Alexander Restaurant

A fact that most foreigners might not know: traditional Estonian cuisine actually has German roots, an influence that is still readily apparent. The Baltic Germans brought their culinary customs to Estonia, spreading it across the country from home to home. At Pädaste Manor, Chef Stefan Berwanger pays homage to this heritage, having moved from a big German city to the island of Muhu two years ago. He spent his first year here preparing German-style dishes with local ingredients before upping his game to something we’d like to call “local food traditions translated into an Esperanto for European palates”. Supper starts with a white, spelt and sour cream sourdough bread, a particularly successful rendition of the traditional black bread that enjoys cult status on every Estonian table and is an important part of all proper celebrations. At Pädaste, every meal is a celebration––proving to locals and visitors alike that life on a small island, at the mercy of the surrounding sea, can be (must be!) enjoyable and elegant. Muhu’s other eateries, with their robust offerings, be damned. That said, to fully understand what Pädaste is doing, you should dine at these bistros too as it will give you a superb understanding of how simple, local produce (garfish, for instance) can be treated completely differently, generating hearty and rich dishes on the one hand, and delicately exquisite ones on the other. Generally, Estonian desserts are hardly the highlight of the meal, at Pädaste, however, the sweet endings are pure bliss.