JUUR

A couple of years ago, when the restaurant opened its doors, everybody said it is more in the fashion of Copenhagen than of Tallinn. Back then, the Juur was a particularly authentic representative of the Nordic cuisine in Tallinn. Now, after the newsworthiness has faded, the Juur’s unique nuances begin to shine. Exceptionally good coffee for afters, house-made drinks ranging from kombucha to rhubarb wine. Tableware that you’ll never see anywhere else. (The polymath chef Kaido Metsa makes it by hand.) And the principal – the food – equally unique. The restaurant has its own farmstead providing the majority of the vegetables used in the kitchen. The concept at Kaido Metsa’s kitchen begins at the seed. The root-to-top, nose-to-tail philosophy occasionally results in some unexpected ingredients, from goat skull to mushroom dessert. But the Nordic cuisine at the Juur has solid Estonian roots and traditions. Yet the approach taken is a particular one. The rye-and-wheat black bread, spongy soft under the thin hard crust, provides an introduction to the way the Juur does everything in its own way, Nordic cuisine in the Estonian way.