Saaremaa Veski

How often do you get to eat in a windmill? Not that often, we’re guessing. That’s why you need to eat at Saaremaa Veski, in the heart of Kuressaare.

Despite its urban surroundings, the rustic setting, with well-worn millstone-tabletops, will transport you to the countryside, and the humble island cuisine will hammer home that feeling even further. Slavishly prepared according to a recipe from 1974, the cheese spheres carry an authentic flavor of recent history, the hearty shashlyk, made with local mutton tastes equally nostalgic. Both of these dishes pair well with a glass of Pihtla brewery suds, the country’s oldest craft brewery (and one of the country’s smallest.

) At Saaremaa Veski, you’re guaranteed to find the largest selection of this brewery’s beers. To start or end your meal, be sure to ask for the house lingonberry schnapps. It has a long-lasting and clear lingonberry aftertaste.

Buy a bottle! It makes for a rare souvenir.