nightlife
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Red Emperor has smiley, accommodating barstaff, vodka laced with Skittles (try it - it’s epic), and games like an oversized Jenga, guaranteed to embarrass one of your friends as the tower comes down with a startling crash.
Tallinn Nightlife A few more suggestions for evening (or early morning) entertainment:
Bars & Pubs Clayhills
Cubanita Live Cafe
Drink Baar
Narva mnt. 5, Tallinn a2
Väike-Karja 8, Tallinn Old Town i2
Von Krahl
Hell Hunt
Rataskaevu 10, Tallinn Old Town h1
Mad Murphy’s Mündi 2, Tallinn Old Town h2
Nimeta Baar Suur-Karja 4, Tallinn Old Town i2
Põrgu Rüütli 4, Tallinn Old Town i1
Just What You Need TEXT STUART GARLICK, PHOTOS ANDREI CHERTKOV, ANDREI OZDOBA
W
e know how it is. Whether you’re in Tallinn for a good time, or a long time, there are times when the money gets tight and you still want to go out. We understand that there are far too many overpriced bars, cafes and clubs in the Estonian capital - but there are real gems if you look hard enough. Let’s take a look at some places you can go where not only does everybody know your name, but also you’ll always be glad you came. Many great nights have started at Red Emperor Bar (Aia 10, Tallinn Old Town a2). A few have finished there, too. A lot of the reason for this is the hostel attached to it - it’s a fantastic business model, because it means that anyone staying at the hostel has a fun nightspot as soon as they step out of their room. However, no traveller worth their salt is going to stay in a hostel bar just because it’s the easiest option. Red Emperor is as strong as it is because the drinks are very reasonably priced, and the atmosphere is always warm and friendly. Red Emperor has smiley, accommodating bar-staff, vodka laced with Skittles (try it - it’s epic), and games like an oversized Jenga, guaranteed to embarrass one of your friends as the tower comes down with a startling crash.
The Patcave is a regular haunt of Tallinn's branch of couchsurfing.
Noorus was the sort of bar you could hang your hat on - a place that always brought a reliable sense of bonhomie, and cocktails for far below the price of the likes of Clazz a few hundred metres down the road. Noorus has now become The Patcave, and just like its predecessor, it’s the sort of place that is unpretentious, honest, and
capable of kicking your night into the next gear. The bar quite often advertises on its Facebook page an eye-catching special offer night, or a theme party, and it gets in keg after keg of quality beer like Latvia’s most popular, Valmiermuiza. The Patcave gained a fine reputation for parties when it flung open its doors in summer
Elli’s Vrapikohvik stays open late on Fridays and Saturdays.
Pärnu mnt 158g, Tallinn
Pikk 13, Tallinn Old Town h1
Pikk 39, Tallinn Old Town g2
Cheap, Honest and Open:
Tapper
The Highlander Kuninga 1, Tallinn Old Town h2
Cigar Lounges
Gay G-punkt Pärnu mnt 23, Tallinn
X-baar Tatari 1, Tallinn b2
Patt Sadama 6, Tallinn a2
Nightclubs Butterfly Lounge
Dunkri 2, Tallinn Old Town h1
Vana-Viru 13 / Aia 4, Tallinn Old Town h3
Sigari Maja
Café Amigo
The Oak Lounge
Raekoja plats 16, Tallinn Old Town h2
Estonian
Viru väljak 4, Tallinn b2
Club Baila
Väike-Karja 1, Tallinn Old Town i2
Sauna 1, Tallinn Old Town i2 Club Hollywood Vana-Posti 8, Tallinn Old Town i2
Kochi Ait Tavern
Club Studio
Karja Kelder
Lootsi 10, Tallinn a3
Sauna 1, Tallinn Old Town i2
Kolmas Draakon
Klubi Teater
Raekoja plats 1, Tallinn Old Town h2
Vabaduse väljak 5, Tallinn Old Town j1
Seiklusjutte Maalt ja Merelt
Vabank
Tartu mnt 44, Tallinn b3
Harju 13, Tallinn Old Town j1
Valli Baar
Venus
Müürivahe 14, Tallinn Old Town h3
Vana-Viru 14, Tallinn Old Town h3
Live Music
Late Night Dining
Chicago 1933
Loca
Aia 3, Tallinn Old Town h3
Tatari 1, Tallinn b2
Clazz
Mexicana Taqueria
Vana turg 2, Tallinn Old Town h2
Suur-Karja 18, Tallinn Old Town i2
2016, and it’s kept a regular group of loyal customers, who bring more and more of their friends each time, a sure-fire way to tell that a bar knows what people want, and how to give it to them.
The Patcave (Lai 10, Tallinn Old Town g1) is a regular haunt of Tal-
linn’s branch of Couchsurfing, the global sofa-sharing travel society that isn’t just about hosting or taking journeys to new places; CS Tallinn, which you can join on Facebook, is also a great social group, and the fastest way to meet new, tolerant, outgoing people when you come to Tallinn. Couchsurfers have introduced this writer to a whole host of cheap and cheerful bars over the years, but one of the finest places the group went to was Shimo, the bar that, in two locations, made larger-than-life veteran Tallinn expat Robert Sani a living legend for his DJ skills and his throatburning ‘Rob Shot’. What made Shimo special was its location next to some snooty, high-class bars selling cocktails for eight euros and above. Shimo’s
expert cocktail waiters could whip up the same thing for twothirds of the price. Sani kept his fans informed of his next move on social media, and the same people who met him behind the decks in the original underground location are now flocking to an outwardly more genteel business venture.
Elli’s Vrapikohvik (Wrap Cafe, Vana-Posti 2, Tallinn Old Town i2) might
sound like a typical neighbourhood coffee shop, and during the day it is, but on most days it is open until 11pm and on Fridays and Saturdays it stays open into the morning, serving up quality hot wraps with flavours named after Estonian women, and, if you ask nicely, the still-exclusive Rob Shot! Head down to Elli’s and see what the fuss is all about. ■
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STUART GARLICK is a journalist and English language teacher based in Tallinn. Since 2012, his blog, Charm Offensive, has covered food, music and fashion in Estonia.