa Joe'd külastada on ta Falafel, mis võib olla vägagi hea, eriti kui võtta see pitaga ja kõikide võimalike lisanditega, aga samuti on tal pakkumisel suurepärased oliivid (paremaid Eestis on raske leida), vägagi maitsev hummus, datlid ja muu idamaine kraam.
Ainuke kriitika mis pähe tuleb on fakt et Falafeli kvaliteet kipub olema kõikuv: mõnedel päevadel on maitse tunduvalt parem kui teistel. Kummaline. 

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Papa Joe, located at Sadama Market (a fabulous place by itself for more than one reason) is probably the only real Lebanese food place in Estonia. The main reason to visit Papa Joe is his Falafel , which can be great if you take it with pita and with all the possible fillings, but that is by no means the only reason to pay him a visit: he also sells some of the best olives you can get in this country, rather tasty hummus, dates and other Eastern delicacies.

The only criticism i can think of is the variation in his Falafel: on some days it tastes quite a bit better than on other days. Go figure.

Loca

Loca (Tatari 1) langeb kohe kindlasti "Vajan süüa pärast rämedat reede/laupäevaõhtust joomingut" kategooriasse.
Kõige tuntum söögikoht selles kategoorias on tõenäoliselt Taco ja seda puhtalt asukoha pärast, kuna kõik muu selles kohas on nii viletsa kvaliteediga et sa peaksid olema täielik ignorant kui sinna sööma lähed.
Loca's pakutav kraam pole kindlasti mitte super, aga siiski parem kui Taco's saada olev kraam ja menüü on suhteliselt mitmekülgne: peale erinevate pizzade, burgerite ja kanatiibade on menüüs ka rohkem eksootilisi pakkumisi, nagu näiteks araabiapärased shaksuka, hummus ja kibe. Kahjuks langevad need oma midagi erilist lubavatele nimedele vaatamata ikkagi kategooriasse "friikad millegagi" ja neil on ka see tuntud tüüpiline rämpstoidu maitse. Burgerid ja Lomito (väidetavalt veise välisfilee burks, minu oma oli ÜLIMALT vintske) upuvad kastme sisse.
Ja siis hind: Sama raha eest on Tallinnas võimalik täiesti gurmee tasemel toitu saada (vaata seda postitust), aga tõenäoliselt mitte kell 4 hommikul.
Nii et kui juhtud olema varajastes hommikutundides vanalinnas (pool)purjus olekus ja otsid midagi millesse kõhus loksuvat alkoholi ära imendada, siis on Loca selleks tõenäoliselt parem kandidaat kui Taco.

Taustamuusikaks on reggae (on see positiivne või negatiivne oleneb juba täiesti sinust enesest).
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Loca (Tatari 1) falls firmly in the "Need food after heavy boozing on Friday/Saturday night" category.
The most well known joint in that particular category is probably Taco and that only thanks to its location, as anything else in that place is of such poor quality that you must be an utter ignorant fool to go to eat there.
The food in Loca is by no means great, but still superior to the offerings in Taco and the menu is relatively varied as well: next to more ordinary fare like various pizzas, burgers and chicken wings, you can also get a number of Arabic dishes like shaksuka, hummus and kibe. Unfortunately most of them, despite the promising names, are just "fries with something" and taste like any other generic junk food. Also, burgers and Lomito (beef file sandwich, mine was EXTREMELY chewy) are drowned in sauce.
Then there is the matter of price: For the same money you can have gourmet quality food elsewhere in Tallinn (check this previous entry), but probably not at 4 AM in the morning.
So if you happen to be in the early hours (semi)drunk in the Old Town and looking for a greasy bite to soak up all that alcohol, then Loca is probably a slightly better bet than Taco.

The music on the background is reggae (whether that is a positive or negative thing is entirely up to you).