ODESSA Restaurant

When it comes to gastronomy, Odessa holds its own and can compete with metropolises like London and New York. Just like those other melting pots, the city has adopted stronger examples from the neighboring regions’ food cultures while tweaking them ever so slightly to local tastes. This is how eggplant ikraa and vorschmak à la Odessa came to be, not to mention lard pâté with spices and garlic. The one thing these three dishes have in common is their strange familiarity, a sense that you’ve encountered them before, yet never quite like this.

There’s no greater cliché than calling a restaurant serving another country’s national cuisine an “embassy”, or “oasis” or worse. Generally, they’re neither. Odessa, on the other hand, planted firmly in the middle of Tallinn, is the real deal. Each and every dish is extremely authentic, the restaurant is run by Ukrainians––from Odessa, no less, The atmosphere and service are straight out of both Odessa and Tallinn.

The first visit here sparks a burning desire to visit the Ukrainian seaport city, immediately and without delay. If a travel agency were to open next door, it would surely have its hands full.